In the canton of Thurgau in northeastern Switzerland, a remarkable archaeological find has recently come to light in a freshly ploughed carrot field. Equipped with a metal detector, Franz Zahn, a dedicated treasure hunter, made an astonishing discovery that turned out to be an almost intact necklace and other jewellery items dating back to the Bronze Age. Eager to share his find, Zahn promptly contacted the archaeological museum in the region, known for its abundance of artifacts from the same historical period.
This extraordinary collection of women’s jewellery, believed to have belonged to a “wealthy woman who had a passion for collecting,” includes a necklace adorned with small bronze discs, rings, approximately a hundred amber beads, all delicately strung together with a thread of gold and bronze. Adding to its allure, archaeologists from the museum also found a rock crystal, the tip of an arrow, a bear’s tooth, and a fossilized shark’s tooth in close proximity.
Despite the fascination surrounding this discovery, it remains shrouded in mystery as no burials have been uncovered near the jewellery. Yet, reminiscent of the adornments worn by women of that era, these jewels, carefully preserved within a bag or container of some sort, may have held divinatory or protective significance, akin to amulets. Swiss archaeologists are actively exploring the potential symbolic and functional roles of these artifacts in the absence of burial context.
