Fibula

Apulia, southern Italy, late 8th/early 7th century BCE

Bronze. One-piece spectacle fibula with figure-of-eight loops and a needle made of the same round wire. It is believed that this type served as a model for the eighth-century BCE Hungarian Grünwaldfibeln from the cremated graves of the early Hallstatt culture.

L: 7.7 cm

UMP 13479

Most researchers believe spectacle fibulae are a product of the Illyrians, with origins dating back to the early urnfield culture of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200–700 BCE). These fibulae appear in Lusatian culture as well as in the southern German and central Danube regions, but their greatest spread is associated with the start of the Hallstatt culture.