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Man searching carrot field finds ancient gold and bronze jewelry — and multiple teeth
CBS News ^ | OCTOBER 19, 2023 / 12:52 PM | BY STEPHEN SMITH

Posted on 10/19/2023 11:38:40 AM PDT by Red Badger

A man with a metal detector searching a freshly plowed carrot field in Switzerland found a large ornate jewelry set dating to the Bronze Age — as well as other surprising items including a bear's tooth, a beaver's tooth and a fossilized shark's tooth, local officials said this week.

Franz Zahn made the unusual discovery in August while he was "out and about in a freshly harvested carrot field" in Güttingen, about 50 miles northeast of Zurich, officials from Thurgau Canton said in a Monday news release. Zahn initially found a bronze disc, and immediately realized it was an "extraordinary discovery" so he contacted local authorities.

A team of experts identified the discovery as a necklace and large jewelry set from the Middle Bronze Age, which dates to about 1500 B.C., officials said. Archaeologists later excavated a block of soil where the discovery was made and found a host of other artifacts — including rings, wire spirals made of gold and more than 100 amber beads.

The hoard includes a necklace with spiked discs, an amber necklace, finger rings, gold spirals and special finds such as a bear's tooth and an ammonite.

THURGAU CANTON

Experts also made some other "surprising" finds — a bronze arrowhead, a beaver tooth, a bear tooth, a fossilized shark's tooth, a rock crystal and a small ammonite.

In total, eight spirals made of gold and 14 bronze spiked discs with grommets were recovered, indicative of "costume jewelry" worn by women about 3,500 years ago, according to the news release.

Local officials said that the unusual discovery triggered several questions: "Has a jewelry box been hidden here? Were the bear tooth, the rock crystal and the selected fossils and stones a collection of curiosities or souvenirs … ? Or is there more to it?"

Experts noted that the array of found objects were said to have "a special, protective or healing effect" and may have been worn as a kind of amulet.

Officials said that Zahn was very familiar with Güttingen and previously made other discoveries, including scrap metal and objects from the Iron Age and Bronze Age. The artifacts are being restored so that they can be exhibited in the Museum of Archaeology in Frauenfeld, Switzerland.

A video posted by Thurgau Canton showed the jewelry being restored in a lab.

Block salvage of the Güttingen depot find.

THURGAU CANTON

The unusual find in Switzerland follows other recent discoveries of ancient treasure found by people with metal detectors in Europe.

Earlier this month, two sets of coins found by metal detectors in Wales turned out to be Roman treasure, officials confirmed.

In September, a Norwegian family looking for a lost earring in their garden instead discovered artifacts dating back more than 1,000 years. Just weeks before that, officials revealed that a man with a metal detector made the "gold find of the century" in Norway.

Trending News


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; History; Hobbies; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: bronzeage; dentistry; dentition; epigraphyandlanguage; frauenfeld; godsgravesglyphs; switzerland; teeth; thurgaucanton; tooth
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1 posted on 10/19/2023 11:38:40 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: SunkenCiv

Detectorists pinGGG!........................


2 posted on 10/19/2023 11:39:07 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

3 posted on 10/19/2023 11:42:19 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: Red Badger

Carrot Fields???

I was searching onion fields and crying my eyes out.


4 posted on 10/19/2023 11:43:06 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Red Badger
Why do these people even open their mouths after such a find? Take the best of the lot and have it appraised by an expert. Then slowly sell them to anyone interested. And don't reveal the location where found.

But I guess jumping up and down yelling "Eureka!" is more satisfying.

5 posted on 10/19/2023 11:44:32 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (The Truth is like a lion. You don't need to defended it. Let it loose and it will defend itself.)
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To: DannyTN

Are you a lonely little petunia?....................


6 posted on 10/19/2023 11:44:39 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: DannyTN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytzMhXevjPA


7 posted on 10/19/2023 11:45:55 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Nice


8 posted on 10/19/2023 11:48:49 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
I think some people are more pleased with having their name associated forever with discovering a national treasure that is being displayed in a premier national historic museum for future visitors to see.

There is a certain pride associated with knowing that one advanced the knowledge of their country's history.

-PJ

9 posted on 10/19/2023 11:53:43 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too ( * LAAP = Left-wing Activist Agitprop Press (formerly known as the MSM))
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts; Red Badger

Once the gov’t hears about the find, they’ll take 97%.


10 posted on 10/19/2023 11:55:49 AM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: Red Badger

If it was a human tooth, it would be an Alabama fan!


11 posted on 10/19/2023 11:57:14 AM PDT by 2nd Amendment
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To: Carriage Hill

Different governments have different laws..................


12 posted on 10/19/2023 11:58:19 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

What gold and bronze jewelry?

This stuff has been in my family for thousands of years.


13 posted on 10/19/2023 12:00:28 PM PDT by Jonty30 (It never rains in sunny Alberta. It always rains in rainy Alberta.)
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To: Red Badger

Forget it, look how old that junk looks, it will never sell on Ebay


14 posted on 10/19/2023 12:03:05 PM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary Clinton remains free, the USA will never have equal justice under the law)
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To: Jonty30

Then you owe 3500 years of BACK TAXES.....................


15 posted on 10/19/2023 12:05:52 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda

It’ll buff right out!......................


16 posted on 10/19/2023 12:06:39 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger
OK, this is a great find and the archaeologists who did the excavation deserve a lot of credit.

However, as someone who has a very nice Garrett metal detector with multiple heads, the part of the story that raised huge red flags as to accuracy was, “......metal detector searching a freshly plowed carrot field in Switzerland found — as well as other surprising items including a bear's tooth, a beaver's tooth and a fossilized shark's tooth.......”

Teeth don't show up on a metal detector at least no metal detector I am familiar with. metal over various kinds does, so I really have to question the degree of accuracy in the entire story. The archaeologists could have found those things after they started carefully digging, but the whole story smells of inaccuracy.

17 posted on 10/19/2023 12:19:14 PM PDT by Robert357
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To: Robert357

He just found a metal disc.

The archaeologist found the teeth and other stuff................


18 posted on 10/19/2023 12:27:02 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Robert357

Obviously he found those non-metal items whilst digging up the metals.


19 posted on 10/19/2023 12:27:19 PM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing)
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To: Robert357
Zahn initially found a bronze disc, and immediately realized it was an "extraordinary discovery" so he contacted local authorities.
20 posted on 10/19/2023 12:27:24 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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