Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health
Get our free Health Check email
Get our free Health Check email
Archaeologists have unearthed a hoard of gold and silver coins offered as diobolgeldæ, or “devil’s money”, at a medieval cult site in the Netherlands, shedding more light on the rituals of pre-Christian groups in this part of Europe.
The Netherlands, northern Germany and Britain have yielded fewer cult sites compared to the Nordic world, whose pre-Christian rituals are much better understood.
Findings from pre-Christian pagan cult sites in the Nordic region don’t always apply to the rest of the Germanic-Nordic world. But the coin hoard found in Hezingen in eastern Netherlands provides valuable insights into cult rituals in the area, researchers say.
The Hezingen site first came to light around five years ago after metal detectors found numerous gold and silver coins. Archeologists found that it consisted of three sites, including a large circular feature made of wooden posts surrounding an unusually shaped building.
One of the sites contained a single gold coin while another had nearly two dozen fragmented and complete gold coins as well as a gold pendant and a silver earring.
The third site contained gold coin fragments and a small pendant, according to a new study published in the journal Medieval Archaeology.
There were also signs of an old manor, likely constructed during the 6th century, at one of the sites as well as 17 postholes for wooden posts aligned with spring and autumn equinoxes, suggesting the site could have been used for seasonal rituals linked to sowing or harvests.
After assessing the postholes and the artefacts, archaeologists concluded that Hezingen served as an important cult site during a period of cultural transition in the region.
“The offerings may have been linked to fertility rites as the posts were aligned with the rising and setting of the sun during the spring and autumn equinoxes,” the study states.
“Gold coins and jewellery were deposited there at regular intervals over a period of about 100 years. Based on the phosphate analysis, it is likely that animals were sacrificed there as well.”
Exactly which gods the local people prayed to remains a mystery.
To get Christianised, people in the region were compelled to renounce their gods and stop their ritual of offering “devil’s money” at pagan cult sites.
Archaeologists suspect the hamlet of Hezingen may have been a 7th-century open-air cult site, possibly connected with immigrants. The use of the site appears to have ceased around 700 AD, at least 50 years before the formal Christianisation of the area.
The local elite, with whom the site may have been associated, had likely become Christian earlier or moved away from paganism. “Perhaps the place was abandoned or even desecrated by missionaries, with almost everything of value taken away,” the study notes.
However, researchers say that “alternative interpretations” of the findings should be considered as well.
