An ancient, millennium-old treasure was recently discovered in the Netherlands. After being hidden for centuries, this precious relic has now been uncovered, giving archaeologists and historians the opportunity to learn more about the legacy of this long-lost treasure.
It is a unique treasure of gold jewelry and silver coins. The National Museum of Antiquities of a European country announced it. The thousand-year-old treasure in the Netherlands is shown to the public as part of a new exhibition. This archaeological wealth was found in 2021.
It has four gold earring pendants decorated in the shape of a crescent moon. And it adds two pieces of gold leaf that fit together. In addition, 39 small silver coins from the medieval period. The coins date from the period between 1,200 and 1,248. The treasure was buried in the middle of the 13th century. But the jewels were already 200 years old when they were buried with the coins.
Wrapped in cloth
Who made this historic find is Lorenzo Ruijter. The earrings are decorated on one side and have fragile suspension brackets. They were not worn in piercings through the ears, but would have been on a hood or a diadem.
One of the pendants depicts a man’s head surrounded by rays of sunlight. It has been interpreted as a portrait of the Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun. The 39 silver coins are small pennies from Holland, Gueldres and Cleves, the Diocese of Utrecht and the German Empire. There are textile traces discovered with the coins. They suggest that they were originally buried in a bag or wrapped in cloth.
The most recent of the coins was minted between 1247 and 1248 by William II of the Netherlands. He was king of Germany after the Holy Roman Emperor, Germanicus Frederick II, was excommunicated.
Enormous importance
William II died in 1256 at Hoogwoud, where the treasure was found. He and his horse were in battle against the West Frisians when they fell through weak ice into a frozen lake.
His West Frisian adversaries killed him before the cold lake could finish what he had started. They buried him under the floorboards of a nearby house. As a result, the treasure has enormous archaeological significance in the history of the Netherlands.
The 1,000-year-old treasure in the Netherlands is on display at the museum until mid-June this year. It will then be on display again in October as part of The Year 1000 exhibition.
