Discovery of buried treasure revealed in Austria

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: cbs/AP

VIENNA - A man turning dirt in his back yard stumbled onto buried treasure — hundreds of pieces of ancient jewelry and other precious objects in what authorities described Friday as a fairy-tale find.

Austria's Federal Office for Memorials said the trove consists of more than 200 rings, brooches, ornate belt buckles, gold-plated silver plates and other pieces or fragments, many encrusted with pearls, fossilized coral and other ornaments. It says the objects are about 650 years old and are being evaluated for their provenance and worth.

While not assigning a monetary value to the buried bling, the enthusiastic language from the normally staid memorials office — the department in charge of national antiquities — reflected the significance it attached to the discovery.

"Fairy tales still exist!" said its statement. "Private individual finds sensational treasure in garden."




Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/22/501364/main20056442.shtml

[slackmaster]

1. I'm glad it's not Nazi booty

:kick:

[petronius]

2. This sounds a little strange to me:

"While he found the ornaments in 2007, Andreas K. did not report it to the memorials office until after rediscovering the dirt-encrusted objects in a basement box while packing up after selling his house two years ago, said Profil. The soil had dried and some had fallen off, revealing precious metal and jewels underneath."

He found the stuff, and decided to keep it without even clearing the dirt off to see what it was? :shrug:

Wonderful find though, and I'm glad it's in the right hands. It would be great to know the full story - Austrian version of Robin Hood, perhaps? :)

[Xithras]

4. Not really.

When you live in an area that has been continually inhabited for a long period of time, it's really not that unusual to uncover objects (usually just buried trash) when digging around your property. I grew up in a house that sat on an urban lot that has been continually occupied for about 130 years, and every time we dug in the yard...to plant a garden, to put in a koi pond, to run sprinklers to the back of the lot, to clear foundation space for pavers...we turned up SOMETHING. Nearly all of it was garbage, and 99% of it went straight into the trash. We were just digging up other peoples junk, and it really wasn't something to get excited about.

It sounds like he found this stuff, but it was covered in mud and he just set it aside. Like any old property, he probably just thought he'd found someone elses discards. He didn't realize its value until much later, when he looked at it again.

[petronius]

10. That makes sense. I do very little digging of any sort, so finding a 'not-dirt' would be

a novelty to me. But I can see how it would be commonplace in other circumstances...

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. 650 years ago would be about the time of the Black Death

Someone panicking at the breakdown of society and burying his valuables?

[MineralMan]

5. Very possible. When people fled the cities for the country,

they often hid valuables beforehand. That could very well be the case here.

[Xithras]

6. Probably not

650 years ago would have coincided with the rise of the Hapsburg's, and the article says that the find was close to Vienna, which was their seat of power. By European standards of that era, the area of this find would have been relatively civilized and orderly.

That doesn't mean that it wasn't hidden because of marauding thieves or even a military confrontation in the area (hard to tell, since we don't know exactly when it was buried), but I wouldn't attribute it to a general societal breakdown.

[goodnews]

13. If the time calculation of 650 years is correct it would exactly fall

in the period of the Black Plague which began about 1348. .

[Xithras]

15. Unfortunately there's no way to know.

The pieces appear to be about 650 years old, but that's when they were made, and not when they were buried. We have no idea whether these were brand new when they were put into the ground, or family heirlooms that were buried centuries later. Because the find wasn't immediately reported to the authorities, and the dig site couldn't be analyzed to determine the age of the disturbance, there's really no way to know how long ago they were placed there. Because he washed and cleaned them himself to post photos on the Internet, we can't even date the dirt they were buried in.

For all we know, these may have been family keepsakes buried during WW2. Or looted from a museum and buried in the 1800's. Or buried by a local noble during the 30 Years War. Or hidden during by one of the several attempts by the Ottomans to take that area. Any of these are theoretically possible. Properly excavating the discovery site usually MORE important to understanding an archaeological discovery than the items themselves, because they put the discovery in context. It sounds like this guy excavated the entire site for his pond, so we'll probably never know how long they were in the ground, or who put them there.

[jwirr]

17. That is what I was thinking. There was a threat and the valuables had

to be buried. Whatever was threatening happened and no one went back to retrieve them. Plaque or an aggressive neighbor. Who knows.

[xchrom]

7. cool. nt

[Zywiec]

8. I love these types of stories! n/t

[Baclava]

20. Me too! I love treasure hunting. I'm going to Carolina for emeralds...

North Carolina farm yields record emerald



CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Alexander County, N.C., community famed for its lunker emeralds has yielded a 64-carat gem that experts say is North America's largest cut emerald.

After having the stone cut and recut, Ledford and his partner gave the emerald a trademarked name: the Carolina Emperor.

http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2010/08/north_carolina_farm_yields_rec.html

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Lucky sod.

[damntexdem]

11. I can dig it.

[JDPriestly]

12. Wiener Neustadt -- I am somewhat famliar with that area.

The area once belonged to the County of Pitten, which had been inherited by Margrave Ottokar III of Styria in 1158. After the dynasty of the Otakars became extinct with the death of his son Ottokar IV, the Duchy of Styria passed to the Austrian House of Babenberg according to the Georgenberg Pact. Duke Leopold V of Austria established the town in 1194<1> and financed the construction of a fortress close to the Hungarian border with the ransom paid for the English king Richard the Lionheart, whom he had previously captured and held as a hostage at Dürnstein Castle. In 1241, a small Mongol squadron raided Neustadt during the Mongol invasion of Europe.

Wiener Neustadt, meaning more or less New Vienna ("Viennese Newtown"), gained important privileges given to the city in order to enable it to prosper. It remained a part of Styria, which after the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld fell to the House of Habsburg and in 1379 became a constituent duchy of Inner Austria. In the 15th century Wiener Neustadt experienced a population boom, when Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg took up a residence here and established the Diocese of Wiener Neustadt in 1469. The Wappenwand (coat of arms wall) at the local castle displays the coats of arms of his possessions in the middle. His son Maximilian I maintained his court in Wiener Neustadt and is buried here at St. George's Cathedral. The town then also had a significant Jewish commune with Rabbi Israel Isserlin as its most notable member, until all Jews were expelled by order of Emperor Maximilian I in 1496.

Habsburg's long-time rival King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary conquered the city in August of 1487 after having laid siege to it for two years. According to legend he dedicated the magnificent Corvinus Cup to the inhabitants after his victory. Maximilian I managed to reconquer his native city in 1490. During the 16th century, Wiener Neustadt lost its status as imperial residence and much of its importance. However, it still fulfilled its function as bulwark against the Turks and the Kuruc. In 1751 it received greater attention when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria decided to dedicate the First Military Academy worldwide inside the imperial castle. In 1752, the Theresian Military Academy took up its operations, which have continued to this day with only a few interruptions (Erwin Rommel was appointed commandant after the Austrian Anschluss in 1938). In 1768, Wiener Neustadt was destroyed by an earthquake and damaged the castle, which was rebuilt using plans made by the architect Nicolò Pacassi.<2> In 1785, Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg transferred the see of the Wiener Neustadt diocese to Sankt Pölten.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiener_Neustadt

I remember visiting an old castle with medieval weapons, rows and rows of armor of all kinds. I think that was in Wiener Neustadt.

[blackbart99]

14. Mattias Corvinus...hmmm.....

Wasn't he the father of all the immortal vampires and werewolves in the Underworld series?

Does this mean vampires and werewolves really exist or just immortals.......?
:evilgrin: :scared:

[Uncle Joe]

18. Perhaps this treasure was buried to hide it from Corvinus?

Habsburg's long-time rival King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary conquered the city in August of 1487 after having laid siege to it for two years. According to legend he dedicated the magnificent Corvinus Cup to the inhabitants after his victory. Maximilian I managed to reconquer his native city in 1490. During the 16th century, Wiener Neustadt lost its status as imperial residence and much of its importance. However, it still fulfilled its function as bulwark against the Turks and the Kuruc. In 1751 it received greater attention when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria decided to dedicate the First Military Academy worldwide inside the imperial castle. In 1752, the Theresian Military Academy took up its operations, which have continued to this day with only a few interruptions (Erwin Rommel was appointed commandant after the Austrian Anschluss in 1938). In 1768, Wiener Neustadt was destroyed by an earthquake and damaged the castle, which was rebuilt using plans made by the architect Nicolò Pacassi.<2> In 1785, Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg transferred the see of the Wiener Neustadt diocese to Sankt Pölten.

[Historic NY]

16. Pirate booty....

[AngryAmish]

19. Did I hear buried?