During archaeological works in the Wawel Royal Castle, a unique discovery was made. A gold ring from the 11th or 12th century was found in the basement of one of the towers. The Royal Castle itself announced the fascinating find on social media. “Wawel constantly surprises us,” wrote Jerzy Trzebiński from the Archeology Department of the Wawel Royal Castle, the discoverer of the monument.
Cracow. An archaeologist discovered a historic ring in the basement of Wawel Castle. “It’s unique”
The monument was found in the basement of the Danish Tower, located in the eastern wing of the Royal Castle. “It was located in the archaeological layer, lying on top of the relics of a stone structure (probably a defensive embankment),” said Jerzy Trzebiński. In the archaeologist’s opinion, the discovered object is unique for several reasons. Firstly, only a few medieval rings of this type have been found so far in Poland.
“The piece discovered at Wawel is unique due to its decoration. It is the only example where human images are depicted on an early medieval ring from Poland,” he noted. The archaeologist notes that earlier, similar objects were devoid of ornaments or had geometric ornaments.
Unusual decorations on a monument found in Wawel. What is noteworthy is the lack of references to Christianity
The uncovered ring has a decorative shield with two opposing faces. In the opinion of Jerzy Trzebiński, the ornament may be a reference to Roman mythology, namely the figure of Janus – a god with two faces. What is also interesting is the lack of references to the Christian religion, although the ring is most likely a local product. “The form of the object is quite typical for Poland,” he notes.
According to Jerzy Trzebiński, the ring was owned by a person belonging to the elite of the Piast state. “We can assume that it was rather a lay person and a woman, but it is difficult to determine it unambiguously,” the archaeologist speculated.
Source: Gazeta
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