A Provincial Roman Fibula decorated with Enamel from the Black Struga Area in the Borecka Forest

Abstract Systematic surface surveys conducted since 2023 in the Borecka Forest, located in northeastern Masuria, have resulted in the discovery of an imported provincial Roman brooch decorated with enamel sockets. The artifact was found at one of the newly identified sites (Szwałk, site 18), likely associated with a settlement from the Roman and Migration periods, and was retrieved from the site’s surface using a metal detector. The brooch can be classified as type Exner I.32. The authors of the study published in 2009 (by J. Andrzejowski, A. Mistewicz, and R. Prochowicz) collected 41 such fibulae , primarily from Western, Central, and Southern Europe. The authors concluded that these brooches were likely produced in the 2 nd century AD (phases B2–B2/C1) initially primarily in the Rhine provinces. More recent discoveries of similar brooches (21 specimens) discussed in this article do not alter their proposed chronology. However, the context of a find from the sanctuary at Martberg suggests the possibility that production may have continued until the mid-3 rd century AD. The distribution pattern, particularly the significant number of new finds from Central and Southeastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine), indicates that the brooch from Szwałk may have reached the Masurian region via the Amber Road from the Middle Danube. The brooch from Szwałk can be linked to the settlement of the Bogaczewo culture, which flourished in eastern Masuria during the Early Roman Period.