Hoop-greave

The perfectly preserved massive bronze greave, weighing 450 g, is in the form of a circular oval rim. Its thinner ends do not meet, but are close together. The surface, which is entirely covered with a green noble patina, is decorated with bands of rich engraved ornamentation with a wolf teeth motif. The relic was presumably found in the second half of the 1920s. on the site of the village of Ubiedrze near Bobolice. It was accompanied by a second hoop, which was unfortunately lost shortly after its discovery. The two greaves were found lying under a stone. This context indicates that it was a treasure – for the objects must have been hidden deliberately in the ground, albeit for reasons that are now difficult to understand. The hoop from Ubiedrze, dated to the 2nd half of the 2nd Bronze Age (c. 1500-1300 BC), is one of the few finds of this type in Poland. Their occurrence is limited to the Pomeranian area, where only a few have been discovered. Interestingly, these types of greaves provide a close analogy with two hoops from a burial ground located thousands of kilometres from Ubiedrza – at Beşik, near ancient Troy (southern Turkey, by the Aegean sea). Given the formal similarities and the chemical composition of the alloy used in production, it is speculated that both the Polish and Turkish pieces may originate from the Caucasus. In fact, in this area, greaves-hoops are exceptionally numerous. Dorota Kozłowska