The excavations at Pasym produced 5643 potsherds. Only 2732 sherds were recovered from features, cultural layers and refuse deposits associated with ‘Baltic’ culture settlement. The vessels identified as pots (group I) are among the most common forms of pottery of the Bronze Age and later periods. Type 2 pots are noted at early Iron Age sites. Jars (group II), represented by forms with smoothed walls and a conical neck, and by those with a short, cylindrical neck and rough body (types 1–2), date from the terminal Bronze Age and early Hallstatt period. Vessels with a short, conical, smooth neck originally transitioning to a high shoulder (which gradually became more angular in profile) are attributable to the Zalewo type, dated to the middle to late La Tène period. Sphero-conical bowls (group III, type 1) are regarded as long-lived forms which were used throughout the terminal Bronze Age and early Iron Age. Spherical bases and profiled rims are characteristic features of bowls (group III, types 2–4) produced by the West Baltic Barrow culture in the La Tène period. Large cups (group IV, type 1) are broadly dated to the early Iron Age, whilst smaller ones lacking a defined neck (group IV, type 2) are more often encountered at early and middle La Tène sites. A jug with a conical neck, slightly flared rim and globular body (group IV, type 3) is of a form commonly found at early Iron Age Lusatian culture sites and cemeteries of the Wielkowiejska phase in Pomerania. Group IV jug types 4 and 5, and their bipartite-handled variants, are chronologically diagnostic of middle and possibly also late La Tène West Baltic Barrow culture ceramic assemblages. Miniature vessels (group V), colanders (group VI) and circular plates (group VII) are long-lived forms that appear in all phases of the West Baltic Barrow culture. Decoration was noted on the surface of 221 sherds. The ornate incised geometric patterns of groups II and IV and pierced holes below the rim are considered characteristic traits of early and middle La Tène assemblages. Finger-impressed designs on the rims of vessels in groups I and III and on the applied strips and bodies of group II vessels are the second most numerous group of decorative motifs. Decorating the surface of pottery with fingernail impressions was particularly common among early Bronze Age societies. During the Hallstatt D period, this decoration gradually became more modest, being reduced to a single row of impressions around the widest point of the body. The smallest group comprises sherds with applied decoration in the form of strips, cylindrical and conical bosses and tongue-shaped lugs characteristic of forms in groups II and III dating from the early and middle La Tène period. Metalwork Metal finds recovered from the site are represented by a temple ring with a single-coil hoop and a spectacle-shaped pendant with two rings made of thin wire attached to it. Ornaments of this type were in use in the south-east Baltic region from the late Bronze Age to the early pre-Roman period. Unfortunately, the state of preservation of the bronze pins found at Pasym makes it impossible to identify what form the head of these ornaments took, and hence to determine their approximate date. Bone Two bone perforators were discovered in domestic features at the southern end of the open settlement. These tools were of a universal form that changed very little over time, hence they are not chronologically diagnostic. Clay A spindle whorl discovered at Pasym represents another long-lived form of artefact. Spindle whorls have been found at sites on the south-east Baltic coast dating from the Bronze Age as well as the early Iron Age and early pre-Roman period. Worked stone The rubber and burnishing stone recovered from a cultural layer represent forms so commonplace and unchanging that they offer no dating evidence. The context in which they were found indicates that they date from the La Tène period. Amber A single piece of amber was discovered in feature 15 (trench 3/17). The appearance of finds of this type at settlement sites raises certain questions, as raw amber occurs widely in the Warmia and Masuria region, hence the presence of amber nodules may be a natural phenomenon. Summary The finds assemblages recovered from excavations at Pasym can be dated to Hoffmann’s phases I–III of the West Baltic Barrow culture (2000, fig. 1). The earliest materials, dated to the terminal Bronze Age and early Hallstatt period, are very sparsely represented. They include type 1 pottery of group II and type 1–2 vessels of group III. Most of these were recovered from dry ditches, which suggests that the earliest settlement evidence was damaged when the hilltop was levelled prior to the construction of medieval buildings. Sherds assigned to phase II predominate. They are represented by types 3–4 of group II, types 2–3 of group III, and types 2, 3, 4 and 5a of group IV. The majority came from cultural layer 8/17 and feature 15/17 at the southern end of the settlement adjoining the stronghold. The most recent materials are represented by pottery ascribed to type 4 of groups II and III, and type 5b of group IV. The bulk of these sherds were recorded in feature 14/17 at the southern end of the aforementioned settlement. Sherds classified to groups I, V, VI and VII represent long-lived vessel forms noted in all phases of the West Baltic Barrow culture.

There are many indications that Okrągła Góra was a West Baltic Barrow culture settlement. The palisades on the east slope, and possibly some of the ditches, date from this period. Dry encircling ditches were discovered along with a rampart at a settlement in Kretowiny (Ostróda District), and in conjunction with a palisade at a settlement in Sząbruk (Olsztyn District). At Pasym, the central space delimited by a palisade measures 55×35 m. Because the archaeological deposits have been damaged, it is impossible to establish how this space was used in the early Iron Age. A few of the refuse pits were filled with pottery sherds and bones, as was the case at the settlement in Sząbruk. Features at the foot of the slope descending gently eastward belong to the settlement adjoining the stronghold or its activity zone. Examples of open settlements or activity zones located close to settlements on high ground were noted at sites in Tarławki (Węgorzewo District), Jeziorko (Giżycko District) and Łęcz (Elbląg District). The general characteristics of the settlement discovered on the Lake Kalwa peninsula, such as its location, central space enclosed by palisades and ditches, and the presence of external activity zones, are in keeping with those of other multi-component hilltop settlements. The largest ones were raised in the Late Bronze Age and dominated in the settlement landscape of the early Iron Age West Baltic Barrow culture. Chronological analysis of the excavated materials and radiocarbon dating show that the Pasym settlement was founded among local Lusatian culture communities and remained in use until the early pre-Roman period. This makes it one of the longer-lived settlements of its type. The archaeology of the region surrounding Lake Kalwa is not well-known. Despite the relatively small number of early Iron Age sites noted there, we can assume that it would have been an attractive area for settlement. The same can be said of the peninsula on Lake Kalwa.

Attempts to establish the chronology of the stronghold had already been made on the strength of the 19th-century excavations. At the time it was deemed to have been built during the migration period, and last used in the Middle Ages. Romuald Odoj thought differently. He dated its origins to the 6th–7th century and believed that it had remained in use well into the early medieval period, possibly with a second usage phase during the 9th–11th centuries. In an article summarising the results of his excavations, he revised the chronology of the stronghold to the 6th–8th centuries (Odoj 1968, 136). The fact that there is no mention of the existence of an earlier settlement horizon is very surprising. Excavation revealed an undoubtedly earlier phase of settlement. This phase was identified from the remains of domestic features and parts of the settlement’s defences. These were discovered on the slope facing the lake and at the foot of the stronghold. Two sections of palisade, their chronology confirmed by C14 dating, were uncovered at the edge of the plateau. VII.1.2. Phase 2 The second phase of settlement was represented by residential and domestic features, as well as structural parts of the stronghold’s defences. Most of the features excavated on the plateau came from this phase, as did the remains of a rampart, four ditches, and a palisade at the perimeter of the plateau, facing the lake. This phase is attributable to the beginning of the early medieval period, as evinced by both comparative analysis and the results of radiocarbon dating. Comparative analysis of the excavated material led to the identification of Stone Age artefacts comprising a flintwork assemblage and a stone axehead. They provide evidence of the earliest phase of occupation at Okrągła Góra. Most of the flint items are splintered pieces, and two bear marks which indicate that they were removed from opposed-platform cores. These can be linked to Epipalaeolithic communities, whilst all of the other flintwork lacks any distinctive characteristics that would help date it more precisely, hence it has been broadly attributed to the Stone Age. VII.2.2. Early Iron Age Analysis of reconstructed vessel forms and their decoration shows that the pottery assemblage can be classified to Mirosław Hoffmann’s stylistic groups II, III and IV, produced during the transitional Lusatian-West Baltic phase, dating from the cusp of period VI of the Bronze Age and the Hallstatt D period to the beginning of the early pre-Roman period. The most numerously represented is group III, which points to the steady development of settlement during the early Iron Age. Other finds associated with West Baltic Barrow culture settlement include a few artefacts made of bronze, clay, bone and stone, whose dating cannot be narrowed down. Over 98% of the pottery from Pasym is classified as either kitchenware (GT1) or tableware (GT2). Very few of the vessels were produced using a potter’s wheel. The co-occurrence of both ceramic traditions is a feature of pottery from the first phases of the early medieval period in the Masurian Lakeland. Neither type of pottery is a particularly good indicator of date; however, the non-ceramic dating indicators found with both of these very large pottery assemblages, as well as C14 analysis, place them between the end of the 7th century and the 9th century. The non-ceramic chronologically diagnostic finds provide a more reliable source of evidence for the date of this horizon. The stronghold’s origins go back to the latter half, or possibly the end, of the 7th century. Two fibulae of the Wólka Prusinowska type, a cruciform bronze brooch, a bracelet with hook and eye terminals and pendants of trapezoidal and diamond shape can all be dated to this period. A particularly valuable discovery was that of a Sasanian drachma of Khosrow II. Arabian coins began to appear in the Baltic area in the latter half of the 8th century. The fact that this coin survives in fragmentary form and has cut marks on it shows that it did not reach this region before the end of the 8th/early 9th century. Other reliable indicators of date include antler combs, a spur of the Birka/Čaplin/Menzlin type, a hooked clasp and conical antler sleeves. The vast majority of these finds point to the stronghold having been used most intensively during the 8th–9th centuries. Eighteen samples taken both from the fill of houses and from ditch deposits were selected for C14 analysis. The results fall into two distinct groups that are consistent with two major settlement phases at Okrągła Góra. The first represents the early Iron Age horizon. The calibrated dates indicate that this settlement phase lasted from 750 BC to AD 100. The second group comprises a series of 10 dates, all within the latter half of the 1st millennium AD. The dated samples came from features excavated on the stronghold plateau and from ditch fills. They produced a cluster of earlier dates (AD 700–850) and another cluster representing a slightly later date range (AD 850–1000).

Abstract. Based on archaeological data and pedological analysis, an attempt was made to reconstruct the functional pattern of a farmstead from the Late Bronze Age at the Ruda site (Northern Poland). Late Bronze Age human activity in the area and immediate vicinity of the homestead led to changes in the chemical properties of the soils. Different values of phosphorus and organic carbon content in the features and cultural layers may help interpretation of the past spatial development and use of the studied households. The areas with the highest concentration are linked with places of intense economic activity, and the small increase in the phosphorus content in the soil from the homestead may suggest a relatively short exploitation of this place, which would correspond with the small number of artefacts from that area. Features similar to the presented Late Bronze Age homestead have