Metal detectorist searching carrot field stumbles on ancient jewelry set, photos show

Someone buried treasure 3,500 years ago. A metal detectorist searching a carrot field in Switzerland just found it.

Franz Zahn has been metal detecting around Güttingen for years, according to an Oct. 16 news release from Thurgau Canton. He’s found a lot of scrap metal and, occasionally, historical artifacts.

In August, Zahn was searching a freshly plowed carrot field with a metal detector when he stumbled on a metallic disc, the release said. He immediately realized it was an extraordinary find.

Archaeologists identified Zahn’s find as a large jewelry set from the Middle Bronze Age. The finds date to about 1500 B.C. or about 3,500 years ago, according to the release.

Returning to the carrot field, archaeologists removed a section of soil and excavated it in a lab. A photo shows this process.

Excavations uncovered 14 necklace pieces known as spike discs, 11 small bronze spirals, eight larger gold wire spirals, two rings and more than 100 amber beads the size of pinheads, archaeologists said. A photo shows this treasure collection.

A bronze arrowhead, beaver tooth, bear tooth, rock crystal, fossilized shark tooth, small ammonite and lumps of ore were also unearthed, archaeologists said.

The ancient artifacts were not found near a grave but were likely buried on their own in a now-gone container, according to the release.

Archaeologists know of very few Middle Bronze Age settlements in the area where the collection was found. It’s unclear how or why the jewelry set came to be buried in Güttingen, the release said.

Thurgau Canton shared close-up photos of the jewelry set in an Oct. 17 Facebook post. One photo shows the pair of rings. They have a matching spiral design in a figure-eight shape.

Another close-up photo shows the spike discs arranged in a necklace-like shape. Each disc has roughly four concentric circles and a singular raised point, or spike, in the middle. Spiral shapes like coils or springs are placed between the discs.

Archaeologists likened these types of spike disc necklaces to Bronze Age costume jewelry, the release said.

Archaeologists are documenting, analyzing and restoring the artifacts and plan to eventually display them in the Museum of Archaeology in Frauenfeld, according to the release.

Güttingen is in Thurgau Canton and about 45 miles northeast of Zurich.

Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Thurgau Canton. Facebook Translate was used to translate the Facebook post from Thurgau Canton.

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