Bronze Age Jewelry Hoard Discovered in Poland Could Have Been Part of Ancient Water Ritual, Study Reveals

Some human remains and metal jewelry found at a dry lake bed site within Poland used to be part of an ancient water ritual.

Chelmno Group Rituals

The dry lake bed site, called Papowo Biskupie, used to be occupied around B.C. 450 to 1200. The area was once occupied by the Chelmno group, which is a community of the bigger Lusatian culture that dwelled in northern Europe in the Early Iron Age and Late Bronze Age. This was noted in the "The Sacred Lake Project: preliminary findings from the Lusatian site of Papowo Biskupie, Poland" study.

While the Lusatians are known for their ritual metal hoard depositions in water, this is not known among the Chelmno group. However, the Bronze Age jewelry hoard findings now challenge this view.

Łukasz Kowalski, a co-author of the study and postdoctoral archaeology researcher from AGH University of Science and Technology, explains that the site's metal consumption scale is quite extraordinary. Kowalski adds that until now, they believed that metal was a weak partner in the Chelmno group's ritual and social strategies, unlike other practices of other Lusatians. However, the metal jewelry hoard has made researchers change their perceptions.

Kowalski explains that their findings reflect the rising role of metal in the Chelmno group's ritual and social life. This resulted in a shift in human remain depositions to metal offerings within the landscape of wetlands.

Bronze Age Jewelry Hoard, Human Remains

The hoard includes different neck and arm ornaments and also a multistrand necklace with tubular and oval beads that surround a pendant that is swallowtail-like.

The researchers concluded that the local community members created the metal artifacts. However, some of the artifacts, such as the necklace's beads, were made with materials that were outsourced.

Kowalski explains that the bead consists of low-magnesium glass that was from the Eastern Mediterranean area. This heightens the use of evidence that the Chelmno group's powerful elites became parties to a network of metal trading that linked a huge portion of Europe during the first millennium B.C.

On top of the jewelry hoard, researchers also found at least 33 human skeletal remains at the lake bed. However, according to radiocarbon dating, the remains were buried prior to the deposition of the metals. This offers more evidence that the belief system of the Chelmno group came into line later on with the rest of the region.

Kowalski notes that the findings offer a new window to explore the Chelmno group's ritual and social practices. It also reflects the intricate interplay between metal objects and human remains deposition within wetlands. The findings could signal how human and metal depositions could be used to regulate the group's social relations and show their unique local identity.

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