Important archaeological discovery in Brno, Czech Republic, where a fragment of armor from 3,200 years ago, the era in which the Trojan War is conventionally placed, has been found. The fragment was hidden in the ground for more than 3,000 years, and after extensive analysis by Czech archaeologists, it is known what was discovered. The find dates back to 2023, but the news was only released in the past few hours after studies were carried out on the find. It is a bronze fragment: bronze weapons were then a privilege of the warrior elite and their production required extraordinary craftsmanship. Most armor was made from organic materials that were not preserved. And it is precisely this characteristic of the armor of the time that makes this discovery, which fundamentally broadens our understanding of the Bronze Age military culture of Central Europe, all the more rare. Now, the Brno City Museum, which announced the discovery, is preparing to present it to the public.
Archaeologists unearthed the armor the year before during a joint research project involving scientists and amateurs passionate about metal detector searches. One of the expert collaborators unearthed a spearhead, a scythe, a needle and several metal fragments at a site whose exact location remains a secret. The objects had been deliberately damaged and buried together, perhaps as part of a sacrificial ritual. Also among the finds was an inconspicuous bent sheet metal. Only after careful analysis did its true significance emerge: it was part of a suit of armor. “Thanks to 3D scanning, we were able to digitally ’unfold’ the folded plate and identify its shape and decoration,” Aleš Navrátil, archaeologist at the Brno City Museum, told national television station CT24.
This is only the second known example of bronze armor found in the Czech Republic. The Institute of Archaeology and Museology of the Faculty of Humanities at Masaryk University in Brno also participated in professional documentation and other analyses. The armor dates to about 3,200 years ago, which is the same period to which experts date the battles described by Homer. Bronze armor parts were then the exclusive privilege of the warrior elite. Their production, as mentioned, required extraordinary craftsmanship and thus had an astronomical price for the conditions of the time: in Homer’s Iliad, for example, Diomedes states that armor cost the equivalent of nine bulls.
At that time, the Moravian territory was inhabited by a culture known as the “urn field culture.” This was not a single “nation”: it should be imagined as a collection of independent groups of people who shared customs and styles of burial, pottery, settlement, or even weapons. These cultures apparently had nothing in common with the Slavs, but when the latter arrived in the territory of the present Czech Republic hundreds of years later, they often settled in the same places.
“This discovery confirms the importance of long-term cooperation between experts and the public, which is crucial for our museum,” stressed Zbyněk Šolc, director of the Brno City Museum. “Thanks to it, we can discover and protect valuable finds that bring us closer to ancient times and bring new knowledge about our history.”
|
|
| Czech Republic, found fragment of armor dating back to the time of the Trojan War |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
