A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 41. - 1999 (Nyíregyháza, 1999)

Régészet - Kristian Kristiansen: Understanding Bronze Age weapon hoards. Observations from the Zalkod and Vaja hoards, Northeastern Hungary

Understanding Bronze Age Weapon Hoards. The hoard was found close to the present churchyard at the parish border. A glance at the patina of the objects makes it clear that the hoard consist of two separate depositions: one with black over bronze patina (Fig. 3,1-5) and one with brown-green patina (Fig. 3,6-9). These two patina types reflect different chemical conditions during deposition, both coming from wet environments.

2 This is not to deny that the two depositions could have taken place during the same event, with some distance between them. Deposition 1 with black patina consists of 3 swords, two handprotecting spirals, and one and half elbowprotecting spirals. Deposition 2 with browngreen patina consists of two swords, two handprotecting armspirals and one elbowprotecting spiral. Other observations support this division. The two brownish swords of deposition 2 had bulbs of corrosion, not found on the three other swords, and they had fresh, unrepaired damages from a sword fight, in opposition the three swords from deposition 1. The two handprotecting armspirals of deposition 1, that have green-black patina, are rather heavily worn, the profile of the ring spiral is rounded by wear (MOZSOLICS 1985. Taf. 8.1 and Taf. 9.2), whereas the two other handprotecting armspirals with brown-green patina are unworn, newly produced with a sharp profile (MOZSOLICS 1985. Taf. 8.2 and Taf. 9.1). Similar observations can be made on the elbowprotecting spirals (MOZSOLICS 1985. Taf. 10.1-3). I call them elbowprotecting, since the only possible place to wear them is the overarm of a grown man, as the diameter is normally quite large, and too large for any other body part. The spiral should hang down as to protect the upper arm and elbow. Several of them are too big for my overarms, whereas the handprotecting armspirals go well with the size of my underarm. It is thus assumed that these ornaments were protective male ornaments used in fight by some males. Here 2. My observations and conclusions about patina are based upon registration of several hundred hoards of the Nordic Late Bronze Age from Scandinavia, Northern Germany and Poland, most of them with good information of find circumstances (KRISTIANSEN 1974. and 1998.). The types of patina on Hungarian hoards are consistent with the North European evidence, and the experience from northern Europe therefore applies to them when contextual information is lacking or scarce, as is often the case. 3. Similar observation have now been made on English Late Bronze Age swords, some of it published (BRIDGFORD 1997.), and some of it, including experiments with replica blades, were presented at the annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Bournemouth this year by Sue Bridgford, where I also presented the Hungarian evidence. only one male of each group would have this equipment. If the two depositions are to be regarded as more or less simultaneous, the use wear indicates that deposition 1 is the older. This corresponds quite well with the swords in deposition 1, which are typologically older (belonging to Kemenczei type A) than the two swords of deposition 2 (belonging to Kemenczei type C). Let us now consider traces of blade damage and sharpening. In an earlier work I demonstrated that Nordic Bronze Age swords were damaged and sharpened according to a recurring pattern that reflected attack and defence during combat (KRISTIANSEN 1984.). It could further be demonstrated that recurring sharpening of such damages from combat would gradually transform the blade profile, and I suggested a classification of use from no significant sharpening, over moderate sharpening (profile being eroded, lines still visible) to heavy sharpening (the sword profile completely flattened and altered).

3 The same patterns can be observed on Central European Bronze Age swords, indicating their regular use in combat. There is, however, one difference unrepaired blade damage from combat are much more numerous in Hungary, probably because most swords come from hoards. Hoarding of swords, normally in wet environments, were thus often the conclusion of a combat, a gift to the gods most probaby from the winning party. This implies that the weapon hoards give some indication as to the number of swords fighters in combat, but there could of course have been numerous followers with lances and bow and arrows, as some hoards suggest, e.g. Bükkaranyos, with a small group of sword bearing officers and a large group of lance bearing soldiers (MOZSOLICS 1985. Taf. 1-5). But we are in the weapon hoards mostly confronted with the evidence of combats between small chiefly groups of sword fighters. This evidence suggests that the Germanic rule of sacrificing the weapons of the losing party to Nertheus in a holy bog, as referred by Tacitus, and evidenced in large war sacrifies from Danish bogs during the Iron Age, have earlier roots in the Bronze Age. Turning to traces of warfare we can observe the classical patterns on all swords - traces of edge damage/resharpening from defence under the hilt, and traces of edge damage/resharpening from attack on the upper end of the sword (Fig. 1,3) and towards the point. And a general altering of the blade profile during long term sharpening. The three swords of the older group had all a sharp edge, on one (Fig. 1,1, 3,1, KEMENCZEI 1988.Taf. 103