A meteorite found in the remains of a Neolithic hut in Bolkow, north west Poland, may have been used for shamanic purposes, academics have argued.

Photo: wikipedia

The meteorite was discovered among a large group of sacral objects in a hut on the banks of Swidwie Lake in the West Pomeranian region.

Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology in Szczecin found items including an amulet, a so-called 'magic staff' fashioned from antlers and decorated with geometrical motifs, and an engraved bone spear.

They were made about 9000 years ago.

The discovery of the meteorite, which is 8cm high and 5.3cm wide at the base, proved especially intriguing in this context.

“The meteorite was brought to the hut as an object of special significance, because it came 'from another world,” Professor Tadeusz Galinski told the Polish Press Agency.

“The item became an object in their belief system, and perhaps even a prop in the practice of shamanic magic,” he said.

Archaeologists have been carrying out excavations at the site for several years now. The meteorite was discovered last year, but at first academics failed to identify it correctly. (nh)



