A BRONZE Age skeleton found buried with a rare dagger was probably a warrior chief, experts claim.
The bones, almost virtually intact, dated back more than 4,000 years and were discovered on farmland in Racton, near Chichester, in 1989 after an archaeological dig.
The circumstances of the death of 'Racton Man' and why he was buried with the valuable weapon have been a source of intrigue to historians.
They were unable to investigate further until April this year when the South Downs National Park gave a £1,980 grant to the Novium Museum in Chichester for analysis and Chichester District Council supported the project by paying for staff and exhibition costs. Racton Man's teeth, bones and the blade were studied.
The frame is now on display at the museum and today specialists revealed their findings for the first time.
James Kenny, the council's site excavator and planning archaeologist, said the man was at least 45 when he died and at least 6ft tall. His bronze dagger, with a rivet-studded hilt, indicates he was a high-ranking tribal leader, Mr Kenny said.
Mr Kenny said: "He was a man of extremely high status buried with an extremely rare dagger and almost certainly a warrior chief.
“The bronze dagger would have been phenomenally rare then, let alone now. This 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.”
Dr Stuart Needham, a Bronze Age specialist who pulled together the research, said: “The dagger's design is distinctively British, but of greater significance is the fact it dates to the transition from copper to bronze metallurgy. Its colour and keen hard edge would have distinguished it from the more common copper objects in use.” Analysis of his teeth suggest he was brought up in southern Britain, west of Sussex.
He died between 2150BC to 2300BC and his bones suggested he had spinal degeneration, had a chronic sinus infection, an abscess and tooth decay.
A cut to his right upper arm bone near the elbow had not healed, suggesting his elbow was bent above his head to protect him from a strike during combat.
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