Bern Historical Museum shows bronze hand from Prêles
Published: Wednesday, Jan 31st 2024, 17:01
Updated At: Wednesday, Jan 31st 2024, 17:01
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It is considered a sensational archaeological find: the bronze hand from Prêles. In a new exhibition, the Historisches Museum Bern sheds light on how bronze truly revolutionized the prehistoric world.
"Nine to one" is the formula for this world revolution. Five thousand years ago, people mixed nine parts copper and one part tin and obtained a metal with which highly efficient tools and weapons could be mass-produced for the first time. This meant that wealth, power and war were here to stay.
But trade on an unprecedented scale, innovation and progress also characterized the era that we now call the Bronze Age. In Central Europe, it spanned a period from around 2200 to 800 BC.
Hierarchies emerged in the Bronze Age. Powerful elites emerged and social inequality created tensions. Numerous issues developed in the Bronze Age that still concern us today.
"We all have a basic knowledge of the Stone Age or the Romans from our school days - but who can tell you anything about the Bronze Age? Yet this was an era that shaped our lives today. A look at the Bronze Age opens up completely new perspectives on our present day," says curator Sabine Bolliger Schreyer, explaining the significance of the exhibition.
Mysterious hand
One artifact in the exhibition stands out in particular. The so-called bronze hand of Prêles. It is considered to be the oldest known bronze replica of a human body part in Europe. And it puts the Bernese Jura, where it was found, "on a par with the advanced civilizations of Babylon, Crete or Troy", as Director Thomas Pauli-Gabi is quoted in a press release from the Historical Museum.
The 3500-year-old hand was found in 2017 at the foot of the Chasseral by illegal treasure hunters. They handed their find over to the archaeological service of the canton of Bern a few days later. According to their statements, they only realized the significance of the hand after an initial clean-up.
During an investigation, archaeologists found the heavily disturbed grave of a 25-45 year old man. It still contained some skeletal remains and a few fragments of pottery, a needle and a bronze spiral, as well as other fragments of the hand that the amateur diggers had overlooked.
Fine imposed
The finders of the hand had to stand trial. In 2019, one of the defendants was sentenced to a fine of CHF 2,500. This was because he had repeatedly used a metal detector without authorization.
Archaeologists always warn that archaeological sites can be destroyed during hobby excavations. Treasure hunters should leave the site untouched in the event of a find and inform the authorities immediately.
"And then came bronze!" is the name of the new exhibition at the Historisches Museum Bern. On display are outstanding objects from all over Europe and replicas you can touch. The exhibition runs from February 1 to April 21, 2025.
www.bhm.ch
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