DE VONDSTCONTEXT VAN BRONZEN SPEERPUNTEN, DOLKEN, ZWAARDEN, MESSEN EN HALS- EN ARMRINGEN UIT NOORD-NEDERLAND

Samenvatting

A study was made of the find context of bronze spearheads, daggers, swords, knives, armlets and neckrings from the northern part of the Netherlands (provinces of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe). Most of the armlets proved to be grave finds. The other objects, however, were mostly hoard finds from wet contexts. No ob­jects were found within a settlement. Finds from wet environments are commonly thought to be ritual hoards, offerings to the gods, while hoards from dry ground seem to have been tem­porarily hidden with the intent of later recovery. This means that more than half of the objects in this study are to be interpreted as ritual depo­sits.