The finds and preserved grave groups from its tumulus cemeteries, which are kept in several museums in different countries (Narodni muzej Slovenije, Ljubljana~Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien~Peabody Museum of Harvard University in Cambridge, USA), give a good insight into the cultural and social processes of the time. Together with notes on the circumstances of find and contents of graves, they represent a valuable source for the study of social structure and differentiation, as well as cultural identity.

These three volumes deal with the Iron Age grave materials from Magdalenska gora, excavated by the Duchess Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Duchess of Mecklenburg, a member of an Austrian royal family with estates in Slovenia, conducted her excavations in the early years of the twentieth century. The materials from Magdalenska gora were purchased by the Peabody Museum in the 1930s.

"In A Noble Pursuit, Gloria Polizzotti Greis provides an overview of the European Iron Age and brings the duchess's archaeological career to life. Archaeology as a profession with defined standards and methodologies was still in its infancy at the turn of the twentieth century, and the duchess's fieldwork, which became increasingly sophisticated and scientific over time, mirrored the development of archaeological practice in Europe." "The sites the duchess excavated encompass the scope of Iron Age cultures in Slovenia and form an important resource for studying the cultural history of the region. Most of the materials from these sites reside today in the Mecklenburg Collection at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, where they make up the largest systematically excavated group of European antiquities outside of Europe. This volume presents a selection of artifacts from the collection, photographed by Hillel S. Burger: bronze pendants, bracelets, neck rings, helmets, and armor; glass and amber beads; iron axes, swords, and spears; Roman glassware; and Greek wine vessels." "Greis incorporates previously unpublished archival documents, including the duchess's personal correspondence, to create a portrait of an extraordinary woman. This account of the Duchess of Mecklenburg and her archaeological contributions provides an overview of the scope and importance of the collection as a whole and attests to the enduring quality of the duchess's pioneering work."--BOOK JACKET.

During HaA-HaB, many settlements were established in Silesia and in the central part of Poland, and their stability seems to be confirmed by the existence of regional groups and subgroups, by long-lasting colonies, and by long-used burial grounds, located at large settlements. At the end of HaB, many pre-Scythian elements occurred in this area, only partly influenced by the Cimmerians . During that period the peoples living north of the Carpathian and Sudeten Mountains remained very dependent on the productive and cultural circle south of the Carpathians, with which they maintained strong connections . The Lusatian settlement zone , apart from its increasing internal stability, also tended to extend its range . A partition of the Lusatian Culture, which had appeared earlier , became more pronounced under the strong influence of the East Hallstatt cultural and productive center in the eastern Alpine region , and the so-called amber route . The eastern zone of the Lusatian Culture remained under the influence of the Carpathian center, while the western zone was strongly influenced by the pre-Celtic (Bylanska or Horakowska) and northern Illyrian (Calon denberian) cultures. In HaD2' ca. 520-500 B.C., this latter area was the site of an armed incursion of Scythian groups coming from the east through the Karpacka Valley. The most characteristic features of the western zone include its own varieties of more general Hallstatt traits , such as fortified settlements (which date from HaA in the Lusatian Culture) , production of iron (done domestically since HaD), and decorated pottery.

This book invites archaeologists to approach the significant process of recycling within the archaeological record at two different levels: of artefacts and of landscape.