Oldest Copper Axe Found in Poland Near Lublin

In the town of Gorodlo in the Grubeshivsky district of Poland, archaeologists have uncovered a copper axe dating back to 4-3 thousand years BC. Researchers attribute the find to the Trypillian culture and consider it possibly the oldest copper artifact discovered in Poland. Scientists believe that the significance of this discovery goes beyond simple archaeological interest. It sheds light on the expansiveness of the Trypillian culture, suggesting that its influence extended much further westward than previously believed, as reported by Arkeonews.

Experts from the Lublin Voivodeship Monument Conservation Office report that this valuable discovery measures 7.4 cm in length, with the width of the fan-shaped blade at 4.1 cm, and the rectangular convex head measuring 0.9 cm by 0.6 cm.

Analysing the find in terms of its dating and cultural context, archaeologist Veslav Koman from the Zamość Delegation of the Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments has ruled out the possibility that this axe belongs to the cultural sphere of the Bronze Age. The confidence in this assertion stems from the fact that the artifact does not align with known and well-described typologies of axes from that period.

"In addition, our axe was made using a rather simple 'primitive' casting method, in a flat-convex shape that was no longer used in advanced bronze metallurgy. Therefore, it was necessary to consider an earlier Neolithic era. Unfortunately, there is no equivalent in the inventories of Neolithic cultures in Poland," noted the expert.

The puzzle was solved by referring to archaeological finds from the territory of Ukraine. Veslav Koman came across a publication about an identical discovery of a copper axe found in the village of Shcherbanivka in the Kyiv region, where associated fragments of pottery vessels allowed it to be attributed to the Trypillian culture and dated to a later period of the culture's development, estimated at 4-3 thousand years BC.

It's worth noting that the Trypillian culture was one of the most important in Southeastern Europe. It emerged from the interaction of various Neolithic groups in the Carpathian-Balkan region in the second half of the 6th millennium BC. The fact that the axe appeared in eastern Poland is surprising, considering that the territorial scope of the Trypillian culture encompassed areas including present-day Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and southwestern Ukraine, particularly the Podillia region.