Royal Celtic Bling
Finely worked gold and amber jewelry, including the pieces seen above, are among scores of Celtic treasures from a tomb recently unearthed in southern Germany.
Discovered beside the River Danube in Heuneburg, the tomb—all 80 tons of it—was lifted whole by heavy cranes in December 2010 and transported to a tented laboratory outside of Stuttgart (map), where archaeologists with the Stuttgart Regional Council are now analyzing the contents.
The large wooden burial chamber contains the 2,600-year-old skeleton of an ancient Celtic noblewoman. Aged between 30 and 40 when she died, the high-born lady was buried with a cache of ornate treasures, such as gold necklaces set with pearls, and she was found wearing crafted amber around her waist.
The lavish grave confirms Heuneburg as one of the earliest centers of Celtic art and culture, according to excavation leaders.
(Also see "Gold Horde Pictures: Largest Anglo-Saxon Treasure Found" [2009].)
—James Owen
Pictures: Celtic Princess Tomb Yields Gold, Amber Riches
Ornate gold and amber jewelry are among treasures found in an Iron Age noblewoman’s grave, which was recently excavated whole.
