Czech archaeologists have found a treasure trove of nearly two dozen bronze items buried in a field.
In the Czech Republic, archaeologists have found a Bronze Age treasure trove during routine excavations in a field near the town of Budino nad Ohří. The bronze objects, dated to around 1600 BC, included eight arm rings, two hairpins, eight axes, and one spearhead.
Live Science reports on this.
The publication notes that the excavation site was determined using conventional metal detectors.
“Most of the objects are characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age, and only one axe dates back to an earlier period,” said Associate Professor of the University of Jana Evangelista Purkyně and curator of the treasure Martin Trefný.
According to scientists, the axes could have been used as tools or weapons. As for the spearhead, its purpose is obvious. The other objects were functional decorations that served to fasten clothes or style hair.
The only mystery remains why some people more than three and a half thousand years ago collected these objects together and buried them in a field. Currently, archaeologists are considering three versions.
“In the first case, we assume that the treasures had a votive function, that is, they served as sacrifices to the deities. In the second case, we are talking about an economic function, when the treasures are interpreted as, for example, a storage facility for the producers of these items. In addition, the buried items could reflect a crisis situation when it was necessary to hide things, for example, from enemies,” the curator of the treasure explained.
According to him, the found items could be worth “millions of crowns.”
“All the items testify to the technological progress of bronze casters and bronze workers in Central Europe 3,500 years ago. The composition of the treasure also contributes to an understanding of warfare, craft techniques and contemporary fashion of the time. Considering that treasures may have ritual significance, they can also tell something about modern religion,” Trefny noted.
After studying the found treasure, it will be possible to see it on display at the Podřipský Museum.
Recall that a seal of the Hittite Empire was found in Turkey, on which a threat was minted. The phrase on the seal “Whoever breaks it will die” indicates that those who break agreements will be punished.
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