Overview

• Archaeologists have discovered over 550 pieces of Bronze Age jewelry at a dried-out lake bed in Poland, known as Papowo Biskupie, which were part of an ancient burial ritual.
• The jewelry was made by the Chełmno group, a community from the larger Lusatian culture that lived in northern Europe from roughly 1200 to 450 B.C.
• The Lusatians are known for their ritual depositions of metal hoards in bodies of water, a practice not previously associated with the Chełmno group.
• The discovery of the jewelry cache, which includes a variety of arm and neck ornaments, has led researchers to change their viewpoint on the Chełmno group's social and ritual strategies.
• Radiocarbon dating revealed that human remains found at the site were buried before the metal deposition, suggesting a shift in the Chełmno group's belief system to align with the rest of the region.