Medieval amethyst jewelry found on castle moat – History

Unique silver gilded and amethyst jewelry has emanated from the moat of Kolnie Castle Kolno in southwestern Poland. Found moat sediments embedded between deactivated bridge wood columns, jewelry could be located with chronological and stratigraphic evidence of dendrites until the early 14th and mid-15th centuries, when the castle was destroyed.

The castle was built by Duke Bolesław III of Brzeg. He sold it to the local little nobles, which passed through several hands until after the Husseus War, was arrested by violent citizens among the rival Duchess of Silesia after 1443. Archaeologists have been digging it since 2010, and it has unearthed many artifacts, mainly military and ceramic fragments, related to the castle’s heyday in the 14th and 15th centuries.

You might think that a castle was inhabited by wealthy nobles, which might be a possible place to find precious jewelry, but in fact, such discoveries are extremely rare. Gold and silver ornaments are almost always in graves and hoards, not in settlements, whether in rural or urban, in houses, whether townhouses or castles. Given its location of discovery in the moat, amethyst jewelry may have been lost as it passes through the crossing point of the castle and the castle.

Amethyst was identified from its molecular composition using Raman spectroscopy. X-ray fluorescence analysis determines the metal as fire silver. Cabochon amethyst is set in the center of a ray or palm petal pattern. There is a silver pin and some residue of lead solder on the back, indicating that the jewelry is part of the larger environment, maybe a brooch, but probably more refined like a corona.

The ornament represents the international style of the 13th century gem setting characteristics. A similar halo was found in the crown of King Sancho IV El Bravo, from Toledo’s grave, the golden crown from Wawel, Cracow, recovered from the imperial brooch in the disasters of Wawel, Cracow and Poland. A later example can be found on the 14th-century silver gold-plated brooch at the Cathedral of Split. On the precious, more modest but still luxurious brooch, the matching environment is a symbol of medieval aristocrats, even if sold to smaller aristocrats.