20 Sep 2008 He handed over the treasure to the museum, got a reward

Pavel Mládek from Stěžer, who discovered a bronze treasure, received a reward of 25 thousand crowns from the Hradec Králové Region. Specifically, two axes, eight talents and a needle. He handed everything over to the museum, for which he was rewarded.

The searcher found the treasure near his home in the autumn of 2007 and was rewarded a year later. He was rewarded for his exemplary behaviour by the county councillors. He immediately reported the find, otherwise the artefacts would probably have ended up in the collections of private collectors.

According to then councillor Zdeněk Kraus, not everyone would have done the same. "Less than ten thousand crowns is the finders' fee alone. We decided to award the finder another fifteen thousand as a reward for his honesty in handing over the rare find," said the councillor of the Hradec Králové Region at the time.

Experts have estimated the age of the treasure to be around 1700 BC. It consists of two axes, eight mushrooms and a fir tree from the Bronze Age, the mushrooms being crescent-shaped. They were probably used as necklaces or bracelets and later became a form of currency. The objects were carefully arranged and stored.

Mládek found the treasure using a metal detector. The amount of the reward wasn't crucial to the finder. "What pleases me most is the find itself and the fact that it will contribute to uncovering the history of ourour region," said Mládek, who reported the find to the Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové.

"He handed over the artefacts in November 2007. I only partially cleaned the objects because I know that archaeologists like to find things in their original state. I looked up more information on the Internet. Apparently, the objects are approximately 3,000 to 3,500 years old. They are definitely from the Bronze Age," Mládek said before handing over the treasure to the museum.

The valuable Bronze Age objects were found in Hradec Králové in 1888. Archaeologists were therefore thrilled by the more recent discovery. Later, the treasure was put on display for the public to see.

Sources: www.kr-kralovehradecky.cz, https://hradec.rozhlas.cz/, www.denik.cz