Gold chain from Isenbüttel
The gold chain of Isenbüttel is now 49 cm long from Gold -made chain , which is dated to the 7th century. It was found in 1922 near Isenbüttel in what is now Lower Saxony .
description
The chain, which is 42 cm long without the sleeves at the ends of the chain, was made as a seamless knitting from fine gold wires with a thickness of 0.6 mm using a complex technique. The two ends of the chain are set in two-part sleeves made of sheet gold, depicting animal heads with open mouths. These are decorated with red inlays and gold filigree. The animal's head is missing at one end, so that only the neck area remains. Two rings, which should originally have been in the mouths of the animal heads, were lost shortly after the find. In total, the chain was about 55 cm long.
Since the chain itself is intact, the method of manufacture cannot be reconstructed. It would be possible either that individual chain links were put together as in the foxtail chains known since antiquity or that the gold wire was knitted with a kind of knitting loaf.
Dating based on stylistic features shows the gold chain to the 7th century. This assessment has recently been confirmed by investigations carried out at the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz with new diagnostic methods. After that, the red inlays are not, as initially assumed, glass, but grenades . They could be identified as pyrope , presumably from Bohemia . Since garnets were not polished to a high gloss in the 7th century and the Isenbüttel gold chain has a dull surface, this supports the dating to this time. This dating is confirmed by the high gold content of over 80%.
Find and exhibition history
The chain is said to have been found in a piece of forest during clearing work, according to other sources in the dune sand one and a half kilometers south of the Isenbüttel church. The exact circumstances of the find cannot be reconstructed. The finder reported a single find. Although he presented the necklace to the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover , which made a copy, he sold it to a private individual. The chain came to the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover through several owners in 1962. The gold chain is shown in the permanent exhibition of the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover. In 2019 and 2020 it will be part of the Lower Saxony state exhibition Saxones. A new story of the old Saxons .
Comparative finds
Foxtail chains with clasps depicting animal heads are already known in ancient Greece, and they can also be traced north of the Alps for late antiquity . They were mostly worn as necklaces. "In general, golden foxtail chains are still found in very richly decorated graves in the early Middle Ages, animal head ends seem, at least in continental Europe, no longer to be popular." Exceptions are some gold chains from the 7th century in the southern part of the British Isles . They also have two animal head ends, but are more filigree and much shorter. The chains were found in the graves of rich women who appear to have lived in a Christian context. They were used to connect two decorative pins to attach shawls or veils. Knitted chains are also known from the Scandinavian Viking Age. The decorations also show references to Southeastern European pieces from the Migration Period .
meaning
The gold chain is one of the most demanding works of prehistoric goldsmithing and is considered the most magnificent gold jewelry of the 1st millennium in Lower Saxony. It dates from the time of the Merovingians around 700 AD.
Archaeologists attribute the chain to members of the European upper class. The find suggests that Isenbüttel was home to wealthy people with extensive relationships, as only they could have such a valuable piece of jewelry made.
literature
- Alexandra Hilgner: The early medieval "snake chain" from Isenbüttel (district of Gifhorn) and its Anglo-Saxon comparative finds. In Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt Volume 46, 2016, Issue 3 ( Online ), pp. 399-420 (pdf, accessed on July 29, 2019).
- Babette Ludowici : A snake with two heads: the gold chain from Isenbüttel. In: Babette Ludowici (ed.): Saxones , Theiss, Darmstadt 2019, pp. 252-253.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hilgner: The early medieval "chain of snakes" from Isenbüttel (district of Gifhorn) and their Anglo-Saxon comparative finds, p. 399 f.
- ↑ Hilgner: The early medieval "chain of snakes" from Isenbüttel (district of Gifhorn) and their Anglo-Saxon comparative finds, p. 400 f.
- ^ Hilgner: The early medieval "chain of snakes" from Isenbüttel (district of Gifhorn) and their Anglo-Saxon comparative finds, p. 403.
- ↑ Hilgner: The early medieval "chain of snakes" from Isenbüttel (district of Gifhorn) and their Anglo-Saxon comparative finds, p. 405.
- ↑ Hilgner: The early medieval "snake chain" from Isenbüttel (district of Gifhorn) and their Anglo-Saxon comparative finds, p. 409.
- ↑ Description