Decorative scabbard chapes of La Tène knives from Plavecké Podhradie‑Pohanská and the chronology of the site

Abstract

In this paper, we deal with the evaluation of the finds of decorative iron knife scabbard chapes from the Pohanská fortified hill fort in Plavecké Podhradie (SW Slovakia). The occurrence of this type of chape is documented at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late La Tène period in the oppida of Southern Germany, Bohemia, and Moravia. The area of south -western Slovakia, in particular the Záhorie region, to which the Pohanská site belongs, was an intrinsic part of this area in the La Tène period. Based on accompanying finds, as well as the chronology of the site, we can date these objects to the period of the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late La Tène periods LT C2–LT D1a.

Keywords

• southwest slovakia
• middle/late la tène period
• hillfort
• oppida
• hoard
• knife sheath chape
• analysis of finds