Cultural Context
The Schifferstadt specimen was the oldest of a group of (by now) four known Golden hats, cone-shaped Bronze Age head-dresses made of sheet gold. All but one were found in Southern Germany. The Schifferstadt hat was the first to be discovered. After the example from Berlin, it is the best-preserved one, fully preserved with the exception of a small part of the brim.
Three associated bronze axes and a comparison with other Late Bronze Age metwalwork date the Schifferstadt Hat to circa 1,400-1,300 BC.
The hat, like its counterparts, is assumed to have served as a religious insignia for the deities or priests of a sun-cult common in Bronze Age Europe. The hats are also suggested to have served calendrical functions.
Read more about this topic: Golden Hat Of Schifferstadt
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