Category Archives: EUROPE

EUROPE, GERMANY, WORLD

In Germany, a rare hoard of 2000-year-old Curved Celtic gold coins was discovered

In Germany, a rare hoard of 2000-year-old Curved Celtic gold coins was discovered

A volunteer archaeologist has discovered an ancient stash of Celtic coins, whose “value must have been immense,” in Brandenburg, a state in northeastern Germany. The 41 gold coins were minted more than 2,000 years ago, and are the first known Celtic gold treasure in Brandenburg,  Manja Schüle, the Minister of Culture in Brandenburg announced in December 2021.

In Germany, a rare hoard of 2000-year-old Curved Celtic gold coins was discovered
A selection of the 41 Celtic coins was discovered in Brandenburg, Germany.

The coins are curved, a feature that inspired the German name “regenbogenschüsselchen,” which translates to “rainbow cups.” Just like the legend that there’s a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, “in popular belief, rainbow cups were found where a rainbow touched the Earth,” Marjanko Pilekić, a numismatist and research assistant at the Coin Cabinet of the Schloss Friedenstein Gotha Foundation in Germany, who studied the hoard, told Live Science in an email. 

Another piece of lore is that rainbow cups “fell directly from the sky and were considered lucky charms and objects with a healing effect,” Pilekić added. It’s likely that peasants often found the ancient gold coins on their fields after rainfall, “freed from dirt and shining,” he said.

The hoard was discovered by Wolfgang Herkt, a volunteer archaeologist with the Brandenburg State Heritage Management and Archaeological State Museum (BLDAM), near the village of Baitz in 2017.

After Herkt got a landowner’s permission to search a local farm, he noticed something gold and shiny. “It reminded him of a lid of a small liquor bottle,” Pilekić said. “However, it was a Celtic gold coin.”

After finding 10 more coins, Herkt reported the discovery to the BLDAM, whose archaeologists brought the hoard’s total to 41 coins.

“This is an exceptional find that you probably only make once in a lifetime,” Herkt said in a statement. “It’s a good feeling to be able to contribute to the research of the country’s history with such a find.”

The first 11 coins were discovered in Brandenburg, Germany.

By comparing the weight and size of the coins with those of other ancient rainbow cups, Pilekić was able to date the hoard’s minting to between 125 B.C. and 30 B.C., during the late Iron Age.

At that time, the core areas of the Celtic archaeological culture of La Tène (about 450 B.C. to the Roman conquest in the first century B.C.) occupied the regions of what is now England, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, southern Germany and the Czech Republic, Pilekić said. In southern Germany, “we find large numbers of rainbow cups of this kind,” he noted.

However, Celts did not live in Brandenburg, so the discovery suggests that Iron Age Europe had extensive trade networks.

A selection of the cup-shaped Celtic gold coins from Brandenburg, Germany.
A 2,000-year-old Celtic gold coin in the field where it was found.

What was in the hoard?

Of the 41 gold coins, 19 are coins known as staters, which have a diameter of 0.7 inches (2 centimetres) and an average weight of 0.2 ounces (7.3 grams), and 22 are 1/4 staters, which have a smaller diameter of 0.5 inches (1.4 cm) and an average weight of 0.06 ounces (1.8 g). The entire stash is imageless, meaning they are “plain rainbow cups,” said Pilekić, who is also a doctoral candidate of the archaeology of coinage, money and the economy in Antiquity at Goethe University, Frankfurt.

READ ALSO: HOARD OF 1,800-YEAR-OLD SILVER COINS DISCOVERED IN GERMANY

Because the coins in the stash are similar, it’s likely that the hoard was deposited all at once, he said. However, it’s a mystery why this collection — the second largest hoard of “plain” rainbow cups of this type ever found — ended up in Brandenburg. 

“It is rare to find gold in Brandenburg, but no one would have expected it to be ‘Celtic’ gold of all things,” Pilekić said. “This find extends the distribution area of these coin types once again, and we will try to find out what this might tell us that we did not yet know or thought we knew.”

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

Mosaic with slave thanking God for his freedom unearthed in Turkey

Mosaic with slave thanking God for his freedom unearthed in Turkey

A close-up of peacocks depicted in the mosaic at the Church of the Holy Apostles, Hatay, southern Turkey

A mosaic made by a freed slave to thank God for his emancipation was unearthed during the excavation at the 6th-century Church of the Holy Apostles in southern Hatay province.

A close-up of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Hatay, southern Turkey

The Church of the Holy Apostles was found in an orange grove in the Arpaçiftlik neighbourhood by Mehmet Keleş in 2007.

After Keleş recognized historical artefacts while planting orange saplings in the grove, archaeological digs were launched in the area.

With the disclosure of mosaics, animal figures, stone graves and bone remains, expert teams, determined that the area was a church and its name was the Church of the Holy Apostles.

While digs continue in the historical church, archaeologists have recently found an area with a mosaic. The mosaic with a peacock figure also features an inscription in which a slave thanked God after being freed.

An aerial view of the mosaic, the Church of the Holy Apostles, Hatay, southern Turkey.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Director of Hatay Archaeology Museum Ayşe Ersoy said that Hatay stands out with its history, nature and culture and the Arsuz district has had an important place in history as a port city since the first century A.D.

READ ALSO: EUROPE’S FIRST FARMERS CAME FROM TURKEY CONFIRMED BY DNA

Noting that the Church of the Holy Apostles and its mosaics are of great importance as they reveal the period between the 6th and 12th centuries in the city, Ersoy continued: “During this year’s excavations at the church, another mosaic area was discovered.

This mosaic made by a slave pictures peacocks and depictions of heaven.”

A close-up of the inscription of the mosaic, the Church of the Holy Apostles, Hatay, southern Turkey.
ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Rare Roman wooden figure uncovered by HS2 archaeologists in Buckinghamshire

Rare Roman wooden figure uncovered by HS2 archaeologists in Buckinghamshire

A waterlogged ditch in Buckinghamshire has yielded the most unexpected find — a rare, extremely well-preserved wooden figure dating back to Roman times. The discovery — the first of its kind in 100 years — was initially dismissed as a piece of degraded wood when it was found in Twyford during work on HS2 last July.

However, closer analysis revealed that it bears the shape of a human, seemingly dressed in a knee-length tunic tied at the waist and sporting either a hat or hair.

The figure is 26 inches (67 cm) tall — having lost the lowest part of its legs, not to mention its arms below the elbow — and is 7 inches (18 cm) wide.

Archaeologists said that the lack of oxygen in the trench in which the figure was found was what prevented it from rotting — preserving it for some 2,000 years. 

While its exact purpose is unknown, experts believe that the wooden representation may have been carved for the gods as a form of religious offering.

Rare Roman wooden figure uncovered by HS2 archaeologists in Buckinghamshire
A waterlogged ditch in Buckinghamshire has yielded the most unexpected find — a rare, extremely well-preserved wooden figure (pictured) dating back to Roman times
The wooden figure (pictured) is 26 inches (67 cm) tall — having lost the lowest part of its legs, not to mention its arms below the elbow — and is 7 inches (18 cm) wide

‘This is a truly remarkable find that brings us face to face with our past,’ said Historic England’s senior science advisor, Jim Williams.

‘The quality of the carving is exquisite and the figure is all the more exciting because organic objects from this period rarely survive.’

In the same ditch from which the wooden figure was recovered, archaeologists also found shards of pottery dating back to around 43–70 AD.

To provide a precise age for the figure itself, researchers are planning to conduct radiocarbon dating on a small fragment of the wood that was already broken off of the carving before it was unearthed from the ditch.

‘Not only is the survival of a wooden figure like this extremely rare for the Roman period in Britain, but it also raises new questions about this site,’ said archaeologist Iain Williamson of HS2’s Enabling Works Contractor, Fusion JV. 

Outstanding questions, he added include: ‘Who does the wooden figure represent, what was it used for and why was it significant to the people living in this part of Buckinghamshire during the 1st century AD?’

The figure is currently being further examined and conserved in the laboratory by experts from York Archaeology. It is extremely rare for carved wooden figures from Britain’s prehistoric and Roman periods to survive into the present day.

The last such discovery — the ‘Dagenham Idol‘, which has been dated to 2250 BC — was recovered from the north bank of the Thames back in 1922.

In 2019 a Roman-era wooden arm that was thought to have been carved as a religious offering was found at the bottom of a well in Northampton.

The story of the figure’s discovery will feature on the episode of BBC Two’s ‘Digging for Britain’ programme airing on Thursday, January 13th.

BELGIUM, EUROPE, WORLD

Painted Medieval Burial Vaults Uncovered in Bruges

Painted Medieval Burial Vaults Uncovered in Bruges

Excavations at a cemetery in the centre of Bruges have yielded an extraordinary find.  Archaeologists have discovered three painted burial vaults dating from the 14th century.

Painted Medieval Burial Vaults Uncovered in Bruges

The find was made last May during works in a street in the vicinity of the Church of Our Lady in Bruges (West Flanders).  The best-preserved burial vault is being paced in the church today.

The three medieval burial vaults were discovered during works on the construction of a filling station.

“The find is unique in Flanders” says culture alderman Nico Blontrock.

It’s taken a while for one of the burial vaults to be moved into the church as removing it from the soil required special equipment.

There’s little experience here with the removal of burial vaults and Alderman Blontrock says that in the past this has often failed: “These are fragile constructions, often consisting of brickwork.  

Taking them out of the ground often means the painting is damaged.  

We wanted to avoid this and established a special commission of experts.  I’m so happy the vault has now been saved for posterity.

The best-preserved burial vault is now receiving a temporary home in the Church of Our Lady before it is moved to the church museum.  

The paintings show classical medieval representations: “The paintings on a layer of plaster feature angels, crosses and other Christian themes.  The vault can be viewed in 3D on the Raakvlak website” says Blontrock.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Vast Roman town and hundreds of artefacts uncovered during rail excavation

Vast Roman town and hundreds of artefacts uncovered during rail excavation

The remains of a vast Roman trading settlement have been discovered by a team of archaeologists working along a future high-speed railway route in England.

Hundreds of Roman coins, jewellery, pottery and a pair of shackles were among the artefacts to be discovered at the site near a village in Northamptonshire, according to a press release from High Speed 2 (HS2) Tuesday.

HS2 is a large-scale project intended to create high-speed rail links between London and major cities in central and northern England.
The site, known as Backgrounds, dates back to around 50 AD, although it initially housed an Iron Age village dating back to around 400 BC, HS2 said.

Vast Roman town and hundreds of artefacts uncovered during rail excavation
The site is known as Backgrounds.

As an Iron Age road and more than 30 roundhouses were found near the Roman remains, archaeologists believe the Iron Age village developed into a wealthy Roman settlement. The area is believed to have developed over time and become wealthier, with new roads and stone buildings being constructed.

A Roman pot is shown as HS2 archaeologists uncover a vast Roman trading settlement in Northamptonshire

A huge Roman road around 10 meters in width (33 feet) runs through the settlement, far exceeding the normal maximum of around four meters (13 feet), said James West, site manager for MOLA Headland Infrastructure, which oversaw the excavation.

Badger leads archaeologists to a hoard of Roman coins in Spain
Experts believe this road — described as “exceptional in its size” — indicates the settlement was once a busy area with carts going in and out with goods.

“Uncovering such a well-preserved and large Roman road, as well as so many high quality, finds has been extraordinary and tells us so much about the people who lived here,” West said in the press release.

A lead weight, cast into the shape of a head, was found at the site.

“The site really does have the potential to transform our understanding of the Roman landscape in the region and beyond.”

Giant 180 million-year-old ‘sea dragon’ fossil found in UK reservoir
Unearthed workshops, kilns and several wells suggest the town would have been a “bustling and busy area” at its peak, the press release says. In addition to industrial practices, the foundations of buildings used for domestic purposes were also uncovered.

More than 300 Roman coins were found, suggesting a significant volume of commerce passed through the area. Glass vessels, highly decorative pottery, jewellery and evidence of cosmetics — as the mineral galena, which was crushed and mixed with oil to create makeup — was also discovered.

This coin depicting Marcus Aurelius from the reign of Emperor Constantine was one of more than 300 unearthed.

The quality of the soil, which is a fiery red colour in some parts, suggest activities involving burning took place in the area, such as bread making, metalwork or pottery.

The soil is a fiery red colour in parts, suggesting activities involving burning.

A pair of shackles discovered could also be evidence of either slave labour or criminal activity, the press release says.

The artefacts will be cleaned and examined by specialists, while the layout of the area and details of the buildings are being mapped.
Backgrounds are one of more than 100 archaeological sites between London and Birmingham that HS2 has examined since 2018.

HS2 has unearthed a number of interesting archaeological finds, such as rare Roman statues found at a church in Buckinghamshire and a Roman mosaic at a farm in Rutland in the East Midlands.

EUROPE, SPAIN, WORLD

Long-lost temple of Hercules from 9th century BC discovered, claim researchers

Long-lost temple of Hercules from 9th century BC discovered, claim researchers

The Roman Empire-era Lansdowne Herakles from the collection of the Getty in Los Angeles.

Archaeologists near Cádiz, Spain, believe they have located the site of the lost Temple of Hercules Gaditanus, an ancient pilgrimage destination visited by the likes of Roman dictator Julius Caesar and Carthaginian general Hannibal.

The elusive site has been something of “a holy grail” for archaeologists, according to El País, which first reported the potential discovery.

The reason experts have failed to uncover it? The temple has been underwater, submerged by the Caño de Sancti Petri, a shallow channel off the Bay of Cádiz between San Fernando and Chiclana.

Ricardo Belizón, a graduate archaeology student at the southern Spain’s University of Seville, made the discovery while examining topographic models of the region created using Light Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR, a remote sensing technology.

This 3-D map shows a rectangular structure that could be the lost Temple of Hercules Gaditanus, now submerged under the Caño of Sancti Petri

Looking at public data from Spain’s PNOA-LiDAR project, which began mapping the country in 2009, he spotted what appeared to be a nearly 1,000-foot-long, 500-foot-wide structure just offshore beneath the waves.

That matched the description of the lost 8th-century BC temple.

“Researchers are very reluctant to go for ‘show archaeology’ fed by the mass media, but in this case, we are faced with some spectacular finds. They are first class,” University of Seville director of archaeology Francisco José García told the London Times.

Working with the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage, a University of Seville team of researchers further consulted a digital terrain model provided by the National Geographic Institute and the Navy Oceanographic Institute to confirm the LiDAR data.

Archaeologists have yet to attempt to excavate the watery site, but plans to do so are in the works. Digs in the area have faced challenges in the past, due to the marshy coastline and shifting topography of the shallow channels, which are subject to rising and falling sea levels.

This 3-D map shows a rectangular structure that could be the lost Temple of Hercules Gaditanus, now submerged under the Caño of Sancti Petri.

That actually matches up with the historical record on the Temple of Hercules, believed to have been built by the Phoenicians. (Their god Melqart later became equated with the famous divine Roman hero.)

Ancient writings about Caesar’s and Hannibal’s visits mention “a changing environment, in contact with the sea, subject to the changing tides, in a temple where there must have been port structures and a seafaring environment,” Milagros Alzaga, head of the Andalusian Institute’s Center for Underwater Archaeology, who assisted with the research, told El País.

“The documentary sources we analyzed, the archaeological information together with the images obtained with digital models of the site, lead us to believe that this could be the mythical temple of Hercules,” he told Euro News.

But other experts are sceptical that the LiDAR maps are being accurately interpreted.

In 2020, University of Cordoba archaeology professor Antonio Monterroso-Checa published a study concluding that the temple was located at Cerro de Los Martires, or “Hill of the Martyrs,” to the south of Cádiz, in the San Fernando area.

The new theory is based on “a triangulation error,” he told the Times. “No reality at all.”

EUROPE, IRELAND, WORLD

Neolithic cattle sites could change the understanding of what beef meant to the people of Ireland

Neolithic cattle sites could change the understanding of what beef meant to the people of Ireland

Neolithic cattle sites could change the understanding of what beef meant to the people of Ireland

An archaeological site in Dublin with an unusually large collection of cattle remains could potentially change the understanding of beef and cattle herding in Middle Neolithic Ireland and Europe.

Data collected from the N2 Kilshane excavation in north county Dublin near Finglas by researchers from the UCD School of Archaeology and Queen’s University Belfast suggests that the multipurpose use of cattle for milk, meat and as draft animals were far more complex in the later 4th millennium BC Atlantic Europe than previously thought.

The remains of at least 58 individual cattle were recovered from the ditches of an enclosure excavated at Kilshane dating back some 5,500 years, and the site is one of the few with large faunal assemblages to be unearthed in Ireland.

Cattle are widely recognised as having important economic, social, symbolic and religious roles in Neolithic communities in Europe, and it has long been assumed that cattle in Neolithic Ireland had similar important roles.

However the absence of large faunal assemblages like the one found at Kilshane has, to date, precluded direct comparison with the rest of Europe, where the special status of cattle was strongly expressed by feasting and commensality.

Dr Fabienne Pigiere, zooarchaeologist in the UCD School of Archaeology, who led the study stressed the unusual character of this osteological assemblage compared to feasting remains from other sites: “Unlike contemporary British or continental sites, the Kilshane assemblage is nearly fully composed of cattle remains.

Its analysis shows the importance of sharing meat during this special gathering event and also allows us to investigate the husbandry economy of the Neolithic communities who exploited cattle for milk and as working beasts for traction”.

The kill-off pattern found on the bones at Kilshane indicates that the bulk of the cattle killed was of an optimum age for meat production, at around two and a half years.

Another small group of individuals aged over three years were also slaughtered; likely having been kept for milk production or breeding stock, and to be used as draft animals.

The numerous females identified in the Kilshane assemblage also confirms the importance of milk production in the husbandry economy of Middle Neolithic Ireland.

Similar kill-off patterns, indicating a focus on milk and meat production, have been recorded at Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the UK and North-Western Europe.

The unusual predominance of cattle, the lack of bones broken to collect marrow, and the high number of cattle killed at the optimum age for meat production suggest feasting practices, according to the paper’s findings published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

“This cattle assemblage is providing key insights into prehistoric farming in Ireland, and Europe, right at the time that passage tombs are starting to be constructed. It’s giving us a real sense of the communities behind these monuments and how they supported themselves”, said Dr Jessica Smyth, Lecturer in the UCD School of Archaeology.

The discovery at Kilshane not only has implications for understanding how the economy of the communities of Neolithic Ireland functioned but the larger role that cattle husbandry played in their social, symbolic and religious activities.

This recent research carried out at Kilshane was undertaken as part of the IRC Laureate ‘Passage Tomb People’ project, building on earlier post-excavation analysis funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

“We are delighted to see further research emanating from the exceptional faunal assemblage discovered on the N2 Kilshane excavation,” said Mary Deevy, Senior Archaeologist with Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Island grave reveals a 1,000-year-old treasure trove of ‘elite’ jewellery including a solid amber ring

Island grave reveals 1,000-year-old treasure trove of ‘elite’ jewellery including a solid amber ring

Archaeologists have uncovered an ‘elite’ grave from the 12th century during excavation work in Northern Poland. The discovery in the village of Ostrowite included two amber rings, a bronze bowl, and an iron knife in a leather sheath with bronze fittings.

Island grave reveals 1,000-year-old treasure trove of ‘elite’ jewellery including a solid amber ring
A ring from the elite grave after cleaning.

Distinguished from previous graves discovered at the site by its size and rich equipment, scientists say they believe the items belonged to elite members of the then local Christian community. 

Team leader Dr. Jerzy Sikora from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Lodz said: “The deceased was most likely a representative of local, Pomeranian elites.

Grave 81 – the newly discovered burial in Ostrowite with a bronze bowl.

“It is striking that there are two identical rings, symmetrically arranged relative to the axis of the body. Amber ones, no less. The situation is quite unique. I do not know a similar burial.”

He added that the size of the grave, a wooden structure the size of a small house, and the rings were probably associated with symbols of power. 

Wood fragments on the bowl.

Sikora said: “Amber can be related to either mediation in trade in this raw material or control over local deposits. During the modern age, amber was extracted in the area of Chojnice.”

In addition, archaeologists found a bronze bowl by the skeleton’s feet, inside of which were fragments of wood thought to have belonged to the man’s coffin.

The deceased was also had an iron knife in a leather sheath with bronze fittings and two coin pieces. On the surface of the bowl and the knife sheath, the archaeologists noticed fragments and imprints of fabrics. 

Under the bowl, there were small fragments of leather, probably remnants of the deceased’s footwear, preserved thanks to the preservative effect of copper oxides.

In previous years, archaeologists made several similar discoveries in the area, with Dr. Sikora saying that such graves were associated with emerging local elites. Similar graves are known, for example, from Usadel and Usedom in Mecklenburg (Germany) or Cedynia in Poland.

He added that two states were established in Pomerania in the 12th century: of the West Pomeranian Gryfites, subjected by Bolesław III Wrymouth and Christianised by Otto of Bamberg, and East Pomeranian Samborides, dependent on Polish princes, probably also from the time of Bolesław III Wrymouth.

Ostrowite, where the latest discovery was made, was an important local centre of power, which functioned from the 11th to the 14th century.

Dr. Sikora said: “It was a fairly extensive complex with a settlement on a nearby island, which at least from about 1160 was connected to the shore with a wooden bridge, but most likely functioned earlier.”

On the eastern shore of the lake, there were two cemeteries. Trade was an important aspect of the functioning of the settlement, as evidenced by the earlier findings of archaeologists, including about 20 weights for balance scales, coins (including Western European, mainly Saxon ones, as well as numerous imitations) and a number of imported items, such as bronze bowls.

The discovered items indicate trade with the areas of Pomerania, Greater Poland, as well as Scandinavia, Western Europe and Ruthenia.