By Taulant Hata. Translation Petrit Latifi.

The Spear of Tilar – The Mysteries of an Illyrian Weapon Found in Western Ukraine

In 1858, a farmer working in the village of Suzanje, near Kovel in Western Ukraine, found a black bronze spearhead. The 15.5 cm long spearhead had some strange signs engraved on it. At that time in the 19th century, European scientists had just begun to deal with ancient symbols. After many attempts, in 1897 the inscription was deciphered: it read “TILARI”.

This name matched Illyrian names known from old sources.
At the Berlin exhibition of 1880, this weapon was presented as the “Spear of Kovel”. Researchers later dated it to the 3rd–2nd centuries BC. This is one of the earliest inscriptions in the Illyrian language.
Below the article provides comparisons with the Germanic runic alphabet, to show the graphic similarity of the engraved signs. It is discussed that the word “TILARI” could be a personal name – perhaps the owner of the weapon.

The question that arises is: how did an Illyrian weapon end up in western Ukraine? There are several possibilities. The article cites foreign scholars who have dealt with this object, including Gustav Matz and others, emphasizing its importance for the study of the language and history of the Illyrians.

In the final part it is emphasized that this remains a unique piece of evidence, a direct connection between the Illyrian world and the space of today’s Ukraine.

Note:

Taulant Hata is a journalist and publicist. He has published the book “Iliria, libri i të përhve”, Tirana, 2014. This book is among the best-sellers in Albania and Kosovo.

Photo: Diana Doci