Hoard of Bronze Age heavy bracelets found in Poland

A hoard of heavy Bronza Age bracelets has been discovered in near the village of Śniatycze in southeastern Poland. It consists of 18 objects arm and leg rings weighing a total of 3.6 kg, that’s eight pounds of bronze. They date to the late period of the Lusatian culture, known as Hallstatt D, ca. 550–400 B.C., a time when Lusatian bronze casting reached its peak of metal crafting skill.

The hoard was found by a metal detectorist practicing with consent of the landowner and with an official permit from the Lublin Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments. He reported the find and archaeologists followed up to excavate. The 18 objects were buried together in a single small pit just 30 cm (12 inches) beneath the surface. They were in such good condition that a preliminary cleaning was sufficient to make them immediately presentable for public exhibition.

The most significant objects from the standpoint of craftsmanship, form and ornamentation include:

• a pair of practically identical bracelets made from a massive rod decorated with deep, single transverse cuts on the outside while the inside remains smooth,
• a massive tube with a ridged edges decorated with rhomboid incisions filled with very fine horizontal incised lines,
• a bracelet decorated inside and out with a continuous spiral incised across its entire surface that has such long overlapping terminals that it looks extra massive,
• a c-shaped bangle decorated with knobs that is completely hollow on the inside,
• a thick bar with herringbone rafter cuts and x-shaped incisions filled with horizontal lines.

The extraordinary weight, quality, quantity and condition of the objects make this a sensational find.

The find is all the more sensational because Lusatian culture ornaments made of bronze were found very rarely in the Zamość region and were only single pieces or only small fragments (not counting the treasure of ornaments from Czernięcin, where in 2023 an explorer discovered 13 bronze objects, including several bracelets).

In this case, however, we have a very large assemblage of 18 items, consisting almost exclusively of massive, large-sized greaves representing various types. These artifacts are of enormous cognitive, scientific, and conservation importance to archaeologists, in the context of analyzing the settlement of the Lusatian culture in the Zamość region and the entire Lublin region. The discovery of the bronze ornament hoard discussed here finds parallels in Greater Poland, Pomerania, Kuyavia, Lower Silesia, and also Lesser Poland.

The bracelets have been assigned to the Zamość Museum in Zamość where they are undergoing thorough conservation and scientific analysis of their metal composition. If all goes well, they will be ready for public display later this month for the Night of Museums event.

* This article was originally published here