Bernese zinc plate
The Berner Zinktafel ( Zinktafel von Bern-Thormebodenwald ) is an ancient, inscribed sheet of zinc that was found in the Swiss settlement of Bern- Engehalbinsel in the 1980s . The tablet measures 11 by 14 centimeters and is dated to the 1st or 2nd century AD.
inscription
The four-line inscription was written in Greek letters , the language is Gaulish .
- ΔΟΒΝΟΡΗΔΟ ΓΟΒΑΝΟ ΒΡΕΝΟΔΩΡ ΝΑΝΤΑΡΩΡ Dobnoredo Gobano Brenodor Nantaror .
Each line consists of a proper name. The second names the Celtic blacksmith god Gobanos , who is attested by the Irish as Goibniu and by the Welsh as Gofannon . His name means "blacksmith". The first name of the inscription is interpreted as the epithet of the god, namely as "wanderer of the world", too gall. * dubnos "world" ( air. domun) and gall.-lat. rēdā «chariot, journey» (air. ríad). So there is a dedication inscription. The donor is the town of Brenodor, which is mentioned in the third line. The fourth name is a compound of gall. * nantu »valley« and the river name Aare .
authenticity
The authenticity of the inscription is in doubt because the three prominent names are conspicuous and zinc was not used in ancient times. Metallurgical research, however, has shown that the zinc in the table is different from modern zinc. It is speculated that it came from the waste from the smelting furnace, with a blacksmith then adding the dedication inscription.
The use of Greek letters instead of Latin letters is rare among the Helvetians, but not unusual.
literature
- Rudolf Fellmann : The zinc plaque from Bern-Thormebodenwald and its inscription. In: Archäologie Schweiz 14/4 (1991), pp. 270-273.
- Thilo Rehren: A Roman zinc tablet from Bern, Switzerland: Reconstruction of the Manufacture. In: Archaeometry , Volume 94, Ankara 1996, pp. 35-45.
