A javelin or spearhead

The bronze spearhead was found in 1878 in a peat bog. It was a part of a large hoard with bronze items, which also included two axes, two cast plates, a dagger blade, two spiral bracelets, two anklets, and two arrowheads. The items were donated to the Society for Pomeranian History and Antiquity in Szczecin. In 1944, they were transferred from Szczecin and hidden, saving them from potential collateral war damage. Only until 2009, thanks to the Polish-German collaboration, they returned to the Szczecin museum’s collection. The spearhead features a slender body and a narrow blade. The socket has two rivet holes used to attach it to a wooden grip. It was classed as the Bagterp type found mainly in Nordic regions (northern Germany, Denmark, and southern Scandinavia). The spearhead should be dated to the Early Bronze Age, more specifically between ca. 1600–1500 BC. Spears were used for hunting or combat as a throwing weapon. The Bronze Age’s spears were an innovation that, compared to the earlier ones from the Stone Age, improved the combat style. Along with the development of new techniques and technologies, there were also changes in conducting combat operations. Military conflicts are reflected by armaments and the signs of injuries typical for such combat style, which were found more often in the graves of men.

Monika Witek