The resident of Ulyanovsk (Russia) contributed to funds of Regional museum of local lore a unique exhibit – bronze Chekan the second half of the VII-VI centuries BC.

Chekana (klevets) fall into to specific group of korotkodrevkovy weapon. On different classifications they are carried as to the shock, and cutting weapon. In the territory of Volga-Kamya 19 bronze and bimetallic chekan, a half of which has zoomorfny elements in the form of the heads of birds of prey and figures of animals, are known.

The find origin is interesting. Chekan was found in the fall of this year in the territory of one of the enterprises of Ulyanovsk in the sand-gravel mix extracted at the bottom of Kama. Judging by a breed origin (the Southern Udmurtia – East Tatarstan) in which it was found чекан it falls into the ananyinsky cultural historic area of the early Iron Age.

Ulyanovsk чекан it is made with great art skills. The plug of a chekan is decorated with the stylized image of the lying animal from the cat family. In a corner between an anvil block and the plug the stylized image of the head of a bird of prey is noted. Possibly, it is a griffin – a mythological winged entity with a trunk of a lion and the head of an eagle.

The butt of a chekan is decorated with images of six representatives of the cat family – on three from each party. Images cat’s on a butt – sculptural, the body of animals is executed in the form of a bas-relief, and the head acts over a surface almost completely, i.e. is a high relief. Completion of a butt is issued in the form of the head of a snake.