Abstract

In September 1977 rescue excavation took place in the region of the Popowice Village, the parish of Inowrocław, the voivodship of Bydgoszcz, site 8. An object of métallurgie character, catalogued under number ЗА was discovered. The discussed post is situated on the southern slope of the V-shaped valley of Struga Rąbińska, about 500 m from its estuary to the Noteć Valley. During field walking ceramic material of the Lusatian and Przeworsk cultures were found on this site. Object 1 ЗА has been interpreted as a smelting furnace (according to K. Bielenin's classification). It is proved by a large quantity of slag of "icicle consistency", lack of slag blok, and moreover - lack of a typical hearth and side walls of a smelting furnace pit. The smelting furnace in Popowice was found inside object nr 13: most probably a semi-dug-outpet. This fact, and the presence of slag in two censecutive layers of the fireside does not exclude the use of the object for production purposes at least twice. The analysis of the wide spread achaeological material in site 8 in Popowice suggests that besides a Łużyce settlement there was a small settlement of the Przeworsk culture population dating to the late-La Téne period (PL ΠΙ). It is one of many typical for this region of Kujawy settlements with a one or more smelting furnace. So we have a very characteristic situation for settlements of the Przeworsk culture, where it was profitable to exploit even the poorest layers of iron ore as iron was highly demanded.