The first finding of a Greek amphora in Poland

In 2017, an expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the University of Rzeszow (Poland) carried out excavations on a hillfort belonging to the Scythian cultural circle (its forest-steppe variant) in Chotyniec, in south-eastern Poland. The hillfort is the central and most important point of a large settlement cluster, which is the furthest north-western enclave of this cultural circle. In an excavated cult object - the so-called 'zolnik' - we made an interesting discovery. Here we show this unique finding for the first time: a Greek wine amphora, from the beginning of the sixth century BC. We were able to explore and reconstruct it almost entirely. Amphora is the only artefact of this type found in the present Polish borders. The amphora was subjected to archaeometric research with the use of PLM, SEM/EDS, TXRF and ToF SIMS. The massive fabric was made of high calcium clay enriched in quartz and volcanic lithoclasts. The lack of chromium and nickel among trace elements makes the vessel different from the amphoras from the Eastern Meditteranean analysed so far, suggesting a specific workshop. Red painting was executed with very fine grained iron compounds predominantly based on aluminosilicates, enriched in phosphorus. Obviously, since it is associated with the presence of Scythians in Eastern Europe, it simultaneously delimits (geography-wise) the borders of Greek influence.

Automated summary

In 2017, an expedition from the Institute of Archeology of the University of Rzeszow excavated a hillfort in Chotyniec, south-eastern Poland, belonging to the Scythian cultural circle, and discovered a Greek wine amphora from the beginning of the sixth century BC in a cult object called 'zolnik'. This unique finding, the only one of its kind found within present Polish borders, suggests a specific workshop different from those in the Eastern Mediterranean, and challenges the boundaries of Greek influence geographically due to its association with the presence of Scythians in Eastern Europe.