Fifth-Century A.D. Cemetery Uncovered in the Czech Republic

Expats CZ reports that six graves dated to the fifth century A.D. have been found in the East Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. One of the graves was intact, according to archaeologist Pavel Horník of the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, while the others had been looted shortly after the burials took place. 

The site was discovered in 2019 by archaeologists from the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové (MVČ HK), and the first findings were just made public. The site has been dated to the fifth century AD, around the time of the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire and the start of the Dark Ages. The era was known for migration and instability.

Graves from this time are rare. “In Eastern Bohemia, this is only the second chamber grave from the period of the migration that has been explored.

The first in the region was a grave in Plotiště nad Labem, discovered in the 1960s. It was the burial of an elderly man with a child,” MVČ HK archaeologist Pavel Horník said.

One of six graves in the newly discovered site at the village of Sendražice, just outside the city of Hradec Králové, was exceptional. It had escaped the attention of grave robbers who plundered the other five shortly after the burials took place.

“Most of the graves were looted in the spirit of those times. An exception was the grave belonging to a woman between 35 and 50 years old. This grave can be described as extraordinary in the whole of the Czech Republic,” Horník said.

The artefacts from all of the graves are being examined by experts from Masaryk University in Brno, the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, the Institute of Archeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Mining Museum in Příbram, and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

Precious and mundane items both yield secrets

The intact grave chamber, designated grave number two, contained several items of extraordinary historical and artistic quality such as four silver-and-gold clasps inlaid with semi-precious stones and a headdress decorated with gold targets.

Remnants of two different textiles were on the silver-and-gold clasps in the unlooted grave. One of the fabrics belonged to the garment fastened by the buckles, the other to a coat of cloth that covered the woman.

Remains of leather and fur were also found on the buckles, according to research by Helena Březinová from the Institute of Archeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

The other five graves were for people between the ages of 16 and 55. While they had been looted, they still contained the remains of funeral offerings such as a short sword, knives, glass and amber beads, metal belt components, decorative shoe fittings, and antler combs.

From the looted grave number five, only an iron knife, beads, and a ceramic vessel survived. Samples from the vessel showed that meat had been cooked in it. The presence of certain acids and fats indicates it was the meat of a ruminant, such as a cow. There were no indications of the presence of plant-based food in any of the graves.

Diseases reveal a hard life

Arthritis was evident in the bones of one of the buried people, possibly due to age and physical exertion. Anthropologist Milada Hylmarová of Masaryk University noted significantly asymmetrical muscles on the lower limbs in one of the graves. Due to the incompleteness of the skeleton, the cause can’t be determined but it could be the result of a stroke.

In another case, traces of cancer were found on a skull and pelvis. Other ailments noted were tooth decay and damage to joints.

High-tech examinations underway

Research is continuing, and should eventually reveal a more complete picture of the lives of the people from the site. The chemical composition of the ceramic vessel could reveal whether it was manufactured in the area or came from elsewhere.

So far, only the gender of the woman in the unlooted grave has been determined with any certainty. Based on the objects found, it is assumed that a man was buried in grave number three and a woman in grave six.

DNA analysis is currently taking place in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig and the Institute of Archeology and Museology of Masaryk University. This could show more about the relationships between the people and where they came from.  

Nail allegedly from Jesus’ crucifixion found in a secret chamber in a Czech monastery

A secret chamber of a monastery has been discovered with priceless Christian relics, including a nail allegedly used in Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Archaeologists working in the Czech Republic’s Milevsko monastery discovered a six-inch-long piece of the nail inside a box with a 21-karat gold cross.

The box was built between 260 and 416 AD and is inscribed with the letters ‘IR,’ which translates to ‘Jesus is King.’ The hidden treasury room, according to experts, was used to conceal rare artefacts from raids by Hussite troops in the early 15th century.

Researchers excavating the scene say that they cannot confirm if the nail came from the true Cross,’ but note the discovery ‘is even greater than the reliquary of St. Maurus, reports the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

The Maurus Reliquary is a large box made of gold that holds fragments from the bodies of three saints: Saint Maurus, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Timothy. 

There have also been dozens of nails uncovered that are linked to Jesus’s crucifixion, leading scientists to be skeptical about the recent find.

Jiří Šindelář, who took part in the discovery, told ČTK: ‘Because the Hussites destroyed the archive, there was no information that such a thing was here.’

Šindelář added that the authenticity of the nail will be verified by other scientific expertise sometime next year.  Archaeologists have been working at the Milevsko monastery for several months and recently uncovered a secret passage that led to the treasury room.

The monastery was built in 1187 but was captured by Hussites in 1420 and taken over by the group’s nobility. However, before losing their place of worship, those who called the monastery home built a secret room to hide rare and priceless artefacts.

After analyzing the box through radiocarbon dating, the team found it was made with two types of wood. The larch wood, which is found in Israel’s subtropical climate, dates back between 1290 and 1394 AD.

The second sample, which is oak, was found to originate from 260 to 416 AD. A similar discovery was unearthed in October when a team found nails with ancient bone and wood embedded in them.

The nails were allegedly found in Jerusalem, in a first-century burial cave believed to be the resting place of Caiaphas, the Jewish priest who sent Jesus to his death in the Bible.

At some point after the cave was excavated in 1990, however, the nails went missing. Years later, filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici would claim to have found the nails, even claiming that they were used to crucify Jesus himself in the 2011 documentary, Nails Of The Cross.

At the time, scholars slammed the suggestion, denying that the nails Jacobovici had found were the same ones from Caiaphas’ tomb. But now an explosive new study has concluded that the nails are indeed the same ones – and that they were probably used to crucify someone too.

Lead author Dr Aryeh Shimron made the jaw-dropping find after comparing material from the nails with material from the tomb’s ossuaries – limestone boxes used to store the bones of the dead.

He said: ‘The materials invading caves differ subtly from cave to cave depending on topography, soil composition in the area, the microclimate and neighbouring vegetation.

‘Consequently, caves have distinct physical and chemical signatures. The physical and chemical properties of the materials which, over centuries, have invaded the tomb and its ossuaries were investigated.

‘Our analysis clearly and unequivocally demonstrates that these materials are chemically and physically identical to those which have, over centuries, also become attached to the nails. Caiaphas’ cave was the only match for the nails out of 25 tombs tested, Dr Shimron found.

He continued: ‘We have also discovered fine slivers of wood accreted within the iron oxide rust of the nails.

‘It is well preserved and entirely petrified* the wood is therefore ancient and not a chance or man-made fake attachment to the nails. Within the rust and sediment attached to the nails, we also identified and photographed a number of microscopic fragments of bone.’