The beginnings of S-shaped temple rings in Bohemia from the perspective of archaeological analysis and radiocarbon dating

Jewellery represents important evidence not only for the reconstruction of fashion and cultural development but also provides significant support for the chronology of the periods studied. This paper is focused on the issue of dating the beginning of the appearance of early medieval S-shaped temple rings. It summarises the existing idea of dating from an archaeological perspective, mainly based on a comparative analysis of the occurrence of S-shaped temple rings with other chronologically distinctive objects, stratigraphic observations, and burial rite. Entirely independently of this approach, the results of radiocarbon dating of selected graves from Central Bohemia were evaluated to provide an alternative perspective. Some other types of wire jewellery were also radiocarbon dated: meander-shaped earrings, temple rings with an eyelet, or hybrid types, especially earrings of the Jízdárna type. Several graves were repeatedly dated, and therefore the issue of repeated radiocarbon dating is addressed. The crossover of traditional archaeological dating with the results of the radiocarbon method and its implications are discussed.