The materiality of social identity

The research analyses the production and distribution of ceramics from the Kietrz 7 site, a cemetery dating back to phase C of the Roman Period, located in the Kietrz/Nowa Cerekwia micro-region in Upper Silesia, Poland. The Kietrz 7 site is distinguished by the fact that approximately 20% of the vessels are wheel-thrown. This technology, foreign to the Przeworsk culture at this stage, indicates a significant share of imports and cultural links, especially with the Rhine-Weser region. It is assumed that the concept of advanced production arrived with the new community. Interdisciplinary studies of 33 ceramic samples were conducted to verify the location of production. It has been established that, despite foreign technological influences, local raw materials were most likely used— Miocene clays and abundant loess, available in the Głubczyce Upland. Although no local centre has been identified in Kietrz, non-imported vessels may have come from nearby workshops known from the literature. While the social organisation of production remains open to discussion, the distribution of pottery kilns may reflect shared communal practices rather than individualised production, suggesting that ceramic output primarily served broader community functions.