Metal objects unearthed near volcano reveal secrets of 3,400-year-old European people
A hoard of metal objects unearthed near a volcanic hilltop in Hungary has helped unravel the mysteries of an ancient European population that lived 3,400 years ago.
Excavations at western Hungary 's Somló volcanic hill have led to the discovery of hundreds of artefacts, including jewellery, weapons and decorations dating to the Late Bronze Age, 1450 BC to 800 BC, and the Early Iron Age, 800 BC to 450 BC.
The digs have also unearthed other ancient materials, including leather remains and amber beads, as well as tusks of boars and domestic pigs.
Some of the oldest of these artefacts date to between 1400 BC and 1300 BC, according to a study published in the journal Antiquity.
The findings point to a significant presence of humans in western Hungary between the 13th and 6th centuries BC.
While research into early urbanism in many parts of Europe has increased in recent years, study of hilltop settlements has been scant.
A previous excavation near the Hungarian hill, about 431m high and untouched by quarrying, found Early Iron Age grave goods in monumental burial mounds, indicating that landmarks like the Somló were the seats of power of an elite warrior leader class.
In the new study, researchers conducted airborne laser scanning and metal-detector surveys to find an area that was likely densely populated by humans during the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age.
They concluded that the people who lived here between the 13th and 6th centuries BC were tribal or clan-based societies led by elite warriors.
The latest dig found some 900 metal objects in the southeastern part of the hill, one of them the first example of a ceramic pot found in western Hungary from the end of the Late Bronze Age.
'Deposition inside ceramic pots was suggested from this period but never documented,' the researchers said, adding that they found in some of the pots deposits of lentils and fragmented small-seeded cereals, known to be Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age subsistence foods.
'The unearthed hoards testify to an intentional and complex hoarding tradition on Somló Hill,' they wrote in the study. 'Large quantities of bronze lumps, droplets, casting jets, and fragmented plano-convex ingots suggest the presence of bronzeworking workshops on the plateau.'
The findings also provide insights about how the region transitioned from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age.
'Occupation on the hilltop seems to have been uninterrupted during the transition into the Early Iron Age,' the study noted.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
9 hours ago
- Daily Record
Moon to turn red this week in best Strawberry Moon until 2043
Your best chance to see it will be at dusk The full Moon this week will appear unusual for people across the UK thanks to a phenomenon that won't be seen as well again until 2043. June's full Moon is known as the Strawberry Moon because it is the time of year, in North America, when wild strawberries were harvested. And this year the Strawberry Moon will live up to its name and could take on a red tinge. That's because the Moon will be the lowest we will see until 2043 - staying close to the horizon after it rises as a full Moon on June 10 and 11. The fact it is lower on the horizon will mean that, to people looking from the UK, it will take on a red tinge. When the Moon hangs low on the horizon, its light has to travel through a much thicker slice of Earth's atmosphere than when it's overhead. That extra distance does two things: Molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, plus tiny aerosols in the air scatter short-wavelength light (violet, blue, green) far more efficiently than long-wavelength light (orange, red). The longer the light's journey through that haze, the more of the blues are stripped away, leaving mainly reds and oranges to reach your eyes. Dust, smoke, and pollution: Close to the ground, the air contains more dust, water vapour, and human-made pollutants. These larger particles selectively absorb and scatter light, too, but they do it in a way that further mutes the blues and greens while letting the warmer colours through. Put those two effects together and the Moon takes on a coppery or crimson tint whenever it's near the horizon. The same physics explains why sunsets are red — and why a 'blood Moon' during a lunar eclipse looks red: all of the sunlight reaching the eclipsed Moon has been filtered through Earth's thick, dusty atmosphere at sunrise and sunset around the planet. The name Strawberry Moon comes from Algonquin and other Native American traditions, as well as old European naming systems. It marks the start of the strawberry harvesting season in parts of North America. Early colonists adopted and passed on this term. For the UK, the full Strawberry Moon on June 11, 2025, will be best seen in the evening of June 10 at moonrise, rather than on the morning of June 11 when it's technically 100% illuminated. Moonrise on June 10 will be between 9pm and 9.30pm and the Moon will be full in the morning on June 11 at 8.43am - after sunrise. The Moon will trace its lowest path of the year, so rising at dusk on June 10 gives it its most dramatic and reddish appearance. At meridian transit (its highest point at night), it'll only reach about 10°–12° above the horizon - about two fists held above the horizon.
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Exactly when to see the red Strawberry Moon in best show until 2043
The full moon this week will be unusual thanks to a rare phenomenon The full Moon this week will appear unusual for people across the UK thanks to a phenomenon that won't be seen as well again until 2043. June's full Moon is known as the Strawberry Moon because it is the time of year, in North America, when wild strawberries were harvested. And this year the Strawberry Moon will live up to its name and could take on a red tinge. That's because the Moon will be the lowest we will see until 2043 - staying close to the horizon after it rises as a full Moon on June 10 and 11. The fact it is lower on the horizon will mean that, to people looking from the UK, it will take on a red tinge. When the Moon hangs low on the horizon, its light has to travel through a much thicker slice of Earth's atmosphere than when it's overhead. That extra distance does two things: Molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, plus tiny aerosols in the air scatter short-wavelength light (violet, blue, green) far more efficiently than long-wavelength light (orange, red). The longer the light's journey through that haze, the more of the blues are stripped away, leaving mainly reds and oranges to reach your eyes. Dust, smoke, and pollution: Close to the ground, the air contains more dust, water vapour, and human-made pollutants. These larger particles selectively absorb and scatter light, too, but they do it in a way that further mutes the blues and greens while letting the warmer colours through. Put those two effects together and the Moon takes on a coppery or crimson tint whenever it's near the horizon. The same physics explains why sunsets are red — and why a 'blood Moon' during a lunar eclipse looks red: all of the sunlight reaching the eclipsed Moon has been filtered through Earth's thick, dusty atmosphere at sunrise and sunset around the planet. The name Strawberry Moon comes from Algonquin and other Native American traditions, as well as old European naming systems. It marks the start of the strawberry harvesting season in parts of North America. Early colonists adopted and passed on this term. For the UK, the full Strawberry Moon on June 11, 2025, will be best seen in the evening of June 10 at moonrise, rather than on the morning of June 11 when it's technically 100% illuminated. Moonrise on June 10 will be between 9pm and 9.30pm and the Moon will be full in the morning on June 11 at 8.43am - after sunrise. The Moon will trace its lowest path of the year, so rising at dusk on June 10 gives it its most dramatic and reddish appearance. At meridian transit (its highest point at night), it'll only reach about 10°–12° above the horizon - about two fists held above the horizon.
South Wales Argus
19 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
A look at the moon ahead of the lowest full moon of the year
That in itself is nothing unusual, but this particular full moon is generating quite a bit of interest by being the lowest full moon of the year as well as one of the furthest from the sun. Every year, the full moon is at its minimum altitude above the horizon in June. This is because it lies opposite to the sun, which, by contrast, is at its highest point this month as we approach the summer solstice. Because the moon's orbit is slightly tilted, it doesn't quite follow the same path as the sun and planets, that path being referred to as the ecliptic. The moon wanders slightly, travelling above and below the ecliptic, and this Tuesday reaches a point when it will be at its furthest southerly point, something that occurs every 18.6 years. This means that June's full moon will be at a point astronomers refer to as a 'lunar standstill' or 'lunistice'. The next time this will occur is June 2043. This all means that on Tuesday evening the moon will rise at around 9.30pm, but not achieve any great altitude, literally skimming the south-east horizon. Aside from the moon appearing very low in the sky and hardly climbing at all, the position where the moon rises and eventually sets will also be the closest points possible, rising in the southeast, then setting in the southwest. There's also the fact that this full moon is one of the most distant too, about 94,600 miles from the sun. For comparison, the average is around 93,200 miles. June's full moon, also referred to as the Strawberry Moon, given the ripening of the fruit at this time of year, will also be shining, (reflected sunlight), through the thickest layer of the Earth's atmosphere possible and may well appear golden in colour, perhaps orange, or even red. This is all down to the scattering of light to allow for longer wavelengths of colour to show through, like yellows and oranges. You may have noticed that when the moon is low down on the horizon it actually seems bigger than when it's high up in the sky? Well, in fact, it's not; it's a trick of the mind known as the 'moon illusion'. Photographs prove that there is no real difference in size between the moon when it is positioned low on the horizon or when high up in the sky, but this is not what we see, with an optical illusion created by how our brains absorb visual information. The illusion has baffled minds down the centuries with records of the seemingly enlarged Moon dating back to 4th century BC. Whilst there is no solid scientific explanation for the 'moon illusion', in reality, the moon's distance really doesn't change all that much, no matter where it is positioned in the sky. The International Space Station continues to have a rest from being on view in our skies. Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@
