2,500-year-old iron fibula found in Poland

A rare heavy bronze brooch dating back 2,500 years has been discovered near the village of Śniatycze in the Lublin Voivodeship of southeastern Poland. It is only the fifth fibula of this type to be found in Poland, and the only one of them not to have been found in a grave of the Lusatian culture.

Discovered by a metal detectorist working with the official permission of the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Lublin, the fibula is 7cm (2.8 inches) long and 2.4 cm (1 inch) wide at the widest point of the almond-shaped bow. The top surface of the bow is decorated with two parallel lines. One end of the bow bends down into a sheath for the fastening needle. The sheath then bends back upwards and is topped by a button shield 1.4 cm (.6 inches) in diameter. The spring and needle are lost, but the rest of the brooch is intact.

The shape, massiveness and decoration identifies it as an ornament of the last period of the Lusatian culture, the Hallstatt D period (ca. 550-400 years B.C.).

‘This find is of great importance to archaeologists. Both from a conservation point of view, because we have a new archaeological site and it may be a Lusatian culture cemetery, and from a research and cognitive point of view’, says Wiesław Koman, an archaeologist from the Zamość branch of the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Lublin.

The metal detectorist who found the fibula also found two medieval weapons in the same location: an iron flail head and an iron battle axe.

Scientists date the flail head, an early medieval weapon, to the 11th-13th century. The object has a rounded body, approx. 7 cm long and approx. 2.7 cm thick, and a large hole for attaching a rope or strap. There are visible signs of damage on its surface.

The iron battle axe is dated to the 13th-15th century. The weapon is 15 cm long, has a slightly arched blade – up to 6.7 cm – and a head measuring 3 by 2.5 cm. Scientists assessed the condition of the axe as very good.

Archaeologists plan to return to the site to survey it thoroughly. The artifacts discovered thus far will be transferred to the Zamość Museum.

* This article was originally published here