Archaeologists have discovered a 2,500-year-old metal helmet inside a tomb in Croatia that may have been a pledge offering to a deity or part of a cult practice.
According to excavation leader Hrvoje Potrebica, professor of archeology at the University of Zagreb, the object was unearthed in a stone structure within a burial mound at the Gomile archaeological site.
This site has several tombs and is situated near the village of Zakotorac on the Pelješac Peninsula, close to the Adriatic Sea. “Each mound contains several graves and each grave houses several burials,” Potrebica told the website Live Science.
Whose helmet was discovered in Croatia?
According to ancient Greek records, a people called the Illyrians appeared in the region around the time the helmet was made. The Illyrians were divided between different tribes and kingdoms and were gradually conquered by the Romans in a series of wars between 229 and 168 BC
The stone structure containing the helmet was found separate from all the graves in the burial mound, which suggests that it was designed as a place for votive offerings “to deceased ancestors or as part of some cult practice related to the entire mound and not a particular individual or a grave,” Potrebica said.
Domagoj Perkić, director of the Archaeological Museum, which is part of the Dubrovnik Museums, and a researcher working on the excavation, believes that if the newly found helmet was used in battle, it may have had a psychological effect on the opponent. “Just try to imagine a warrior with a shining helmet on his head, in the sun, on the eve of a battle. This moment, in itself, scares the enemy.”
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In 2020, according to Potrebica, archaeologists found another helmet stored in a stone structure in a nearby tomb. Just like the newly found object, it was probably not made for just any person or grave.
The Zagreb Center for Prehistoric Research, of which Potrebica is president, is coordinating research at the Gomile site and collaborating with scientists from the Dubrovnik Museums and the Croatian Institute of Archaeology.
Ancient sword ‘Excalibur’ is found in Spain
Another curious archaeological object found recently was a rare and ancient sword nicknamed “Excalibur”, discovered in Valencia, Spain. The artifact, however, has no connection with King Arthur’s legendary weapon and was last wielded when part of Spanish territory was still controlled by Muslims, a new study reveals.
The 46-centimeter-long iron sword was found in an Islamic-era house near the ancient Roman forum. The hilt is decorated with bronze plates and contains notches that make the sword easier to handle, according to a statement.
It was found in an upright position inside a grave, hence the nickname in honor of King Arthur’s sword – who, according to medieval legend, pulled the sword from a stone and ascended the throne of Great Britain. Find out more about this find here.
