28 Feb 2015 The treasure contained five kilograms of objects

First he saw a piece of bronze needle. But after a while, he realized that he had probably found a treasure. Tomáš Bahník came across the depot from the Early Bronze Age while walking on the edge of a field in the Rychnov region.Hecalled archaeologists to the site.

The lucky finder was Tomáš Bahník from Český Meziříčí. He discovered the treasure when he went for a walk. According to archaeologists, no depot has ever been found so well preserved. It came to the surface thanks to ploughing. The found objects date back to around 1200 BC.

Mudman first spotted a metal object. Then he realized it was a bronze needle. He called his wife to get a spade. As he dug, he found more and more objects. So he called archaeologists to the site.

In total, they found five kilograms of various objects. According to archaeologist Martina Beková from the Museum and Gallery of the Orlické Mountains in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, these were really rare. "An archaeologist may not experience such a discovery even once in his lifetime. For example, parts of swords were found here, which are of great value. The last time a sword was found in the Rychnov region was more than a hundred years ago, and now fragments of two swords have been found here," Beková recalled.

Archaeologists dug up and documented the treasure while it was still dark. They then took it to the museum in Rychnov nad Kněžnou. The depot was located approximately forty centimetres underground. In addition to the fragments of two swords, there were also other objects such as bronze needles and axes in the field. Among the rarest pieces of the treasure was a bronze anvil. "There was even a necklace that was still originally strung. After it's X-rayed, it will also go through conservation," Bekova revealed at the time.

The treasure was probably hidden by a metalworker. In addition to the bronze anvil, the treasure also included unworked bronze ingots. The depot was located in a sack and the owner buried it quite deeply.

"Either someone had hidden it there and preserved their property, because the bronze in those fragments could have served as the equivalent of today's finance. He could have hidden the raw material directly there for further processing. Or it could have been something else entirely, that it was a so-called votive depot, an offering," the archaeologist added.

"When you realise that it is 3,200 years old and no one before me has ever held it in their hands, the feeling is indescribable," said Bahník.

Sources:
www.ceskatelevize.cz, www.denik.cz, www.irozhlas.cz