A man with a metal detector made an extraordinary discovery in Switzerland. While searching a freshly plowed carrot field in Güttingen, he found a large ornate jewelry set dating back to the Bronze Age. The set includes a necklace and other artifacts such as rings, gold spirals, and more than 100 amber beads.
The discovery, made in August, was reported by local officials from Thurgau Canton. They mentioned that the man, Franz Zahn, initially found a bronze disc and realized its significance. He promptly contacted local authorities, who identified it as a necklace and jewelry set from the Middle Bronze Age, around 1500 B.C.
Archaeologists later excavated the area and uncovered more surprising items, including a bear’s tooth, a beaver’s tooth, a fossilized shark’s tooth, a rock crystal, and a small ammonite. These additional finds have raised numerous questions among local officials. They wonder whether there was a hidden jewelry box in the field or if the collection of fossils and stones held some deeper meaning.
Experts believe that the jewelry set and the other items may have had a special, protective, or healing effect. It’s possible that they were worn as amulets by women during that time.
Zahn, who is already familiar with the area and has made previous discoveries, including objects from the Iron Age and Bronze Age, handed over the artifacts to be restored. They will soon be exhibited in the Museum of Archaeology in Frauenfeld, Switzerland.
This unique discovery is reminiscent of other recent finds in Europe, where people using metal detectors have stumbled upon ancient treasures. In Wales, for example, two sets of coins were found and confirmed to be Roman treasure. In Norway, a family searching for a lost earring in their garden discovered artifacts from over 1,000 years ago. Another individual with a metal detector made the “gold find of the century” in Norway as well.
