A metal detector in Poland found five Bronze Age axes buried in a forest. Archaeologists suggest that the artifacts may have been used to cut firewood or for religious purposes.

Denis Konkol was investigating a densely forested area in Kocev, a region in northern Poland, when his metal detector began beeping. Like informs The Miami Herald found metal tools by digging 20-30 centimeters into the soil. Archaeologists analyzed five axes and estimated them to be about 3,500 years old, according to a translation of an article on Science in Poland, a Polish news site.

“These objects were quite rare in these lands,” Ihor Strzok, restorer of monuments in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, told Science in Poland.

Piotr Klimaszewski, head of the Department of Archaeological Sites, identified the objects as “Tautusiai-type axes”, a thin-necked tool with a semicircular blade associated with the village of Tautusiai in Lithuania. The tools were likely used for “chopping wood, sawing, or fighting,” authorities wrote on Facebook.

However, Klimashevskyi added that the axes may have been used as part of a “cult practice” or “sacrifice”. But he said it was likely they were “probably a trade-related deposit”. In addition to the tools, archaeologists found a 2,000-year-old fibula (a small brooch, not to be confused with the leg bone of the same name) used to fasten clothing, the Miami Herald reported.

Researchers are unsure how the artifacts ended up in the forest, adding that more research is needed to fully understand their history. But the team added that they were “genuinely amazed at how amazing the situation was.” [сокири] protected”.

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