Wielbark culture

Prehistory and protohistory of Poland
Chronology
Stone Age Bronze and Iron Age Antiquity Early Middle Ages
Topics
Lusatian culture Biskupin Oksywie culture Wielbark culture Przeworsk culture Polish tribes
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The Wielbark culture (German: Wielbark-Willenberg-Kultur; Polish: Kultura wielbarska) is an Iron Age archaeological complex which flourished on the territory of today's Poland from the 1st century AD^[1] to the 5th century AD.^[2]

The Wielbark culture is associated with the Goths and related Germanic peoples, and played an important role in the Amber Road. It displays cultural links not only with its neighbours, but also with southern Scandinavia. The Wielbark culture replaced the preceding Oksywie culture on the lower Vistula in the 1st century AD, and subsequently expanded southwards at the expense of the Przeworsk culture, which is associated with the Vandals. This expansion has been associated by historians such as Peter Heather with the contemporary Marcomannic Wars. By the late 3rd century AD, the Wielbark culture had expanded into the area of the upper Dniester, where it possibly influenced the Chernyakhov culture to its south, which encompassed a large area between the Danube and the Don River.

In the 5th century AD, the Wielbark culture was replaced by the Sukow-Dziedzice group, which is associated with the Early Slavs.