NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA, GERMANY—Live Science reports that a metal detectorist working with Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe archaeologists has discovered more than 150 objects at Wilzenberg, an Iron Age hillfort site in western Germany. The objects include bent weapons, fragments of shield bosses, tools, belt hooks, parts of a horse’s bridle, three silver coins, and bronze jewelry, according to archaeologist Manuel Zeiler. Most of the artifacts date to about 300 B.C., except for the coins and swords, which date to the first century B.C., he added. The bridle may have been worn by a horse pulling a chariot, since it has handle parts for reins and a bit for a horse’s mouth that was designed for precise steering. The weapons are thought to have been confiscated from a vanquished enemy, and destroyed as a symbolic act, said archaeologist Michael Baales. “This ceremony was possibly the last step to celebrate the triumph,” Zeiler said. A battle does not appear to have been fought at the site, however, and it is not clear if the weapons were damaged and buried in one event, or over a period of centuries. To read about excavations of a Bronze Age ringed sanctuary in central Germany, go to "Letter from Woodhenge: Stonehenge's Continental Cousin."
