Wielbark Culture - The Goths

The Goths

The Wielbark culture in the past has been associated with Jordanes' account of the Goths leaving Scandza (Scandinavia) and their settlement in Gothiscandza.

However, archaeologists are wary of ascribing ethnicities to archaeological cultures, and it is considered to be an extremely difficult matter. This is reflected by the names used for the cultures, usually baptised after the towns where remains are found. The latest tendency is to doubt the equation between the Wielbark Culture and the Goths, and contemporary researchers do not believe that immigration from Scandinavia is the sole cause of the Wielbark Culture. While Scandinavian influences played a part, the identical geographical extent and persistent use of Oksywie cemeteries suggest that the Weilbark Culture evolved from previous cultures in the area, with small groups of Scandinavian immigrants joining earlier inhabitants.

The evidence of cemeteries may also indicate which settlements were established directly by Goths. Barrow cemeteries on the Baltic Sea in today's Poland, which have raised stone circles and solitary stelae next to them, reflect Scandinavian burial customs with a concentration in Gotland and Götaland. Appearing in the later 1st century, this type is found between the Vistula and the Kashubian and Krajenskian lakelands reaching into the Koszalin region.