Iron Age shield boss found in Polish scrapyard

An Iron Age shield boss containing cinerary remains has been discovered in a scrapyard in Hrubieszów, southeastern Poland. The center of a shield, also known as an umbo, reinforced the wooden shield and protected the hand of the warrior who held it from a strap in the center of the back right behind the boss. It dates to the 2nd century A.D.

Włodzimierz Starykiewicz was looking for car and motorcycle parts when he came across a rusted circular piece with central spike shaped like a Hershey’s Kiss. It was so corroded and encrusted with dirt that it would have been easy to discount it as just some random part, but the finder thought it might be of archaeological significance. He immediately sent a photograph to the Father Stanisław Staszic Museum in Hrubieszów labelling it “A relic from a scrapyard!”

Museum staff confirmed that his instincts were correct and identified it from the photograph as ancient shield boss. Its design suggested it was part of a Vandal shield from the 2nd century. Starykiewicz handed it over to the museum for archaeologists to examine.

They found that inside the concave umbo was compacted dried earth with remnants of crop stubble, suggesting the original context was a cultivated field. Włodzimierz prudently and deliberately kept the soil inside the object so that it could be micro-excavated once it was at the museum. This wise decision preserved not just organic crop traces, but also burned human bones inside the compacted soil.

The iron surface also shows signs of having been exposed to high temperatures. The cinerary remains and the condition of the iron boss clearly indicate the shield was burned on the funeral pyre with a warrior of the Vandal community (Przeworsk culture). Unfortunately the grave is gone, disconnected from the shield boss that somehow made its way to the scrapyard, so there’s no way to track down what else might have been buried. Comparable burials from the period that have been excavated in their original contexts often include other weapons — swords, spearheads — and metal accessories — belt buckles, brooches.

The museum has appealed to whomever may have dropped the boss at the scrapyard in the first place to come forward with any information they have about where they found it. If they can pinpoint a find site, even within a general area, they may be able to locate what’s left of the original burial.

* This article was originally published here