Late Bronze Age spears in the ‘floor’ from Velem-Szent Vid, Hungary

Abstract

The study introduces a spearhead hoard from the Velem-Szent Vid hillfort (Vas County, Hungary), which was retrieved by the joint research project of the Eötvös Loránd University Institute of Archaeological Sciences and the Centre archéologique européen du Mont Beuvray in 1993. The two spearheads were found next to each other, inserted into the ground of a potential house floor, on a settled plateau of the Velem-Szent Vid hillfort. The spearheads’ parallels stretched beyond the borders of the Carpathian Basin. Based on the analysis of spearhead no. 1, we consider it most likely that this assemblage was deposited in the Ha B1 period. The spearheads were studied by a digital USB microscope-camera for documenting production, technological, and use-wear traces. The two studied objects were identified as finished, used products of actual combatants based on micro traces. They were probably mounted on shafts and could be put on display inside a house or in a settled area. The two weapons may constitute a reversible dual hoard that was eventually abandoned at a single point. Alternatively, they could be seen as a set of trophies looted from defeated enemies, serving as a reminder of a triumphant battle.

Keywords

• use-wear analysis
• spearheads
• Late Bronze Age
• Carpathian Basin
• hoards