Gold bracteate from Neuenhaus

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The gold bracteate from Neuenhaus is a bracteate from the 6th to 7th centuries. It was found in 2020 in a field near Veldhausen in the Lower Saxony community of Neuenhaus in the Grafschaft Bentheim district.

description

The gold bracteate is a thin disc made of 80% gold and 17% silver , which is embossed on one side. It has a diameter of 49 mm. About a quarter of the pane is torn off and missing. When it was found, the pane was folded up. On the embossed side it has two decorated zones all around. In the inner decorative zone there is a pattern with curved and intertwined lines in the manner of a knot pattern , which are studded with pearl wires. The outer decorative zone consists of eight finely crafted Flechtwerkbändern surrounding the Bull's-circular.

Due to the nationwide scientific importance of the find, the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation determined that the treasure shelf is to be used and that the gold bracteate is the property of the state. The finder received a reward. The find is to be exhibited permanently in the Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch Oldenburg and previously shown temporarily in Bentheim Castle .

discovery

A conservationist found the gold bracteate in May 2020 while marking lapwing nests in a field with maize plants . The discovery was reported by an excavation company operating in the vicinity to a volunteer probe-person who informed the district's lower monument protection authority and the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation. More detailed investigations of the site by the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation were only possible in 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . No further finds were made. The investigations showed that the topsoil at the place of discovery was relocated and possibly came from the excavation of a rain retention basin about 500 meters away . Therefore, the place of discovery is not the original storage location of the item. There are numerous important archaeological monuments from different eras in the vicinity , including a monumental barrow .

valuation

Researchers date the gold bracteate to the late 6th century or the first half of the 7th century. From this time only a handful of golden objects have been found in Lower Saxony. It is an outstanding goldsmith's work from the early Middle Ages . In addition, the area with wickerwork ribbons is an unusual and particularly elaborate form of decoration.

According to the Oldenburg district archaeologist of the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation Jana Esther Fries , the former owner of the gold bracteat belonged to the social elite, as gold bracteates were considered representative status symbols in the early Middle Ages. It assumes that the piece served as a pendant on a necklace and that the wearer used it to represent his status. Researchers interpret the lack of a quarter of the disc and the folding as deliberate damage for symbolic destruction.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andi Gervelmeyer: New House: CABS is medieval jewel. In: ndr.de . August 19, 2021, accessed September 6, 2021 .
  2. ↑ An important archaeological gold find from Neuenhaus presented. In: grafschaft-bentheim.de. August 18, 2021, accessed September 6, 2021 .
  3. ↑ Carina Hohnholt: Archaeological sites in New House. In: Ems-Vechte-Welle . August 5, 2021, accessed September 6, 2021 .