Archaeologists Find 3,600-Year-Old Stash of Buried Jewelry in Czechia

Archaeologists in the Czech Republic have found a hoard of buried weapons and jewelry dating to around 1600 BC, a rare discovery that could shed more light on life in central Europe during the Bronze Age.

Researchers surveying a site in the town of Budyně nad Ohří stumbled upon bronze artifacts, including eight axes and pieces of jewelry, from over 3,600 years ago.

The site, 40km northwest of Prague, was first found a year ago by an archaeologist using a metal detector.

A series of excavations since have unearthed eight arm rings, as many axes, two pins, and one spearhead, all dating to the Bronze Age.

Researchers suspect the artifacts were part of a collection that was purposefully buried underground. While researchers are still not quite sure why the objects were hidden in that place, they have three theories.

Researchers have analyzed the artifacts uncovered over the past year and are certain about their age but suspect one of the axes is much older.

During the Bronze Age, which spanned from 3,300 BC to 1,200 BC, people in Europe made the shift from fashioning tools from stones to using bronze, an alloy that was made by melting and mixing tin and copper.

Around 1,200 BC, archaeological evidence suggests, most of the Bronze Age societies collapsed and were abandoned, likely due to conflicts.

Towards the end of the Bronze Age, entire kingdoms, empires, cities and societies collapsed within just a few decades throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.

Although similar hoards of Bronze Age artifacts have been discovered elsewhere, researchers described the latest find in the Czech Republic as “still quite rare.”

The bracelets discovered at the site were worn as forearm ornaments just as they would be today while the pins were likely used to fasten clothing or to style women’s hair, scientists said.

The artifacts would go on display at the Podřipské Museum in Roudnice nad Labem in the near future.

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