Description
The two magnificent weapons belong to the earliest discoveries kept at the Archäologische Staatssammlung (Archaeological State Collection). In c.1784, a farmer in Krottenthal in Lower Bavaria dug up and sold some weapons. Quite obviously, the weapons belonged to a depot find, but most of the pieces probably went to the furnace. At least it was possible to save two pieces. The axe was brought to the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Bavarian Academy of Sciences) in 1808 as a weapon of "outstanding beauty". The affiliation of the lance with the trove is not quite so clear. In the Nationalmuseum's (National Museum) old collection, it was the only object of the same quality from an unknown location. Because of the very similar patina, it was assigned to the Krottenthal Find. The axe is unique. The dating to the thirteenth to the eleventh centuries BC is based on the age of the lance tip "found nearby". The Krottenthal Axe would have been useless as a tool. It was either a ritual weapon or denoted rulership.
Author
Archäologische Staatssammlung München