THE VÝCHODOSLOVENSKÉ múzeum in Košice on February 21 opened a unique archaeological exhibition called Between Mykens and the Baltic. The exhibit contains over 1,000 Older and Middle Bronze Age exhibits recovered from archaeological sites in the eastern Slovak villages Barca and Nižná Myšľa.
"Both sites are of European significance," said archaeologist Dárius Gašaj. "They prove that the current area of eastern Slovakia was part of civilised Europe already in the Bronze Age, some 3,500 years ago. Fortified settlements represented lively trading places on the route between the Baltic and Mediterranean seas, which were the centres of craft production and culture."
During 25 years of digging at a burial site in Nižná Myšľa, archaeologists uncovered around 750 Older Bronze Age graves. They found gold and bronze jewellery, tools used for making weapons and decorative objects, ceramics, sculptures of women and animals, and children's toys.
A button from a horse harness and a clay cart toy were exciting finds, said Gašaj.
"The button's similarity with archaeological discoveries in Greece is not a coincidence. It's evidence of contacts with the Aegean region. And the cart, found near the skeleton of a seven-year-old girl, seems to be the oldest children's toy discovered so far in central Europe," the archaeologist said.
The exhibition runs Tue-Sat 9:00-17:00 and Sun 9:00-13:00 until April 30 at the Východoslovenské múzeum, Nám. maratónca mieru 2, Košice. Tel: 055/6223-061.
Author: Compiled by Spectator staff from press reports.
