Valter Lang, Editor-in-Chief of the Estonian Journal of Archaeology and professor at the University of Tartu, spoke to ERR about new finds that have significantly changed our understanding of Estonia’s Bronze Age.

Thanks to the efforts of hobbyist metal detectorists, the number of known Bronze Age artefacts in Estonia has doubled over the past 20 years, from 80 to 160. The new finds show that far more bronze was in circulation here than previously thought, and that bronze objects were likely first produced on Estonian territory some 500 to 600 years earlier than earlier finds had suggested.

Tuuli Kurisoo, senior researcher at Tallinn University, also spoke about the significance of the finds, emphasising the importance of collaboration between hobbyist detectorists and researchers, as well as the careful documentation of discoveries.

Read the full article: “Hobby archeologists help rewrite Estonian Bronze Age history”