Caveat: Please take some of the dating here with a pinch of salt - a case of lazy jounalism, but an interesting read nontheless - NeilBy Victoria Woollaston
Nestled beneath a stretch of earth in a quiet Swedish village, archaeologists have uncovered a treasure trove of hand-carved figurines.
No less than 29 of these so-called guldgubbars, which means 'Gold Old Men', were unearthed in the southern region of Blekinge and each are thought to have been made using 6th Century Roman coins.
The figurines are most commonly found at sites of ritual and worship as devotions to the gods, and because they were discovered alongside the ruins of houses and a forge, archaeologists now believe the area may have been home to an Iron Age cult.
No less than 29 so-called guldgubbars, pictured, were unearthed in the southern region of Blekinge in Sweden. Each of the figurines are around two centimetres tall and were made using 6th Century Roman coins hammered into the elaborate shapes
‘Without a doubt, the place was important during the Iron Age for several hundred years,’ said lead archaeologist Mikael Henriksson.
‘Clearly, we can start a new chapter in the study of the Blekinge Iron Age.’
The hoard of gold, said to be one of the largest discoveries of guldgubbar in the whole of Sweden, was found during excavations of the site being carried out by the Blekinge Museum.
Each of the figurines is thought to date back to the 6th century AD and each measure two centimetres tall.
Guldgubbars are also known as Gold Old Men or Gold Wives because they are shaped like men, pictured left, and women, right. They're commonly associated with places or political or religious significance and are thought to have been created as gifts for the gods in certain cults
The figurines were found at a site in the west of Vang, a village in Blekinge, pictured, on the south coast of Sweden. Researchers have suspected the area was an Iron Age settlement for some time since finding a 3rd century bronze bust in the same region back in 2004, and more recently, unearthing the ruins of houses
‘The discovery of gold from this period shows that people in the area served as soldiers in the Roman Army,' said Björn Nilsson, of Södertörn University College.
‘Up here in the Nordic countries the gold coins that had been paid to the soldiers were melted down and formed into guldgubbar and guldkoner.'
Guldkoner refers to the female figurines, also known as Gold Wives.
The theory about the site being an Iron Age settlement were bolstered by the discovery of glass beads and other bronze household items as well as pottery, animal bones and clay.
‘Gold Old men are most commonly found at sites associated with power or religious rites,’ continued Henriksson.
‘Maybe the site has been used as a place of worship but as yet we can only speculate.
‘What we now know about the place is that it was a certainly a settlement in the Iron Age.’
IRON AGE CULTS: WHY BELKINGE COULD HAVE BEEN A PLACE OF WORSHIP
The discovery of the gold figurines, alongside bronze busts and signs that a community once lived in the region, has led archaeologists to believe an Iron Age cult once lived in the area.
Guldgubbars, also known as Gold Old Men or Gold Wives, are commonly associated with places or political or religious significance.
They were made from coins, in this instance given to local residents who were soldiers of the Roman Army, and hammered into the shapes of clothed men and women.
Hoards of objects such as these, as well as the bronze objects found in the same region, may have been buried as gifts to the gods.
Metal during the Bronze and Iron Age was deemed valuable enough for objects made from it to serve as a sacrifice.
The vast number of guldgubbars discovered in Vang, said to be the third largest hoard ever found in Sweden, additionally suggests this area could have been a region of great religious significance.
This is bolstered by the various ruins of houses and other findings hinting that a settlement would have been set up in the region and survived for hundreds of years.
..Archaeologists have known for some time the region once held Roman significance. Although Sweden was not part of the Roman Empire, experts have speculated that inhabitants of the region may have been mercenaries for the Roman Army.
Graves of Norse warriors have also been found containing Roman weapons, which reinforces the interaction between the two cultures.
In 2004, researchers uncovered a cast bronze head in the region and believe it represents a Celtic god or goddess.
In 2004, researchers from Belkinge Museum uncovered a cast bronze head, pictured, in the same region as the figurines and believe it to represent a Celtic god or goddess
More recently, researchers also uncovered five more bronze cast heads. The majority are thought to be of Celtic origin like the one found in 2004 yet two, pictured, were designed differently. Both have Roman features with so-called ‘melon hairstyles’ and date back to 200AD
Interestingly, during the latest round of excavations, researchers uncovered five more of these heads.
The majority are thought to be of Celtic origin yet two were designed differently. Both have Roman features with so-called ‘melon hairstyles’, dating back to 200AD.
It is not known whether the collections of Celtic and Roman figures are linked, although it is unusual that devotional artefacts from two different cultures have been found so close to one another.
It is thought the Roman heads would have been fixed to bronze jugs or drinking vessels.
