5/11/2016 Bronze jars from the field for a million

Five years ago, archaeologists published photos of five 3,000-year-old bronze vessels that a random passer-by found in a field near Buštěhrad in Kladno. Their value was estimated by experts at nearly a million crowns.

The finder first brought the bronze vase to the museum in Roztoky. But then it turned out that at the end of 2014, the young man found a treasure unparalleled in the last hundred years in Bohemia. Archaeologists immediately went to the site. They kept the discovery a secret at first, of course, so that curious onlookers would not descend on the field.

A young man stumbled upon the precious artefact by chance while out for a walk. The archaeologists then found another. The treasure consists of a total of five bronze vessels dating back to the Bronze Age. They were probably used a lot by their owners, as they show signs of extensive wear and tear. For example, the lid is missing and the amphora has lost its handle.

"This is three thousand-year-old bronze. Such important finds come along once in a lifetime. Even in the whole of the 20th century there was no such find in Bohemia. It's a treasure. It was already of great value. They drank from clay vessels, bronze could not be afforded by just anyone," revealed archaeologist David Daníček from the Central Bohemian Museum in Roztoky near Prague.

The archaeologists showed the vessels only after they had restored them. Luboš Jiráň, a specialist in the Bronze Age from the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences, estimated the exact value of the treasure at CZK 920,000. The rarity of the find, the value of the material used, the quality of the workmanship and the estimated market price based on foreign auctions, where the sale of such objects is allowed, were important.

The finder received a reward from the Central Bohemian Region of ten percent, i.e. 92 thousand crowns. "This is such an extraordinary find that its value will continue to appreciate for its owner, the Central Bohemian Region, especially after its planned restoration and conservation. The price could have been higher if the finder had not removed the vessel from the ground and immediately informed the archaeological department," said archaeologist David Daněček.

All finds older than 50 years belong to the state or the regions. Failure to report a find can lead to penalties. As in the case of the Boskovice treasure, which we recently wrote about. Boskovice Treasure

Sources: www.rozhlas.cz, www.idnes.cz, Central Bohemia Museum
Photo: Central Bohemian Museum