Belt box
The belt box (Danish: Bæltedåse) is a round, cast vessel made of bronze with mostly low ribs or engraved side walls. There is a cast ornament on the outside of the bottom of the vessel . The center is often formed by a star surrounded by concentric circles. Many of the motifs are also hallmarked . The bottoms of the older boxes are flat, those of the younger ones are pointed. These are mainly found in Denmark and Mecklenburg . Two elongated eyelets are attached to the edge. The belt boxes include flat cast lids with a central loop.
The belt boxes of the older Bronze Age were previously interpreted as belt jewelry. However, according to the prehistorian OM Wilbertz, this seems illogical. They must either have been placed in a ring-shaped stand or hung up. A belt box with a diameter of 23 centimeters was recovered in Wollin (Potsdam-Mittelmark district). The richly decorated underside should have been the front side.
The breakdown of the Bronze Age developed in 1885 by the Swedish prehistorian Oscar Montelius (1843–1921) is used for Scandinavia and Northern Germany. He divided the Nordic Bronze Age into six periods according to the typological sequence of bronze products (including belt boxes), which he marked with Roman numerals from I to VI. In depot finds , belt boxes are often associated with bronze hanging basins and rattle plates .