Paradoxically, the helmet from Biecz, chronologically the closest and probably
an Aegean export, is the furthest distant from the Aegean. It is likely that this
dates to BzC2 (fourteenth century BC).109 See Mödlinger et al. 2013, p. 23:
So far, ten conical helmets are known, another close related find with boar tusk
decoration is noted as well. They are distributed from Knossos, Crete in the
southeast of Europe to Biecz, Poland, in the northwest. The distribution centre,
with the highest number of finds, is the Carpathian basin. The helmets are dated
to the 14th–13th century BC; only the helmet from Knossos derives from the
middle of the 15th century BC.110 Hugh Hencken, “Beitzsch and Knossos,” Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 18
(1953), pp. 36–46.
111 See Mödlinger 2013a, p. 395:
Though the distribution area of conical helmets is rather wide—it ranged from
the Havel-Oder region in northern Germany to the Carpathian Basin and the
Aegean—the similarity of the helmets as well as the fact that they do not resemble
any other type of helmet should indicate a close connection. This belief is also
supported by other imported Aegean finds that have turned up in the Havel-Oder
region, such as the spearhead from the hoard at Kyhna (Hänsel 2003, 82), as
well as the fact that such elaborate sheet metalwork in bronze is scarce in the
Nordic Bronze Age work of this period.112 See the map of find-spots at Uckelmann 2011b, p. 250, Fig. 1.
113 See Uckelmann 2011b, p. 249, on the earliest European shields:
Vornemlich bestanden diese Schilde aus organischem Material, das sich aber
nur selten erhalten hat. Fünf Exemplare sind aus irischen Mooren bekannt: zwei
Holzschilde, zwei Schildformer aus Holz und ein Lederschild. Zwei dieser
Stücke sind^14 C datiert und ein Ergebnis verweist auf eine schon früh- bis
mittelbronzezeitliche Verwendung von Rundschilden im Raum der Brittischen
Inseln.114 For the catalogue see Uckelmann 2011b. Concise summaries of his findings and
conclusions can be found in Uckelmann 2011a and Uckelmann 2012b.
115 Uckelmann 2011b, pp. 254–255.
116 Mödlinger 2012.
117 Eleni Andrikou has described the Theban corselets in detail and explored their
significance; see Andrikou 2007.
118 Crouwel 1981, pp. 124–127.
119 The deposits, each containing seven corselets, were found at Fillinges and Marmesse.
The deposits are notoriously difficult to date, but Mödlinger 2012, p. 23, suggests a
date for both deposits in the Ha A2 period. For a listing of all thirty bronze corselets
from Europe, arranged more or less in chronological order, see Mödlinger 2012,
p. 2.
120 On all this see Ward 2012.
121 Ward 2012, p. 221.
122 Ward 2012, p. 224: “The ship measures 20 x 4.89 x 1.7m deep under its beams and
displaces 30 tons with a cargo capacity of about 17 tons.” With a crew that included
only fourteen rowers instead of twenty-four (many of the rowers were volunteers,
and needed more space than experienced rowers need) Min of the Desertlogged an
average of slightly more than 6 knots per hour on its round trip from Safaga to Mersa
Alam and back.
123 Cline 1994 surveyed the foreign imports, almost 1000 of them, from the entire LH
period.
214 Militarism in Greece