DetectingWales.com

By Ellie Zolfagharifard Published       16 December 2014

A Bronze Age skeleton found buried with one of the earliest bronze daggers in the UK was an important warrior chief who bled to death in combat, experts have revealed.
 
The virtually-complete skeleton, dating back more than 4,000 years, was found on farmland in the hamlet of Racton, near Chichester, West Sussex, in 1989.
 
Its background has long been a source of intrigue to historians because the skeleton - nicknamed Racton Man - was found with an extremely rare and valuable dagger.
 
Warrior chief: The Bronze Age skeleton found is thought to have been a high-ranking warrior chief who died in combat, experts claim. The virtually-complete skeleton dating back more than 4,000 years was found on farmland in the hamlet of Racton, near Chichester, West Sussex, in 1989
 
He was buried lying on his left side, clasping the dagger in front of his face. The dagger was decorated with tiny studs that would have glistened in the light.
 
Technological advances have enabled experts from to scientifically analyse the mysterious male's teeth, bones and dagger to help piece together some of the details of who he was.
 
At the Novium Museum in Chichester, where the skeleton and the dagger is now on display, specialists unravelled the mystery of Racton Man by revealing their findings for the first time.
 
Site excavator and planning archaeologist, James Kenny, said he was at least 45 years of age at the time of his death, and was a 'big man' who was at least 6ft (182cm) tall.

Mystery: The skeleton - nicknamed Racton Man - was found with an extremely rare and valuable dagger. At the Novium Museum in Chichester, where the skeleton and the dagger is now on display, specialists unravelled the mystery of Racton Man by revealing their findings for the first time
 
Rare: Dr Stuart Kenny, a Bronze Age specialist who pulled together the research, said the dagger had a rare rivet-studded hilt, and it would have gleamed. It was not ceremonial as it had been sharpened for battle
 

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE 'RACTON MAN' WARRIOR CHIEF?

Racton man was over the age of 45 when he died.
 
He was a 'big man' who was at least 6ft (182cm) tall.
 
He grew up in southern Britain, possibly around modern-day West Sussex.
 
He was buried with one the earliest bronze daggers ever found in the UK.
 
The dagger had a rare design but was not ceremonial as it had been sharpened.
 
He was a man of extremely high status was almost certainly a warrior chief.
 
Racton man suffered from a number of conditions including spinal degeneration, a sinus infection and tooth decay.
 
He had an unhealed sword cut near his elbow which probably caused him to bleed to death.
 
The warrior died between 2300BC and 2150BC.


But it was the discovery of a dagger alongside him that set him apart from ordinary members of society. and someone who was probably a tribal leader, Mr Kenny said.
 
'To start with, the fact that this man had a bronze dagger would have been phenomenally rare then, let alone now,' said Mr Kenny.
 
'This would have been right at the start of the introduction of this type of technology and would have been one of the first bronze daggers in existence in this country.
 
'There are so few burials back to the early Bronze Age, especially in the Chichester region.
 
'It's also rare to find such a distinctive burial that has been archaeologically excavated.'
 
Mr Kenny added: 'He was a man of extremely high status buried with an extremely rare dagger and he was almost certainly a warrior chief.'
 
Dr Stuart Kenny, a Bronze Age specialist who pulled together the research, said the dagger had a rare rivet-studded hilt, and it would have gleamed like gold.
 
He added: 'Its design is distinctively British, but of greater significance is the fact that it dates to the transition from copper to bronze metallurgy.
 
'This dagger is bronze and so this item would have been incredibly rare at the time. Its colour and keen hard edge would have distinguished it from the more common copper objects in use.
 
Fighter: Racton man had an unhealed sword cut near his elbow that probably caused him to bleed to death. Radiocarbon dating of the remains by the Scottish Universities Environmental Research centre in Glasgow show he died sometime around 2150BC to 2300BC
 
Tribal leader: Twenty-three years after the skeleton was found in Racton, archaeologists have discovered his rare dagger was the oldest bronze object ever found in

'We don't understand the social structure of this time, but he would have been a very prominent member of society, someone of great seniority.'
 
Isotope analysis of Racton Man's teeth at Durham University suggest he could have been brought up in southern Britain, possibly somewhere west of Sussex.
 
Radiocarbon dating of the remains by the Scottish Universities Environmental Research centre in Glasgow show he died sometime around 2150BC to 2300BC.
 
And analysis of his bones suggest he had spinal degeneration, thought to be age-related. He also suffered chronic sinus infection, and an abscess, with tooth decay.
 
Experts also discovered signs of a cut to Racton Man's right upper arm bone, close to the elbow, and which had not healed.
 
It suggests he had his elbow bent above his head to protect it from a blow or strike from a weapon during combat, according to historians.