Archaeologists have unearthed a rare dagger dating back to the Copper Age at Tina Jama Cave in the regional decentralization entity of Trieste in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The 4,000-year-old copper dagger found in Tina Jama Cave, Italy. Image credit: Davide Bonaduce.
The ancient copper dagger from Tina Jama Cave is just under 10 cm (4 inches) long and has a leaf shape with a tang.
The artifact was found by Professor Federico Bernardini, excavation director and an archaeologist from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and his colleagues from Italy and Slovenia.
“Such finds do not have exact parallels in Italy, but the Tina Jama dagger can be compared with similar finds from the famous Dežman/Deschmann pile dwellings near Ljubljana in Slovenia,” Professor Bernardini said.
“Excavations at Tina Jama uncovered layers from the Bronze and Final Copper Age, dating back to the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE,” added Dr. Elena Leghissa, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and the Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti.
“The findings are essential for understanding the technological, cultural, and social transformations in Europe during that period.”
“Excavations will deepen our understanding of the various cultural facets of the 3rd millennium BCE in the Caput Adriae region.”
“The discovery of the copper dagger is an exceptional event that raises questions about the cave’s use.”
The archaeologists also discovered a structure made of slabs and stone blocks from between 2000 and 1500 BCE at the entrance of the cave.
“The purpose of this structure remains unclear, but some fragments of human skulls found nearby suggest it may have had a funerary function,” they said.
“Alternatively, it might have been built to protect the interior of the cave from bora winds.”
“The ceramic materials that were retrieved on site and the presence of a hearth suggest that, prior to the creation of this structure, the cave was frequented by groups whose material culture had close contact with the Dalmatian area in the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE (Cetina culture).”
The researchers also found flint arrowheads, long blades made from the same material through pressure techniques, polished stone axes, obsidian, stone and ceramic objects, and shell ornaments.
“This evidence suggests that the cave has been visited for thousands of years and is promising for future excavation efforts,” they concluded.