Sekery s raménky z Krušných hor. K solitérním nálezům z doby halštatské z hor a kopců Českého masivu / Trunnion axes from the Ore Mountains/Erzgebirge. On solitary finds from the Hallstatt period from the hills and mountains of the Bohemian Massif

The subject of the article is iron trunnion axes found in the years 2016–2017 in the cadastral territory of the villages of Drmaly and Vysoká Pec (Chomutov district, northwest Bohemia). It was metallographically proven that the artefacts are finely crafted cutting weapons/tools with differentially quench-hardened steel cutting edges. A unique inlay from arsenic iron was documented on one of the axes. Trunnion axes mostly dated to Ha C2–D1-2 are found in Bohemia to a lesser extent in Hallstatt period hoards, cemeteries, settlements and hillforts. Their largest group is composed of solitary finds intentionally deposited outside of contemporary areas of regular human activities and situated primarily in forested mountain terrain, sometimes in the vicinity of water sources, routes or hillforts. The connection between deposits and striking natural locations (mountains, cliffs, caves, river sources, etc.) could represent an archaeological manifestation of the ritual behaviour of Hallstatt period man in the sacred landscape.