Jan-Willem de Kort
Several of the coins are quite rare, with the treasures to be about 1300 years old. Scientists believe they were offerings to pagan gods.
Dutch archaeologists discovered Three gold and silver treasures From the early Middle Ages, along with hundreds of rare currencies, in which it appears to be a “place of worship” for pagan worship.
The 1300 -year -old treasures, who is believed to have been offerings to ancient gods, were condemned as “devil money”By the early Christian missionaries, according to a study recently in the medieval Archeology.
The findings were made near Hezingen, a village about 130 kilometers east of Amsterdam near the German border. The region has been part of the Saxon territory, although the main author of the study, Jan-Willem de Kort, archaeologist of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, suggests that the local population may not have been referred to themselves as Saxons. Instead, the term may have been a role label for pagan communities.
The site is north of Limes of Baixa Germany, the former border of the Roman Empire. Some local inhabitants had previously served as auxiliary soldiers in defending the Roman territory, but after the fall of the Empire, the area became a Pagan ritual center In the seventeenth centuries and VII.
The discovery was first made by metal detector in 2020 and 2021, who communicated their findings to local authorities. Subsequent excavations revealed More than 100 gold and silver coinsgold jewelry, including pendants and earrings, and large pieces of gold and silver that may have worked as Hacksilver – evaluated based on weight. Geochemical soil analyzes also suggest that bones, probably animal sacrifices, decomposed on the spot.
Some of the coins found are exceptionally rarecoined throughout the Franco Empire in the seventh century. One piece of jewelery has intricate Germanic animal -style decorations, while another features a portrait that resembles Roman crafts. These findings provide valuable information about cultural exchanges between pagan Germanic tribes and the traces of Roman influence in the region, reports.
According to Kort, the standard of deposits on site suggests that it was a “place of worship”Where people made ritual offerings to gods, possibly including Wodan, the Germanic predecessor of the Nordic God Odin.
The excavations also revealed a line of 14 poles aligned from east to west, possibly marking Equinoxes of Spring and Autumn. These posts may have supported a “sacred pillar” (stapol), an object referred to in the early Christian texts as a representation of pagan deities.
Investigators believe that offerings may have been made at birth and sunset on the days of the equinox, possibly as fertility rituals to bless the surrounding agricultural lands.
