The Netherlands: metallic remnants of 5th century BC chariot grave on display

Palinurus

The Living Force
Source (Dutch only): Museum presenteert resten oud wagengraf, vinders mogelijk vervolgd

DeepL Translator said:
NOS News - Interior - Remarkable - Today, 14:32

Museum presents remnants from an old chariot grave, finders possibly prosecuted

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Metal remnants from the chariot grave - Image NOS

A chariot grave from the Iron Age will soon be on display at Museum Het Valkhof in Nijmegen. The remnants from the grave were found in 2018 by amateur archaeologists with a metal detector. Possibly, prosecution may be hanging over their heads.

"We are pleased that the discovery has been made public," says Jos Bazelmans of the National Cultural Heritage Agency in NOS Radio 1 News. "But we're less happy with the way it went."

The chariot grave was found in a fens near Nijmegen. Hobbyists with a metal detector were looking for remnants from the Second World War and probably stumbled upon the chariot grave by chance.

Rules

The finders didn't follow the rules [in Dutch], Bazelmans knows. For example, in the municipality of Heumen it is forbidden to work with a metal detector and they also did not have permission from landowner Staatsbosbeheer. "And the most important thing," says Bazelmans, "with a metal detector you may not search deeper than thirty centimeters into the ground."

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A model of a chariot, as found in the grave - Image Free University of Amsterdam

According to De Gelderlander, the discoverers tried to sell [in Dutch] the extraordinary find to an archaeology society and to a museum. The latter, according to the newspaper, contacted the State Inspectorate for Cultural Heritage (Erfgoedinspectie).

Through an intermediary in metal detector circles and an archaeologist from the Free University of Amsterdam, the finds were eventually handed over.

Tribal leader

It involves a grave from the fifth century BC. According to archaeologists, it belonged to a tribal leader with "broad international contacts". Bazelmans: "At that time the deceased were cremated in the Netherlands and the burial gifts were burnt along with them. So we actually only find the metal parts of the chariot. However, a bronze cauldron, a sword and an earthenware urn were also found."

Some of the finds are still being cleaned in the laboratory, but eventually the burial contents will be exhibited in the museum. The Heritage Inspectorate has completed its inquiry into the finders and now it is up to the Public Prosecution Service to decide whether they will be prosecuted.


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
 
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