Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Archaeologists from Masaryk University in Brno, a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic, have made an extraordinary discovery. The research team has unearthed a unique bronze belt buckle from the early Middle Ages. The intriguing Medieval objects depict a snake devouring a frog-like creature. This motif is common in Slavic mythology, and it is most likely ᴀssociated with the myth of the world’s creation or the fertility cult. Such buckles were worn as ornaments by the elites in the early Middle Ages in east central Europe.

A bronze belt buckle from the early Middle Ages, depicting a snake devouring a frog-like creature. PH๏τo credit: Masaryk University Brno

Scientists point out that the buckle can shed more light on people’s spiritual life in the pre-Christian era.  At the same site, archaeologists found recently an animal rib with an inscription engraved in ancient Germanic runes.

“It was a part of a costume worn by the Avars, the nomadic people settled in the Carpathian basin, in today’s Hungary. However, it was also worn by neighbouring nations or groups of people. It was a very interesting discovery for us because we came across this Avar belt while excavating a settlement of early Slavs,” Jiří Macháček, who heads the university’s archaeology and museology department told Radio Prague International.

Nearly identical belt buckles have already been discovered in other parts of Central Europe, hundreds of kilometers apart. It suggests the motif must have played a crucial role in the religious and spiritual life of the people living in this part of the world in the early Middle Ages.

Nearly identical belt buckles have already been discovered in other parts of Central Europe (A – Lány (Czech Republic), B – Zsámbék (Hungary), C – Iffelsdorf (Germany)). PH๏τo credit: Masaryk University Brno

“The problem is that we know very little about the pre-Christian religion among the Germanic people and the Slavic people. We have nearly no written sources about it. We believe that this scene of the fighting snake could be connected with the pre-Christian religion of the people of central Europe. Therefore, such archaeological discoveries could be very important to the discussion about the religion of these people before Christianity,” Macháček explained.

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The team consisting of international scientists has published their findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Scientists hope this unique early medieval artifact will be made available for the public to see.

The study was published in  the Journal of Archaeological Science

Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer