3,000-Year-Old Gold Bowl Unearthed in Austria

WARSAW, POLAND—A gold bowl standing about two inches tall and measuring about eight inches in diameter has been unearthed at the site of a prehistoric settlement of the Urnfield culture in what may have been a swampy area in eastern Austria, according to a Science in Poland report. Michał Sip of the University of Warsaw said the bowl, decorated with a sun motif, was fashioned from a very thin sheet of metal consisting of 90 percent gold, five percent silver, and five percent copper about 3,000 years ago. Two bracelets made of coiled gold wire and two clumps of organic material were found in the bowl. “This is the first find of this kind found in Austria, and the second to the east of the Alpine line,” Sip said. Such bowls are thought to have been produced in northern Germany, Scandinavia, and Denmark, where they are usually found, he added, although similar bowls have also been uncovered in Spain, France, and Switzerland. Sip and his team have also recovered bronze pins, daggers, and knives from the area, in addition to pottery and animal bones. To read about a grave in northeastern Austria that contained the earliest known identical twins, go to "A Twin Burial."