500-year-old treasure hidden by a monk discovered in Germany (photo)
During excavations at the ruins of a medieval monastery in Germany, archaeologists discovered several gold coins. The find is of great value.
The discovery was made in the former Himmelpforten monastery near the city of Wernigerode in Saxony-Anhalt. It is reported by Newsweek.
Archaeologists believe that the coins, some of which are heavily worn, could have been hastily hidden by the monks when the monastery was stormed by rebellious farmers in 1525.
"The gold coins were of great value, and the small fortune was probably hidden by a monk in an extremely dangerous situation," the researchers noted.
The artifacts are known as guilders, the name of several gold coins used during the Holy Roman Empire. At the largest scale of the empire, its territory covered all of modern Germany.
The coins found in the monastery are just over 1 inch in diameter. Among them is a guilder minted in Frankfurt before 1493 by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, as well as one made in Schwabach, near Nuremberg, between 1486 and 1495. The other two guilders were minted in Bonn, a city in western Germany, around 1480-81.
In addition to the coins, archaeologists have found numerous artifacts dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries during recent work on the monastery grounds. These items include brass book clasps from the monastery's library, ceramics, animal bones, a cavalry spur and decorative lead seals.
As a reminder, scientists have discovered that drought forced the Huns to become brutal robbers.
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