Researchers in Poland discovered a speculated drained peat mine when they excavated an ancient sacrificial site containing a treasure trove of bronze artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age.
The “incredible discovery” was made in the Chełmno district of Poland by the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Group of Historical Searchers using metal detectors, in a drained peat bog converted into agricultural land . However, the exact location of this discovery is still kept secret for security reasons. Formal excavations were carried out by WUOZ in Toruñ and a team from the Institute of Archeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruñ, with support from the Wdecki Landscape Park.
Unearthing peat treasures
Millennia before the first written record of the Chełmno district of Poland in 1065 AD, Lusatian culture emerged and expanded in the area, marked by an increase in population density and the establishment of fenced settlements.
Reconstruction of the Bronze Age Lusatian cultural settlement at Biskupin, 8th century BC (Ludek/CC BY SA 3.0)
Archaeologists have discovered three individual mines at the recent dig site which they describe as “a spectacular treasure trove” of bronze artifacts dating back more than 2,500 years from the Lusatian culture. According to a report in Archaeo News, the team recovered bronze “necklaces, bracelets, leggings, horse harnesses and spiral-tipped pins.”
These ornate bronze treasures were found in a drained peat bog that is now a field (Tytus Zmijewski).
The researchers said finding organic material at such dig sites is “uncommon,” but nevertheless, they also discovered “rare organic raw materials,” including pieces of cloth and rope. In addition to finding bronze artifacts and organic materials, researchers also discovered scattered human bones. These lead to the conclusion that the collection of bronze artifacts was preserved during the “sacrificial rituals” of the Lusatian culture, practiced during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age (12th century). – 4th century BC).
Sacrificing peat bog treasures to slow social change
Lusatian culture flourished during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age in what is now Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany, and western Ukraine. This culture was especially widespread in the Oder and Vistula river basins, and it extended east to the Buh River. However, the researchers said some of the bronze objects were “not indigenous to the region” and are believed to have come from the Scythian civilization in modern-day Ukraine.
Archaeologists have tried to reconstruct exactly what happened at this sacrificial site and how it was used. It is suspected that at the same time the sacrifices were being made, nomads began to emerge from the Pontic steppes of Central and Eastern Europe. It is possible that the Lusatians performed their sacrificial rituals in an attempt to slow down the immigrants who brought with them rapid social changes.
Carefully arranged sacrificial peat treasure (Mateusz Sosnowski)
Healing Association with the Gods
To better understand how the Lusatian people used bronze to interact with their gods, we can turn to the 2009 discovery of a Late Bronze Age necropolis at Wartosław in central-western Poland. In a mass grave, dating from 1100–900 BC, excavators found 12 burial urns containing the ashes of at least eight dead people.
Using metallurgical, chemical and petrographic studies of the funerary objects, the team of scientists determined that these people were placed in urns along with tools used in the household. copper metal work. These tombs reveal not only the ritual and social strategies of the era but also the organizational procedures and high social status enjoyed by ancient Lusatian metalworkers.
Now, with the discovery of a new sacrificial site filled with bronze offerings, in a dried-up peat bog, more information will soon be available about the culture’s beliefs, traditions and social values. This lost Bronze Age evolution. After further research, the team hopes to arrive at a broader metallurgical and symbolic context related to the ancient Lusatian people who inhabited the Chełmno district of Poland in times past.
Top image: A series of spectacular treasures discovered in a peat bog in Poland are believed to be sacrificial offerings from the Bronze Age Lusatian culture Source: Tytus Zmijewski
By Ashley Cowie
