Once state-of-the-art jewelry and representative weapons: Magnificent finds from graves in Gauting near Munich testify to the extensive trade relations of the upper class there in the middle of the first millennium AD Equipment of a warrior.
The community of Gauting was previously better known for its Roman past: Archaeological traces testify to a troop camp in the vicinity of a former trunk road. The new finds on the Gautinger Krapfberg now show, however, that the place was still important after the Romans left. Early medieval graves were discovered there as early as the 1860s and 1870s during construction work. However, the current finds are the first to be excavated and documented using modern methods. The archaeologists of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD) are now reporting on the discoveries that have now been cleaned and preserved.
The most splendid finds come from the grave of a young woman from around AD 600. According to the features of her remains, she was only about 20 years old. Apparently the young lady belonged to the upper class, as the richly decorated and sometimes exotic gold jewelry with which she was buried shows. “The grave of the young woman can be classified as one of the richest of her time in southern Bavaria,” says Mathias Pfeil from the BLfD.
“An early medieval trendsetter”
Particularly interesting is a disc fibula made of pure gold, decorated with garnet stones, which was used to fasten the robe. According to the report, it came from a Franconian workshop on the left bank of the Rhine. “The precious jewelry suggests that the young woman must once have been an extremely fashion-conscious trendsetter,” says Pfeil. The experts explain that the way in which the wearer closed her coat with the disc fibula was only just becoming fashionable at the time of the burial. The piece of jewelery sat centrally and always visible in the chest area and stood for a then new style of clothing with a Mediterranean character, which was to remain modern well into the 7th century.
The garnet stones that adorn this fibula probably come from India, say archaeologists. A bow brooch from the lady’s jewelry set, which was made of fire-gilded silver, also had reference to the distance. She had a style that seems Scandinavian or English. “Finds of this kind were real status symbols and today testify to a sometimes perfectly functioning international trade and processing chain in the Middle Ages,” says Jochen Haberstroh from the BLfD. The three gold coins that apparently adorned the necklace of the Gauting lady are almost a symbol for the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages: They show the image of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian (482 to 565), whose reign stood at the end of late antiquity.
An elegant warrior
As the BLfD further reports, the archaeologists also came across special finds in the grave of a man at the site. According to the dating, it comes from the period between 510 and 520. It contained a long sword made of Damascus steel – a so-called spathe – and a throwing ax. In addition, an iron hump that once sat on a shield also identify the deceased as a warrior. In addition to this impressive armament, other finds show that it was also a member of the upper class, the archaeologists report: In addition to a comb made of bone and a lighter set, a belt buckle cut from rock crystal with a silver, originally gold-plated belt was found in the hip area of the deceased Mandrel.
The finds from the early medieval cemetery in Gauting cannot yet be viewed. But that could possibly change: As the BLfD finally writes, it is now being discussed whether and in what way the finds should be made accessible to the public.
Source: Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD)