Dr Anna Maria Józefowska-Domańska

Department for Research on Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Studies

a.jozefowska(at)iaepan.edu.pl

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9377-7166

https://pan-pl.academia.edu/AnnaJozefowska

Research interests:

My research interests focus on the archaeology of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in Central Europe, with particular emphasis on the long-term use of cemeteries, funerary practices, and social differentiation in prehistoric communities. The main subject of my research is the analysis of multi-phase necropolises and the interpretation of funerary structures and behaviours on the basis of archaeological, bioarchaeological, and physicochemical data, including studies of organic remains and material indicators of ritual activity. An important strand of my work concerns social transformations at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, including changing forms of elite identity expression, mobility, and ritual practices in Hallstatt-period communities. My long-term research on the Domasław cemetery complex allows me to refine the chronology and phasing of the site’s use, identify indicators of status, and reinterpret the role of south-western Poland within the networks of contact of the Hallstatt world. In parallel, I address issues of cultural influences, exchange, and contacts in the Iron Age (the Hallstatt period, the Pre-Roman period, and the Roman period), combining the analysis of material evidence with interpretations of social practices.

Publications:

Monographs:

• Józefowska A., Nowaczyk K., Nowaczyk L., Anioła M., Zarzycka-Anioła A. (2024). Cmentarzysko z epoki brązu w Domasławiu 10/11/12 i Chrzanowie 4, pow. wrocławski, Tom IV / red. Bogusław Gediga, Anna Józefowska: Profil-Archeo.
• Zarzycka-Anioła A., Anioła M., Józefowska A. (2022). Nekropola społeczności kultury łużyckiej z epoki brązu odkryta na stanowiskach Domasław 10/11/12 oraz Chrzanów 4, pow. wrocławski. Tom III. Tablice. Chrzanów stan. 4. IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Dolata-Daszkiewicz I., Daszkiewicz G., Józefowska A. (2022). Nekropola społeczności kultury łużyckiej z epoki brązu odkryta na stanowiskach Domasław 10/11/12 oraz Chrzanów 4, pow. wrocławski. Tom II. Tablice. Domasław stan. 10/11/12 / red. Bogusław Gediga. IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Zarzycka-Anioła A., Anioła M., Dolata-Daszkiewicz I., Józefowska A., Nowaczyk K., Nowaczyk L. (2022). Nekropola społeczności kultury łużyckiej z epoki brązu odkryta na stanowiskach Domasław 10/11/12 oraz Chrzanów 4, pow. wrocławski. Tom I. Katalog / red. Bogusław Gediga. IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Gediga B., Józefowska A. (red.) (2020). Cmentarzysko wczesnej epoki żelaza z Domasławia 10/11/12. Tom 5. Opracowania specjalistyczne. IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Gediga B., Józefowska A., Łaciak D., Dolata-Daszkiewicz I. (2020). Cmentarzysko wczesnej epoki żelaza z Domasławia 10/11/12. Tom 4. Synteza. IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Gediga B., Józefowska A. (2019). Przemiany w obrządku grzebalnym w epoce brązu i wczesnej epoce żelaza w świetle analizy źródeł z cmentarzyska w Domasławiu, pow. wrocławski i nekropolii bliskiego regionu (problemy zmian społeczno-kulturowych). IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Gediga B., Józefowska A. (2018). Cmentarzysko wczesnej epoki żelaza z Domasławia 10/11/12. Tom 3. Tablice. Część 2. IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Gediga B., Józefowska A. (2018). Cmentarzysko wczesnej epoki żelaza z Domasławia 10/11/12. Tom 2. Tablice. Część 1. IAE PAN, Wrocław
• Gediga B., Józefowska A. (2018). Cmentarzysko wczesnej epoki żelaza z Domasławia 10/11/12. Tom 1. Katalog. IAE PAN, Wrocław

Journal articles (selected):

• Józefowska, A., Rosiak, A., Markiewicz, M., Sekulska-Nalewajko, J., Gocławski, J., Kałużna-Czaplińska, J. (2024). Rhyta and kernoi from the Domasław cemetery. The idea of offerings in the Hallstatt period. Documenta Praehistorica 51: 312–333. doi: 10.4312/dp.51.9
• Rosiak, A., Józefowska, A., Sekulska-Nalewajko, J., Gocławski, J., Kałużna-Czaplińska, J. (2024). Funerary vs. domestic vessels from the Hallstatt period. A study on ceramic vases from the Milejowice settlement and the Domasław cemetery. Scientific Reports 14: 19942. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-70219-7
• Hałuszko, A., Kadej, M., Józefowska, A. (2025). Beetle body parts as a funerary element in a cremation grave from the Hallstatt cemetery in Domasław, SW Poland. Antiquity 99(408): e56. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2025.10182
• Gediga, B., Józefowska, A. (2023). Funeral rites in regard to the transformation of social structure in the Bronze Age and the Hallstatt Period in south-western Poland. Germania 101: 123–164
• Józefowska A., Kamyszek L., Żygadło L. (2023). Textiles from the Hallstatt period cemetery in Domasław, Wrocław district (Poland). Textile symbolism of the funeral rite. Documenta Praehistorica 50, 446-468. doi: 10.4312/dp.50.7
• Józefowska A., Kamyszek L., Żygadło L. (2022). Założenia rowkowe o charakterze funeralnym ze stanowiska Domasław 10/11/12 / Chrzanów 4, pow. wrocławski jako przejaw oddziaływań kulturowych. Przegląd Archeologiczny 70, 75–114. doi: 10.23858/Pa70.2022.3025

Current projects::

• “Mobility Patterns and Social Hierarchies: A Bioarchaeological and Chronological Study of the Late Bronze Age and Hallstatt-period Cemetery at Domasław (PL)””.
  NCN grant, SONATA BIS 14, 2024/54/E/HS3/00380 (2025–2029)

The project aims to reconstruct patterns of mobility and social differentiation in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, based on the multi-phase cremation cemetery at Domasław. It is grounded in the assumption that mobility—understood as the movement of individuals, groups, and practices—and social hierarchies are reflected in the organisation and use of the necropolis, the selection and structure of grave goods, and diachronic variability in funerary rites. One of the key objectives is to link indicators of social status and chronological change with bioarchaeological characteristics of the cremation rite, including cremation practices (e.g., burning intensity, pyre management, selection and deposition of remains), as well as mobility proxies that allow local and non-local life histories to be distinguished. The project integrates chronological analysis and phasing of cemetery use (supported by radiocarbon dating) with osteoarchaeological study of cremated remains and with strontium isotope analyses (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and FT-IR spectroscopy, enabling the identification of non-local biographies and an objective assessment of the degree of thermal alteration of bone. In addition, analyses related to consumption and offering practices are planned (including organic residue analysis of vessels and zooarchaeological studies), along with advanced statistical modelling of the dataset. The results are expected to enable interpretation of relationships between mobility, identity, status, and diachronic variability in funerary practice in Hallstatt-period communities, and to improve understanding of the role of south-western Poland within Central European contact networks at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age.

Project website: https://domaslawhallstatt.org/

Previous project:

• “Consumption and Ritual Practices in the Early Iron Age Based on the Milejowice Settlement and the Domasław Necropolis: Between Function and Meaning of Ceramic ‘Collections’”
  NCN grant, OPUS 21, 2021/41/B/HS3/02531 (2022–2024)

The project focuses on identifying consumption and ritual practices in the Early Iron Age through a comparative study of ceramic assemblages from two complementary contexts: the Milejowice settlement and the Domasław necropolis. The central research problem concerns the relationship between the utilitarian function of vessels and their social and ritual meanings—especially in cases where pottery occurs as ordered sets (“collections”) associated with specific practices (everyday, ceremonial, or funerary). The project analyses vessel forms, assemblage structure, and depositional contexts in order to capture differences between “domestic” and “funerary” ceramics, and then to define these differences in terms of consumption behaviours, ritual scenarios, and ways of constructing and displaying identity. The outcome will be a more nuanced interpretation of the role of vessels and ceramic “collections” in Early Iron Age social practice, as well as the development of a comparative model for pottery studies in settlement and cemetery contexts.