Archaeologists discovered a trove of Bronze Age artifacts while conducting routine surveys at a site in the Czech Republic. The bronze objects, including eight bracelets, two needles, eight axes and a spearhead, were found near the town of Budine nad Ogrzy, about 56 kilometers northwest of Prague, Radio Prague International reported. Using metal detectors, researchers estimated that most of the items date back to 1600 BC.

“Most of the objects are Middle Bronze Age, only one axe is from the early period,” Martin Trefny, assistant professor at the Rzyp County Museum and Jan Evangelista Purkiné University and curator of the hoard, told Live Science in an email. One of the axes is even older, dating to the Early Bronze Age.

“Axes could be used as tools or weapons. The last feature also applies to the spearhead,” Trefney said. “Bracelets were a decoration of the forearm and hairpins were used either to fasten clothing or to style women’s hair, for example.”

“In the first case, it is suggested that the treasures had a votive function, that is, they served as offerings to the gods,” Trefney said. “In the second case, we are talking about an economic function, where the treasures are interpreted as storage for, for example, the producers of these objects.”

He also said buried items could represent “a crisis situation that needs to be hidden from enemies, for example.”

“The treasure could be worth ‘millions of crowns,'” Trefni told Radio Prague. (One million Czech crowns, or kronor, is about $42,500.)

“All the objects bear witness to the technological advancement of bronze casters and cutters in Central Europe 3,500 years ago,” Trefney told Live Science. “The composition of the hoard also contributes to an understanding of warfare, craft techniques and modern fashions of the period. Given that the hoards may have had ritual significance, they may also reveal something about modern religion.”

According to Radio Prague International, “in the near future” the recovered items will be exhibited at the Podřipské Museum, located about 50 km north of Prague.