5 tiny gold foil figures have been found at a temple in Norway

 

Each measuring just under 1 centimeter tall, and the width of a fingernail, five newly unearthed mysterious gold treasures found in Hov, Norway, could help unlock secrets of an ancient society, scientists say.

The tiny pieces — intricately detailed gold foil figures discovered during excavations of a pagan religious temple — are a rare find in Norway. The country has only 10 known sites, and Hov has the most foils, with 35 pieces found total. But over 3,000 similar foils have been found across Scandinavia, according to Ingunn Marit Røstad, an archaeologist and associate professor at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.

“They’re found in almost all of Scandinavia, but only in Scandinavia,” Røstad said. “You have the same images spread all over Scandinavia, so they must have meant something, the people must have known what they meant, and I think they must have been important to be handled in this way.”토토

The latest documented artifacts were buried underneath the walls and within post holes of the structure as if they were placed their intentionally, leading researchers to believe that the foils may have been an offering to the building, according to a Facebook post announcing the find. Nicolai Eckhoff, who shared the post, is an archaeologist and adviser in rescue archaeology at the University of Oslo who was involved in the dig.

“They tell us a story about the importance of the area in which they were discovered,” Echkoff said in an email. “The site is found next to Mjøsa (the biggest lake in Norway), at the outlet of the river Gudbrandsalslågen. As such, most trade goods from the mountain regions in eastern Norway must have passed by this site before being shipped toward the shore.