A metal detectorist was able to unearth a Bronze Age jewelry bounty in a freshly plowed carrot field in Switzerland. The stash was found alongside animal fossils.
Bronze Age Jewelry Stash Discovered in Swiss Carrot Field
Franz Zahn, the said metal detectorist, found the stash last August while clearing off metal scraps for the unknown farmer. The field is situated in the Güttingen northeastern town.
The stash includes two spiral rings for fingers, a necklace that consists of 14 spiked discs of bronze, and over 100 tiny beads of amber that are roughly pinhead-sized. Zahn had to carefully pluck the latter findings using some tweezers.
There were also items scattered across the carrot field possible due to plowing. The findings included polished ore lumps, an arrowhead of bronze, a shark's tooth, an ammonite, a rock crystal, and a perforated tooth of a bear.
Archaeological Analysis
After making the discovery, Zahn reached out to the local Office of Archaeology to extensively survey the contents of the field. Archaeologists then performed a block recovery at the area. More specifically, they took away 50x50x50 centimeters of the earth.
They determined that the discovered jewelry stash was typical jewelry that women wore during the Bronze Age in B.C. 1500.
The specialists also noted that the spiked discs were quite eye-catching, noting further that spirals of metals were strung between discs to serve as spacers. There was also a narrow hole in each disc. This hole made it easy for them to be strung together using a thread or leather piece for them to use and wear as some sort of adornment.
Considering other examples that date back to this period, archaeologists think that the discs could have served as a jewelry piece for those with high status.
No human remains were unearthed in the area. With this, the archaeologists think that the artifacts were buried in a side within a sack or in a particular organic container that may have already decayed. The items could have been intentionally deposited to safekeep them for security. They could have also been stored during a period of conflict.
Nevertheless, irrespective of how the stash was buried, the researchers believe that the wearers may have held special sentiments towards the items and that these items could have been seen to have a healing or protective effect like an amulet.
The artifacts are undergoing restoration and are set to be exhibited next year at Frauenfeld's Museum of Archaeology.
Several years ago, a different archaeological find was discovered in the same town. The find revealed a pile-dwelling village from the Bronze Age that held structural remains that used to be constructed over stilts. These remains date back to roughly B.C. 1000.
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