3,600-year-old jewelry and weapon hoard found under field in Czech Republic

Archaeologists discovered a hoard of Bronze Age artifacts while doing routine survey work in a field in the Czech Republic.

The bronze objects — which include eight arm rings, two pins, eight axes and one spearhead — were found near Budyně nad Ohří, a town about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Prague, Radio Prague International reported.

Researchers estimate that most of the items, which they found using metal detectors, date to around 1600 B.C.

"Most items are characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age, with only one ax belonging to the earlier period," Martin Trefný, an associate professor at the Museum of the Říp Region and the University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně and the curator of the hoard, told Live Science in an email. One ax is even older and dates to the Early Bronze Age.

"Axes could have been used as tools or weapons. The latter function also applies to the spearhead," Trefný said. "Bracelets were forearm ornaments, and pins served either to fasten clothing or, for example, to style women's hair."

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Archaeologists remain unclear about why the hoard was buried, but they have proposed three possibilities.

"In the first case, the hoards are presumed to have a votive function, meaning they served as offerings to deities," Trefný said. "In the second case, we speak of an economic function, where hoards are interpreted as, for example, storage for manufacturers of the given items." 

Alternatively, the buried items could reflect "a crisis situation, where it was necessary to hide the items, for example, from enemies," he said.

The treasure could be worth "millions of crowns," Trefný told Radio Prague International. (One million Czech crowns, or koruna, is about $42,500.)

"All the items testify to the technological advancement of bronze casters and processors in Central Europe 3,500 years ago," Trefný told Live Science. "The composition of the hoard also contributes to understanding the warfare, craft techniques and contemporary fashion of the time. Considering that hoards might have a ritual significance, they can also reveal a bit about the contemporary religion."

In the "near future," these found items will be on display at the Podřipské Museum, located about 30 miles (50 km) north of Prague, Radio Prague International reported.