A unique place of sacrifice in Europe, dating back to the beginning of the Iron Age (6th century BC), was discovered in the Chełmno Lake District (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship) by members of the Association of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Group of History Seekers.
At the beginning of January, members of the association searched for artifacts using metal detectors in one of the farmlands in the Chełmno district. They discovered a unique place of sacrifice, the history of which dates back to the beginning of the Iron Age, which is more than 2,500 years old.
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Within one of the bogs, the searchers found objects made of bronze and numerous fragments of human bones. As archaeologists explain, most of the items are whole or damaged hoop ornaments (necklaces, bracelets, greaves), which refer to the Lusatian culture. Particularly noteworthy – as they admit – is a necklace consisting of many delicate metal and probably glass elements, decorated with a series of pendants in the shape of fish tails.
Valuable finds from the Iron Age
Among the items found there are also metal elements of horse harness (halers) and large pins with spiral heads, probably made for ceremonial purposes. Archaeologists emphasize that there are also such monuments that must be associated with the circle of Scythian civilization (the areas of today’s Ukraine). This so-called earlobes of South-Eastern European origin.
One of three discovered sacrificial deposits Mateusz Sosnowski
– The artefacts will now be subject to further research and conservation (including metallographic research at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow), they will be scientifically developed by specialists in the study of the Lusatian culture community – said Joanna Sosnowska, chief archaeology specialist at the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń.
A close-up of artefacts deposited in a peat bogMateusz Sosnowski
She added that perhaps specialized archaeological excavations will be carried out in the place of their discovery. – This involves very high costs and will be dealt with by a specialized scientific unit – eg the Institute of Archeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University), and as a consequence they will go to the museum indicated by the provincial conservator for a permanent exhibition. However, there is still a long way to go, Sosnowska concluded.
Main photo source: Olaf Popkiewicz