Five exceptionally rare bronze vessels dating back around 1,500 years are being shown to the public for the first time in Schleswig, a year after their discovery near the Schlei inlet.
The ancient vessels, dating from the Roman Imperial and Migration periods, were discovered near Schaalby in the Schleswig-Flensburg district by a group of Danish amateur metal detectorists.
Exactly one year after the discovery, the finds are being presented at the AP Møller School in Schleswig, where they will be displayed as part of Archaeology Day.
The Schleswig-Holstein State Archaeological Office has described the collection as a spectacular find and one of exceptional significance for the wider Baltic Sea region.
Five vessels hidden beneath the soil
The discovery was made when detectorists’ equipment registered metal objects in the ground near the Schlei. Rather than immediately excavating the fragile artefacts, archaeologists left them undisturbed throughout the winter.
A specialist team arrived at the site in early April to carry out the recovery.
Because of the age and condition of the objects, the archaeologists used a technique known as block recovery. Instead of removing the vessels individually, they excavated the entire section of surrounding soil as a single block.
The delicate operation took two days and allowed the objects to be transported without risking unnecessary damage.
CT scan reveals an unexpected discovery
The block was subsequently taken to the Fraunhofer Institute in Lübeck, where researchers used computed tomography to examine its contents before restoration began.
The scan produced images of the block in layers just four millimetres apart – and revealed a surprise.
Archaeologists had initially believed that three vessels were buried inside. The scans showed there were actually five.
The block was then transported back to Schleswig and taken to the restoration workshop at Gottorf Castle, where conservator Tina Heintkes-Willers began the painstaking process of uncovering the objects.
Each vessel had to be carefully separated from the surrounding earth after spending approximately 1,500 years underground.
“Those were truly special working days. You don’t get to work on objects like that very often,” Heintkes-Willers said.
By September, all five bronze objects had been fully uncovered.
Rare objects from the 3rd to 5th centuries
The collection includes bowls and cauldrons, some decorated with fine patterns, as well as a remarkably well-preserved bronze sieve.
Evidence of historical repairs can also be seen on some of the vessels, suggesting they were valuable possessions that continued to be used rather than discarded when damaged.
Experts from the State Archaeological Office have dated the objects to between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD.
Exactly why the vessels were buried remains uncertain.
They may have formed part of a burial offering, or they could have been deliberately concealed as a hoard by Germanic communities living in the region. What archaeologists can say with greater certainty is that bronze vessels of this type were prestigious objects at the time.
Comparable discoveries are extremely rare in Schleswig-Holstein. According to the heritage authorities, the only similar find in the state was made in Burg, in the Dithmarschen district, where a Roman bronze cauldron was discovered in 1869.
“This is not only an extraordinary find for Schleswig-Holstein, but also unique for the Baltic Sea region,” said Angelika Abegg-Wigg, curator at Gottorf Castle’s Museum of Archaeology.
Public gets first look at the Schlei discovery
Visitors will be able to see the five vessels at the AP Møller School in Schleswig during Archaeology Day on Saturday.
A small exhibition dedicated to the Schaalby discovery will be open from 9am until 6pm. Film footage documenting the excavation, block recovery and painstaking restoration of the vessels will also be shown.
The public display will not be the artefacts’ permanent home.
Once renovation work at Gottorf Castle has been completed, the 1,500-year-old vessels are expected to return to Museum Island in Schleswig, where they will become one of the highlights of the museum’s new permanent archaeological exhibition.
Sources : NDR
