A team of archaeologists have excavated graves dating back to the 11th century BC. In one of them, a multitude of jewellery was discovered, as well as a special Greek-Illyrian helmet, one of only a few found in the entire world.
The Illyrian type helmet was used by ancient Greek Etruscans and Scythians and it later became popular with the Illyrians.
It isn't easy to imagine the feeling of coming across such an important archaeological discovery. After two and a half millennia of being buried away from human eyes, a great find, an ancient Greco-Illyrian helmet saw the light of day once again. These helmets are otherwise extremely rare, and there are only about ten such helmets in the whole world.
''Greek warriors wore them from the 7th century until practically the 3rd century BC, and in each of those periods, they were important in the sense of actually defining the members of the elite.
The warrior elites who ruled the communities of that time,'' explained Dr Hrvoje Potrebica of the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb.
Archaeological work at this particular location in the Peljesac region began this summer and was continuing throughout last week. The archaeological discovery, more specifically a tomb from the fourth century BC, hid a real historical treasure.
Apart from the Greek-Illyrian helmet, the researchers who explored the ancient grave in Croatia also discovered a hoard of iron weapons including spears and knives. At least two more persons were buried in the same grave, including a woman wearing bronze bracelet.
Among the other artifacts discovered in the grave were “fifteen bronze and silver fibulae (clasps), 12 needles, several spiral bronze ornaments and tweezers and several hundred glass paste and amber beads belonging to necklaces.”
