Ancient weapons used by barbarian tribes during Roman times have been discovered in a treasure trove by a treasure hunter.
The Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments revealed the accidental discovery in a Facebook post. The find was located in a woodland region near the town of Hrubieszów in southeastern Poland.
Nine spearheads, two war axes, a carpenter’s axe, and three unidentified items are among the iron artifacts found in the trove. All of the objects were discovered in a marshy region by the treasure hunter Mateusz Filipowicz. Preliminary research points to the employment of these weapons by nomadic barbarian tribespeople living under the Roman Empire.
These fighters could have been part of the Germanic Goths, who were instrumental in the decline of the Western Roman Empire, or the Przeworsk civilization, which flourished from 3000 B.C. to 500 A.D.
There is no evidence of any burials or cemeteries at this site based on the quantity, kind, manner of deposition, or condition of the objects discovered. Contrary to expectations for a burial pit, no ceramic artifacts or skeletal remains were found during the field research.
The items underwent the first examination by archaeologists at the Stanisław Staszic Museum in Hrubieszów. It was first impossible to identify the artifacts because of the severe corrosion that covered the metal and was combined with sand and muck.
Evidently, someone went to great lengths to gather these things, put them in a container (of which there is no sign), and then dropped them in the marsh.
In the spring, when the weather is more conducive to digging, the researchers want to return to the relics site to learn more about them.
The Conservator highlighted that accurate identification of the discovery’s nature and cultural and temporal association can only be achieved following careful processes.