It’s not every day that you find a medieval wheel cross, and it’s even rarer when the find matches another centuries-old artifact discovered over four decades earlier. But wait, it gets better. A volunteer made the discovery—she wasn’t even paid!
Volunteer archaeological conservator Juliane Rangnow found the bronze wheel cross, dated to the 10th or 11th century, in Germany’s Havelland region. Most notably, it perfectly matches a mold that came to light over 40 years ago in the Berlin borough of Spandau. Manja Schüle—the State of Brandenburg’s Minister for Science, Research and Culture—Rangnow, and others announced the discovery on Friday.
The special duo, probably reunited after spending centuries apart, speaks to the region’s Christian history—when the religion struggled to take hold in the face of disinterested Slavic tribes.
High-achieving volunteers
“The discovery of a small bronze cross is not just another find among many. This find is spectacular in several respects,” Schüle said in a translated statement by her ministry.
Its correspondence to a previously discovered casting mold “is unique for an archaeological find from this period,” and “it is also exemplary of the early Christianization of Brandenburg,” she added. “And, what makes me particularly happy, it is a particularly impressive testament to the commitment of volunteer archaeological conservators.”
Schüle added that a volunteer archaeological conservator had also discovered a Celtic gold treasure some time ago. Someone give these people a job!
The wheel cross finding took place during detector surveys, and the site also revealed coins, pieces of gold-plated jewelry, and iron weapons from around the same time period. Rangnow discovered the wheel cross near wooden church remains, after which it was restored and measured. It is the only known cast of the mold in question, called the “Spandau Cross,” which archaeologists unearthed in 1983 at Spandau’s Slavic castle rampart.
“Holding such a find in your hand is like building a bridge to the past. That’s what makes working as a volunteer archaeological conservator so exciting,” Rangnow said.
A false start for Christianity in the region
This match made in heaven (or, more likely, the forges of a medieval German metalworking shop) represents Christianity’s presence in the region, which seems to have been a tormented affair. An early version of the better-known Holy Roman Empire, the East Frankish Empire, arrived in the modern Berlin and Brandenburg area with its Christianity in the early 900s.
The non-Christian Slavic tribes in the region, however, seem to have almost completely rejected the newcomers’ faith. Their “Lutician Revolt” against the empire took place in 983. For around a century and a half, they fought for their freedom. Christianity took hold in the area only after its incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire. The previous period of Christianization is documented mostly through historical texts.
“The new find is one of the rare early pieces of evidence of the unique history of Christianization of the northwestern Slavs, which continues to shape northeastern Germany to this day,” said Lukas Goldmann, scientific advisor for the Slavic Middle Ages at the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeological State Museum.
A Spandau blacksmith
“Thanks to this new discovery, we know that the blacksmith in Spandau produced items for a large market and a very mobile group of people. Christian symbols were widespread before the Slavic uprising of 983,” said Matthias Wemhoff, state archaeologist and director of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin.
The Brandenburg State Archaeological Museum will host the pair of artifacts until March 11.
