Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 50 (2023) 104097 2352-409X/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Trade, use, offer. The hoard of B´ anov – “Skalky” (CZ) Martin Golec a , Jaroslav Bartík b , Zuzana Golec Mírov´ a c, d, * , Luk´ a ˇ s Kuˇ cera e , Tom´ aˇ s Chr´ astek f , Jaroslav Kapusta g , Kate ˇ rina ˇ Samajov´ a h a Department of History, Archeology Section, Palacky University, Na Hradˇ e 5, Olomouc 77900, Czech Republic b Institute of Archeology, Czech Academy of Sciences, ˇ Cechyˇ nsk´ a 363/19, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic c Department of Archeology, Charles University, Celetn´ a 20, Prague 11642, Czech Republic d Nuclear Physics Institute CAS, Department of Radiation Dosimetry, Na Truhl´ aˇ rce 39/64, Prague 18000, Czech Republic e Department of Analytical Chemistry, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 12, Olomouc 77900, Czech Republic f The Museum of Moravian Slovakia, Smetanovy sady 179, Uhersk´ e Hradi ˇ stˇ e 68601, Czech Republic g Department of Geology, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 12, Olomouc 77900, Czech Republic h Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, Palacký University, Czech Republic A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Hallstatt Period East Hallstatt culture Czech Republic Hoard Women’s jewellery Amber Road Elites Long-distance trade Deposition ceremony Chemical analysis Electron microscopy – energy dispersive spectrometry Infrared spectrometry Amber Glass ABSTRACT Hoards disappeared from the regions of the “heart” of Hallstatt Europe. As for the peripheral areas, which include Moravia, the situation was different. The elite Hallstatt hoard from B´ anov – “Skalky”, Uhersk´ e Hradi ˇ stˇ e District (CZ), dating to 575–550 BCE, proves that some regions did not abandon their “old Bronze-Age habits”. The hoard is among the most exclusive set of discoveries dating to the Hallstatt Period found in the Czech Republic. Its 1.500–2.000 pieces of amber beads represent the largest individual prehistoric set of amber in the Czech Re- public. In the 6th century BCE, the eastern part of what is now the Czech Republic (Moravia) was the primary transit region of the Baltic amber to the Mediterranean. Extensive barter trade took place along the route of the Amber Road. Included in the B´ anov hoard were exclusive women’s jewellery items which were evidently exchanged for amber. It is a set of dragon fbulae from contemporary Slovenia. This article describes the cir- cumstances of the discovery, offers a detailed catalogue of the fndings, introduces a chronological-typological analysis of the inventory and proposes the origin of the artefacts. An analysis of the composition and origin of glass by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) and of amber by IR spectrometry was carried out in this study. Chemical analysis of glass determined the colouring agents and the composition, which points to the possible origin of the analysed items. While amber corresponds to the Baltic spectrum, analysis of the glass revealed surprising fndings. Most of the beads do not correspond to the expected natron glass type but to an older mixed alkali type. Furthermore, an overview of the deposition of hoards in Moravia and the methodology of studying the deposition is presented. A model of long-distance trade on the Amber Road and its chronological background are also outlined. The authors discuss the social structure, elites, long-distance trade on trade routes north of the East Hallstatt culture region, and the assumed ceremony surrounding the creation of hoards. 1. Introduction The Hallstatt Period is not only a period of a common use of new and readily available domestic metal – iron, but it also witnesses the continuation of widespread socio-economic changes. Society is visibly stratifed, and a gradual political assertion of individuals and their communities – centralisation processes – can be observed. Privileged magnates of both sexes (and later princes and princesses) accumulate power and wealth in their hands, which is represented in the landscape unevenly. The prominent class stands at the top of the social pyramid, using wealth to strengthen its status and consolidate power. In the Hallstatt Period, Moravia (22.349 km 2 ), i.e., the Eastern part of the Czech Republic, is fully integrated with the East Hallstatt Culture (adopting the Hallstatt style). There are not only contacts with the West Hallstatt Culture, with the pre-Alpine Cultures of Golasecca and Este in North Italy, the Picenum area, and Etruscan Italy, but also with Early Ancient Greece. An important Central European phenomenon affecting the frequency of long-distance contacts is the Amber Road leading * Corresponding author at: Nuclear Physics Institute CAS, Department of Radiation Dosimetry, Na Truhl´ aˇ rce 39/64, Prague 18000, Czech Republic. E-mail addresses: martin.golec@upol.cz, golec@seznam.cz (M. Golec), bartik@arub.cz (J. Bartík), mirova.z@seznam.cz (Z. Golec Mírov´ a), lukas.kucera@upol.cz (L. Kuˇ cera), tomas.chrastek@slovackemuzeum.cz (T. Chr´ astek), jaroslav.kapusta@upol.cz (J. Kapusta), katerina.samajova@upol.cz (K. ˇ Samajov´ a). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104097 Received 18 July 2022; Received in revised form 28 May 2023; Accepted 18 June 2023