It was no ordinary day at work, a spectacular find was made. Sweden's 3rd most tremendous bargain. Gold treasures, cast heads in bronze, glass and Viking coins were also found in the hoard. Everything was observed during 2013 at Västra Vångs village in central Blekinge. The exhibition is on display at the Blekinge Museum in Karlskrona. It also tells us new knowledge about the balance of power in modern Europe, everyday life in the village and about religious rites during the millennium after the birth of Christ. The archaeologists see features of both the Celtic and Roman culture in the cast bronze heads. What do you see?
Bronze masks
The bronze masks, the small heads, were once used as decorations on bronze and silver vessels. Evidence that the people of Vång wanted to own things that gave high status. Bronze masks have a Celtic origin, it can be read from the neck ring and the artificial braided hair. For the Celts, the head was sacred. But the question is, how did the masks come to Västra Vång? Maybe it was through trade or gifts to influential people, but it could also be through looting. Probably they have been manufactured in the Nordic countries. We know that the Norwegians, through other similar results, found new ideas and turned them into their own.
About the exhibition
"In SCIENCE WORLD, most people today agree that magic does not exist. But when the little gold guys, bronze busts and masks arrived today in Västra Vång 2013, it was still something extraordinary happened. The mysterious hill opened up and showed glimpses of a past time, a perspective we had no idea. It was a big surprise. It was magical.
It tickles your imagination to think about what the place Västra Vång might have looked like during the Iron Age, how people lived, and what relationships they had with the outside world. Several of the found objects are probably made in the Roman and Celtic cultural spheres, and coins from the previously discovered silver treasure are minted in many different places in Europe and all the way to the Middle East. This suggests that Blekinge through the ages has been a good starting point for contacts across the Baltic Sea and further south. Even today, Blekinge's strategic position for transport and trade in the east and south is something we are working to further strengthen. It is therefore fascinating to note that we who are here today continue to create a contact that has been going on for over two thousand years. The archaeological investigations will continue in Vång over the next few years. No matter what upcoming finds are made, the results are changing the historical image of Blekinge. It's all a bit magical. "
County Museum Manager Marcus Sandekjer
