A whole, working, mega bronze bell found by a metal detector

Hello everyone,
so the preparation for the service to the cradle of Hussitism, South Bohemia, is finished. The trunk of the car is filled with material up to three times its maximum and just one last thing. Take Zeryk? I'll take it as a condom. Better to have it and not use it than not have it and want to use it. Jericho, get in! In the end I managed to investigate two watches in the evening and so the first mown meadow between Protivín and Písek became my goal. After thirty minutes I come to the conclusion that it is the same everywhere for certain things. Mosquitoes, rain bugs*, lids, tinfoil, ox-shoes, buttons ... . Well, I'm going to pull a mega bell out of twenty-five numbers for a while. I haven't found one of those in our region yet. A nice little thing. It's whole, functional and beautiful.

diameter: 41,44 mm
height with eyelet: 50,23 mm
weight: Leuchtturm
weight: 76,43g
decoration: both halves decorated with a rosette_sunflower (sunflower, gazania)
material: bronze + iron ball as a loose heart
assumption of loss: from the neck of cattle, or from a horse harness or saddle
date: by me 16. - 17th century

Roller skates.
They belong to a group of self-voiced musical instruments called idiophones, which are dominated by bells. And it all started with them, too, back in the Early Bronze Age in China. The enclosure of the free-hearted bell didn't take long and at that moment we had the birth of the bell_hollow rattle.
Jingle bells served as a signalling, warning or musical instrument, a talisman for protection against air demons, a decorative pendant, toy, for ritual magical purposes among shamans and sorcerers, and for ringing during mass.

They were hung on clothing from hats to the tops of shoes, on necklaces, rings or tiaras, horse harnesses and riding saddles, in falconry on the feet of birds of prey, and in shepherding on the necks of sheep, goats, cows, pigs, herding and hunting dogs and pets.

The roll bum on clothing begins in the late 12th century, and mainly among the upper classes. In Germany, their wearing became so widespread that it led to bans or restrictions on their wearing. A German proverb aptly speaks of their popularity in use. In the 14th century, in Florence and Mantua, brides had to be marked with a bell on their hat. They were worn on hats and clothing by fools, court jesters, conjurers, gypsies, acrobats, actors, entertainers, strolling musicians, and even lepers.

The oldest bells found in our country that I have traced are from bronze depots from the Late Bronze Age (+/- 1000 to 800 B.C.) Then comes the find from the late Hallstatt period . For these finds, I suspect they were made by the creativity of metal detectorists inspired by nature, perhaps the poppy, rather than some Marco Polo bronzesmith making a cavalier journey east and back. During the archaeological excavation of the oppidum of Závist near Prague, two bells were found. The first was published without date in 1978 and the second in 1995. I read that it was probably inadvertently intended as a Latin amulet from the 2nd-1st century B.C. Both finds could be related to the early medieval period, as 14 Slavic graves from the late 9th-10th century were uncovered at the northeastern part near Gate A. Our "standard" bells begin to appear before the establishment of Great Moravia and comecame to us from the Hungarian region, from the mixed Avar-Slavic culture, where they were brought by eastern nomads.

The most common material they are made of is bronze, brass, iron, but the highly valued predators had a bell made of gold. Dimensionally, they most often range from 20 to 40 mm in diameter, but there are of course smaller and larger specimens. The shape is predominantly spherical. They can also be ovoid, pear-shaped or barrel-shaped. They have one or two slits, which may be terminated by a circular hole, and their size affects the pitch of the tone produced by the bell. The core, the free heart, is most often metal. It is rarely made of stone or baked clay. Grooves, rosettes, and fish scales are used as motifs for decoration, but are often plain and unadorned.

Sincerely Martin

* cattle

Literature and pictorial appendix:
Encyclopedia of Prehistoric Treasures in Bohemia_Lubor Smejtek, Michal Lutovský, Jiří Militký
Encyclopedia of Slavic Archaeology in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia_Michal Lutovský
Czech Lands from the Arrival of the Slavs to Great Moravia I., II._Zdeněk Měřínský
Slavs in Bohemia_Magdaléna Beranová, Michal Lutovský
The form of medieval jewellery based on South Moravian finds_ Věra Šlancarová
Hinges in the Hallstatt period in Moravia_Bravencová Renáta
New finds of bronze bells in South Bohemia_Jaroslav Polách
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Conrad_Laib_-_Kreuzigung_Christi_-_4919_-_Kunsthistorisches_Museum.jpg
https://www.lovecpokladu.cz/home/hallstatt-8112
https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/crotal-bells.html
https://www.kdelovit.cz/cz/clanky/historie-sokolnictvi/sokolnicke-motivy-a-sokolnictvi-v-evrope-v-15-16-stoleti
National Museum