7 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Spectacular gold find from early medieval tombs in Basel

An excavation in Basel’s Kleinbasel neighborhood, Switzerland, has uncovered 15 graves, some richly furnished, from an early medieval burial ground.

Because the presence of a burial ground from this time period had been known since the nineteenth century, a rescue archaeology excavation was carried out in the area prior to the installation of new utility pipes. The excavation earlier this year unearthed the 6th-century grave of a young girl buried with a dazzling array of approximately 160 beads.

Of the tombs with valuable additions, the most notable is the discovery of a golden robe clasp from a woman’s grave.

The grave is that of an elite young woman who was about 20 years old when she died in the 7th century. The woman’s skeleton was accidentally destroyed during construction work in the 20th century, and the jewelry remained undiscovered at the time.

The grave contained a rare gold disc brooch made of a non-ferrous metal base plate topped with gold. The disc was then inlaid with green garnet gemstones and blue glass and adorned with gold wire filigree. The brooch most likely held a cloak, now lost, around her neck.

The jewelry in the graves, including many beads, indicates a high social status. Photo: Georgios Kefalas

The grave decorations suggest that the woman had a higher social status. She was also discovered wearing 160 pearls and Roman coins as jewelry.

Other graves with valuable gifts were discovered by the archaeologists. They also discovered a girl’s grave containing a gold-tufted belt buckle and 380 pearls. Another boy’s grave contained silver inlaid belt fittings, among other things.

“This is an extraordinary piece,” said Basel canton archaeologist Guido Lassau to the media on Friday. Such finds are “rather singular” in early medieval graves.

Recent discoveries show that the cemetery was more densely populated than archaeologists previously thought.

Basel’s earliest settlement remnants date back to the middle Paleolithic (about 130,000 years ago). The Rhine’s banks, the area of the former gas factory (now the Novartis Campus), and Münsterhügel stood out as the primary settlement areas during the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Murus Gallicus (Gallic Wall), whose remnants can still be seen close to the Münster, was built by the Celts (Rauraci) in the first century BC to fortify the latter area (cathedral). At the same location, the Romans built the Colonia Raurica, which they later expanded into a castle in the third century. The Augusta Raurica colony («Roman City» Augst BL) founded by Emperor Augustus Caesar marks the official start of the Romanization of the area. After the withdrawal of Roman troops, the Roman population settled in the fort, while the Alemanni spread out to the north of the Rhine and also in Augst.

Related Articles

“Land of the Thousand Temples” Kancheepuram in India

20 May 2021

20 May 2021

Kancheepuram, one of the most sacred and religious Hindu pilgrim centers in India is also called the ‘Land of the...

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

The Big Universe Coming Out from the Dust “in Esna Temple”

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

While the Esna Temple has been waiting to renew and breathe again for a long time, it has recently experienced...

Bronze Age Petroglyphs discovered in Kazakhstan

1 May 2024

1 May 2024

Volunteers in Kazakhstan have discovered new petroglyphs from the Bronze Age. The rock carvings were found by volunteers of the...

Researchers Finds Nearly 500 Ancient Ceremonial Sites in Southern Mexico with Lidar Technique

26 October 2021

26 October 2021

A team of international researchers led by the University of Arizona reported last year that they had uncovered the largest...

A rare 2,500-year-old marble disc, designed to protect ancient ships and ward off the evil eye discovered near Palmachim Beach

5 August 2023

5 August 2023

A rare 2,500-year-old marble disc designed to protect ancient ships and ward off the evil eye was discovered by a...

Africa May not be Where the First Pre-Human First Appeared

22 March 2021

22 March 2021

According to one opinion: About 2 million years ago, our first ancestors moved north from their hometown and left Africa....

2000-Year-Old Marvel: The Mystery of the Parthian Battery

1 March 2024

1 March 2024

The Parthian Battery is believed to be about 2000 years old (from the Parthian period, roughly 250 BCE to CE...

The place of Puduhepa’s hometown Lawazantiya will be illuminated with Tatarlı Höyük

9 November 2021

9 November 2021

Excavations at Tatarlı Höyük (mound) are trying to reach findings that will enable the determination of the location of Lawazantiya,...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

The world’s largest Byzantine winepresses have been discovered in Israel

11 October 2021

11 October 2021

Archaeologists say they’ve discovered the world’s largest known Byzantine-era winery in the city of Yavne, south of Tel Aviv. The...

Excavations at the ‘Westminster Abbey of Wales’ Yielded a Few Surprises: a lost Aqueduct and a Buried Celtic Treasure

12 March 2024

12 March 2024

Archaeologists working in Wales revealed recently they may have discovered a Celtic monastery at the site of a 12th-century Cistercian...

Silk Road archaeological discoveries draw attention despite the pandemic

20 June 2021

20 June 2021

A report prepared by more than 30 global experts believes that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, archaeological discoveries related to the...

Archaeologists find the largest bronze beast of Sanxingdui ruins

4 September 2022

4 September 2022

The largest and only one of its kind discovered in China to date, the bronze beast was discovered by archaeologists...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...