Gold treasure from Erstfeld
The gold treasure from Erstfeld is considered to be the most important Swiss find from the Latène period (LTB). It dates from around 300 BC. And was made in 1962 near Erstfeld in the canton of Uri . It is one of the most important examples of Celtic goldsmithing .
discovery
After repeated rüfen and avalanches, the municipality of Erstfeld had a large semicircular catch basin built on the eastern slope above the village on the upper debris cone of the Locherbach, about 70 meters above the valley floor. When removing several meters of rock debris on August 20, the Italian workers Goffredo and Virgilio Ferrazza removed an approximately 60 m³ large boulder at the southern end with an excavator at a depth of about seven or eight meters, under which a cuboid smaller block lay. In order to expose the large block so that it could be blown away, they wanted to turn the small block away with the excavator. When lifting or turning away with the excavator shovel, the seven rings slipped out of the rubble between the boulders, Virgilio Ferrazza just in front of the feet. The rings were stacked "like beer plates", the smallest at the bottom, the largest on top. The two suspected it was costume jewelry. Virgilio washed a ring in a puddle and a locking pin slipped out. An immediate search was unsuccessful. Then they put the rings in their tool box and went back to work.
In the evening they showed the rings to their wives; one told her doctor about it. She advised showing the find to the Swiss National Museum in Zurich, where prehistoric Emil Vogt and conservator René Wyss identified the rings as Celtic. In the meantime, the large boulder in Erstfeld was blown up, the area leveled and the site destroyed as a result.
The fact that the rings lay in a hand-width gap between the large and small rocks protected them from the pressure of the mountains. Presumably they were wrapped in a bag made of leather or fabric, of which no traces could be secured.
Reference
The site is several hundred meters east above Erstfeld at an altitude of 647 m above sea level. M. It can be easily reached in about 20 minutes on a hiking trail. The way there is signposted. The most important information is recorded on display boards. Since its discovery in 1962, the site has been extensively changed through construction work. An inspection does not show the exact situation from then, but gives an impression of the situation.
signpost
Information board ...
… on site
Approximate location of the site below the center of the picture
description
The jewelry consists of seven hollow rings. The four large neck rings ( torques ) and the three smaller arm rings consist of soldered shells made of chased, high-carat gold with a purity of up to 95%. They are as good as new and have no signs of use. It is not conclusively proven where the rings were made; the Swiss Central Plateau or southern Germany are eligible .
Neck rings
The four neck rings each weigh around 125 grams. It depicts intertwined hybrid beings, half human, half animal, as well as birds, snakes and plant motifs, including the " Lord of the Animals " motif , a deity known in Celtic and Mediterranean mythology . Since the front and back are identical, the motifs shown appear very three-dimensional. Two neck rings and two arm rings each form a pair.
The neck rings are provided with clasps. With three rings, the entire decorated middle part can be twisted off with a ball joint. Opposite the joint, the opened middle section is inserted through a pin into the smooth rear section and held there by a locking pin. In the fourth ring, a ring segment around a quarter circle serves as an opening. The decorated segment is held in its position by a small pen in the forehead of a mythical creature.
Choker
detail
On the inside of three of the four neck rings, X-ray examinations in 1994 found small inlays made of folded gold sheet, between 3.3 and 4.4 cm long, in the neck parts. With two rings they are at the lock, with the third opposite the lock at the joint. Golden inlays in the form of small pieces of sheet metal, bars or coins can also be found in other finds in the Middle and Late La Tène periods such as in Civray-de-Touraine and Snettisham . In the upper third they are shaped as tubes, at the bottom they have a V-shaped cross-section. They must not have served as reinforcement, since they only touch the inside of the rings at the top; further down, they “float” freely inside. The metallurgical composition of these bars is different from that of the rings; their gold content is lower, the silver content higher.
In the past, these insertions were referred to as “superfluous gold”. Today it is assumed that the addition of precious metal was intended to increase the value of the offering to the gods.
Bangles
Each bangle weighs just under 50 grams. Two of the three arm rings form a pair, they differ from each other only in details. What is striking here is the motif of the running dog , a motif that goes back to the classic antique handicrafts. The third ring matches the style of the fourth choker.
The arm rings; in the outer rings above the motif of ...
... running dog
meaning
The reason why the rings were buried can only be speculated. At the beginning it was assumed that a dealer buried the jewelry in a dangerous situation and later couldn't get it, since the 1980s there has been a tendency to interpret it as a dedication to a deity, combined with a request for it a safe crossing of the Alps . In addition to weapons, torques were often used as an offering in the time of the Celts .
Erstfeld was around 300 BC. In the border area between the former settlement area of the Celts in the Central Plateau and the inhospitable alpine region with the mountain world enlivened by supernatural forces with the Gotthard massif . This was considered the highest point in the Alps and was therefore the seat of gods. Since the Reuss could then be navigated by ships from Lake Uri to Erstfeld, the valley from Erstfeld was where the waterway ended and the route to the Gotthard began - a reason to leave valuable sacred offerings to the gods here.
The mighty boulder on which the rings were found may have contributed to this. At that time, it could have played a role as a landmark that was recognizable from a distance, comparable in size to the Teufelsstein in Göschenen .
presentation
The rings are exhibited in the permanent exhibition Archeology Switzerland in the National Museum Zurich, right next to the gold bowl from Altstetten . At the push of a button, several drawn scenes are projected onto a kind of transparent film on the back of the showcase, showing how a Celt lays the rings in the hiding place between the stones. The figures in the rings - snakes, birds, plants and mythical creatures - are released from the ring by animated drawings and shown individually in motion. The Uri Historical Museum in Altdorf shows copies of the rings.
criticism
The Swiss chronology critic Christoph Pfister considers the gold jewelry from Erstfeld to be a forgery, for which the management of the Swiss National Museum is responsible. The gold is genuine, but the rings have recently been cast shortly before they were discovered. In addition to the fact that three men wore unsuitable shoes and briefcases when visiting the site, he suspects that the rings should have remained intact after more than two millennia in the earth.
literature
- Felix Müller: Erstfeld. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Martin A. Guggisberg : The gold treasure from Erstfeld, a Celtic cycle of pictures between Central Europe and the Mediterranean world . In: Swiss Society for History, Basel 2000 ISBN 9783908006244
- Martin A. Guggisberg: Gold-rich, but peaceful people . Comments on Helvetian gold jewelry. In: Art and Architecture in Switzerland, Volume 51 (2000), pp. 14–22
- Martin Guggisberg: Three “gold bars” in the Erstfeld treasure . In: Yearbook of the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory, 80/1997, doi : 10.5169 / seals-117510
- Felix Müller: On the dating of the gold treasure from Erstfeld UR . In: Yearbook of the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory, 73/1990, doi : 10.5169 / seals-117261
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin A. Guggisberg: Three "gold bars" in the treasure of Erstfeld . In: Yearbook of the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory 80/1997, p. 137
- ↑ Andres Furger: The Celtic gold treasure from Erstfeld, history of discovery and site , Fig. 1
- ↑ Martin A. Guggisberg: Three "gold bars" in the treasure of Erstfeld . In: Yearbook of the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Protohistory 80/1997, p. 131
- ↑ Felix Müller: On the dating of the gold treasure from Erstfeld UR . In: Yearbook of the Swiss Society for Prehistory and Early History 73/1990, p. 90
- ↑ Dillum.ch
Coordinates: 46 ° 49 '25.1 " N , 8 ° 39' 15.1" E ; CH1903: six hundred and ninety-two thousand seven hundred fifty-one / 186550