Medieval

A finely carved ivory double comb from the 12th century has gone on display at the LWL Museum of Archaeology and Culture in Herne, Germany. One of only 60 known examples, the comb is what is known as a liturgical comb, and the only one ever found in the region of North Rhine-Westphalia. The comb … Read the full post →“Rare Ivory comb returns to Westphalia for exhibition”

A 13th century granite tombstone carved with a relief of a Latin cross has been discovered in Gdańsk, Poland. It is one of seven tombstones, including two others also carved with Latin crosses, found in the excavation of the site of the former Miś (Teddy Bear) ice cream parlor. The stone has not been lifted … Read the full post →“13th c. cross-engraved tombstone found in Gdańsk”

A first grader out on a field trip with his class discovered a medieval sword in Gran, Norway. Six-year-old Henrik Refsnes Mørtvedt saw a rusty piece of metal sticking out of the ground and with the eternal wisdom of his six years, he picked it up to see what it was, thinking it was an … Read the full post →“First-grader on field trip finds 1,300-year-old sword”

An assemblage of more than 3,000 silver coins, the largest Viking-era coin hoard ever found in Norway, has been discovered in Østerdalen. Large coin hoards are extremely rare in Norway and one of this size is without parallel on the archaeological record. The second largest, found in the 1830s, contained 1,849 coins. The third largest … Read the full post →“Largest Viking coin hoard in Norwegian history found”