SILICITE DAGGER from Nové Město

Exhibit of the Month 1 / 2021

In 1932, a silicate (flint) dagger was added to the collection of the Czech Museum in Most, found during modifications of the training ground near Bendl's lodge in the Ore Mountains. The dagger (length 20.4 cm) made of whitish-gray silicate is of northern origin and dated to the Early Bronze Age, which corresponds to the Únětice culture in our region. Silicate daggers appear in our territory during the Eneolithic (Late Stone Age) and disappear during the Early Bronze Age. In Europe, there were two production circles for these daggers – northern, which includes ours, and southern, an example of which is the famous man from the glacier - Ötzi. In Bohemia, just over 50 silicate daggers have been found so far, mostly as isolated finds. Only a few come from graves or settlements. Our dagger is unique due to the circumstances of its discovery, particularly its altitude (830 m above sea level). Another fragment of a dagger from Křimov (725 m above sea level) comes from the Ore Mountains. These finds, along with other artifacts that we have recently managed to document, may provide evidence of the use of routes through the Ore Mountains already in prehistoric times. In addition to the dagger from Nové Město, our museum's collection includes three others, from Ervěnice, Souš, and Kopisty.

Text: Mgr. Petr Vágner Photo: Pavel Krásenský