Someone buried treasure and never returned. Volunteers found it 2,500 years later

Perhaps planning ahead for a long trip or maybe caught in the middle of a sudden conflict, someone buried a small collection of treasure in northern Poland for an unknown reason and never returned. Millennia later, volunteers rediscovered the items.

Volunteers with a local history group, the Suska Land Lovers Society, stumbled upon the buried treasure near Zalewo, according to a news release from Science in Poland on Thursday, March 30.

The group unearthed an ax head and two bronze hoop ornaments, possibly used as bracelets or armlets, archaeologists said. The blue-green artifacts dated back about 2,500 years to the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age.

A close up view of the artifacts.
A close up view of the artifacts.

Analyzing the area where the treasure was found, archaeologists found no signs of a burial. Instead, they concluded that these items were likely hidden by someone who intended to come back, the release said.

Photos show the worn-looking items. The ax head has a small chip in its blade and its handle is long gone. The bronze hoops are similar in size but not identical. One is still intact, the other has cracks in two places.

The axe head and bronze hoops.
The axe head and bronze hoops.

The modern city of Zalewo was established in the 13th and 14th centuries along a trade route, according to city officials. Over the centuries, the city has been decimated by fire, plague and several wars. It’s located about 140 miles northwest of Warsaw.

The Suska Land Lovers Society has uncovered several other items using metal detectors. Volunteers have found at least 500-year-old coins, medieval sword sheaths, a spearhead from the third or fourth century and a spatha sword from the fourth or fifth century, the release said.

The trio of bronze artifacts was given to the Ostródzie Museum, the museum said in a news release.

Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Science in Poland and article from the Zalewo city government. Facebook Translate was used to translate the news release from the Ostródzie Museum.

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