Celtic elite grave discovered in the Taunus mountains

An elite Celtic grave has been discovered near Bad Camberg in the Taunus mountain range of western Germany. The grave goods are exceptional and include gold, chariot remains and an imported Etruscan bronze jug. It dates to the 5th century B.C. and is the first Celtic princely grave discovered in the Taunus mountains.

Construction of a solar farm next to the highway triggered a geomagnetic archaeological survey by default, but there were no previous indications that the site would have any archaeological features of note, maybe a few traces of an ancient settlement at most. Instead, the first field images showed two straight parallel lines next to the road that merged into a circle with a dark rectangle in the center.

Parallel lines left by the processional route taken by mourners leading to a burial mound have been found with princely tombs, but at first archaeologist Kai Mückenberger dismissed the thought as wishful thinking. Then iron fragments from a spearhead were discovered, and Mückenberger realized they had indeed stumbled on the burial chamber of an elite tomb.

The chamber walls were gone, disintegrated in dust over the millennia, and the body was gone too. After some work clearing the floor of , the team discovered a panoply of rich grave goods, including a set of three gold rings — a necklace, an arm ring and a finger ring — worn by the deceased.

Also spectacular are the components of a wagon that was found in the grave. Archaeologists and restorers at the State Office for Monument Preservation in Wiesbaden are currently examining the finds. Among the largest are the iron fittings from two wooden wagon wheels. These metal bands, known as “wheel rims,” once formed the running surface of the wheels.

The two wagon wheels, up to 1.20 meters high, had probably been detached and stood upright against a wall of the burial chamber. They were richly decorated: with large, round hubcaps and sleeve-like axle fittings made of non-ferrous metal – perhaps bronze. They had likely once gleamed with a reddish-gold sheen. Remnants of the wooden wagon axle are still embedded in one of the fittings.

Because the artifacts are so fragile, the excavators didn’t uncover them on site, but instead recovered them embedded in a block of earth. They are now being examined by conservators at the State Archaeology Department in Wiesbaden. First, the blocks of earth are being X-rayed – a process that has already revealed some secrets.

For example, one of the finds clearly contains an Etruscan jug made of bronze sheet. Axel Posluschny, the research director of the Celtic World at Glauberg, finds the combination of grave goods particularly exciting: gold rings, a wagon, and a jug – with this array of items, he believes the Camberg “princely grave” ranks among the “absolute best” of graves from this period in Europe.

The grave goods were removed in soil blocks for careful excavation in laboratory conditions and archaeologists are still working on unearthing everything. The blocks have been X-rayed to map out the contents, revealing around 100 objects inside.

* This article was originally published here