The hoard of silver plate known as the Vinkovci treasure (or the Cibalae treasure, after the Roman name for the town) was discovered on March 23, 2012, during rescue excavations in the town of Vinkovci (Colonia Aurelia Cibalae) in the Vukovar-Srijem county of E Croatia (fig. 1). It is one of the most significant late Roman discoveries of the new millennium, and the first major 4th-c. A.D. assemblage of silver plate to be unearthed for at least half a century (the Seuso treasure was probably found in the late 1970s, and although new pieces of the Kaiseraugst treasure emerged in the 1990s the original discovery was made in 1961). This interim report on the treasure is based upon the results of research conducted by the authors in the 4 years that have passed since it came to light.

By studying and analysing a great number of textile metal threads from different time periods in Croatia, from archaeological sites to preserved specimens from various museum collections, change can be seen through the centuries. Metal threads decorate textiles not only for aesthetic purposes, but also to display wealth, assert authority, and command respect. Primarily, such decorated clothing was worn for liturgical purposes, ceremonial folk customs, or to mark high military ranks. Through the characteristics of these threads, one can see the change in the customs and lives of the people who used them in different ways and for different purposes. The shine and luxury that the first gold metal threads have can be achieved with lower quality threads like silver, copper, and their alloys. As the quality of metal textile threads decreased, they became cheaper and more applicable in everyday life. The use of metal textile threads on clothing increased, and through the century, they became a clothing part for all people, not just the privileged. Analyses of metal threads were performed with scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive X-ray detector (SEM-EDX) due to its sensitivity and suitability for the observation of metal threads from various textiles. The type of textile cores from the combined textile metal threads was determined through a laboratory optical microscope. Differences have been observed between archaeological and historical textile metal threads in terms of physical properties, as well as textile and metal composition. Archaeological samples are combined textile metal threads that have a metal component of gilded silver and a textile component of silk. While more recent historical samples have different types of metal threads, from individual threads of lamellae and wires to combined textile metal threads. Most samples have cotton as a textile component, while copper, alone or in alloys, predominates in the metal threads.

Ovom prigodom prezentiraju se dijelovi kovanih željeznih žvala iz Zbirke obitelji Zvijerac, pronađeni prigodom eksploatacije šljunka na Staroj šoderici sjeverno od Koprivnice. Prema očuvanim karakterističnim dijelovima, od kojih valja izdvojiti ob...