400-year-old battle gear discovered by metal detectorist in Poland: 'Unique find'
Pieces of metal armor from the 17th century were recently dug up by a metal detectorist. Officials believe that the battle gear belonged to the Polish hussars.
A metal detectorist recently discovered 400-year-old military artifacts while roaming around a field last month.
Youtuber Patryk Chmielewski, who posts videos under the username Profesor Detektorysta, filmed himself walking through a dirt field in Mikułowice, Poland, in March. When his metal detector suddenly started pinging, he set up his camera and began digging in the soil.
Soon enough, Chmielewski uncovered several pieces of metal that were buried 60 centimeters deep. Around a week later, officials from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education announced the discovery in a Polish language news release.
Archaeologists believe that the armor belonged to the Polish hussars, a calvary unit in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the early 16th century to the early 18th century.
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The metal pieces that were dug up likely date back to the 17th century, officials say.
"Based on the shape of the helmet, we can very likely assess that (the armor) comes from the first half of the 17th century," an archaeologist from the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University told Science in Poland.
The archaeologist also said that it is unclear where exactly the armor was made, as it lacked decorative ornaments that noblemen usually had – which suggests it may have been made in a local workshop.
"It is a bit corroded, we will only have greater certainty about the date of its creation after conservation work."
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In a statement translated to English, archaeologist Mark Florek, who works for the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments, said that the battle gear is "incomplete."
"The armor is incomplete, the basic element of the cuirass [a piece of armor that covers the torso] is missing, consisting of the breastplate and the backplate, which was used to protect the breast and back, and one of the shoulder pads," Florek explained.
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Florek also said that the armor included a left shoulder piece, a semicircular helmet and a collarbone piece that protected the neck.
After conservation work is complete, the artifacts will go to the Sandomierz Castle in Sandomierz, Poland, which is a medieval structure that currently functions as a museum.
Fox News Digital reached out to Patryk Chmielewski for comment.
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