More than $318,000 in gold, silver devil coins found at rare Medieval pagan site

Archaeologists have discovered more than $318,000 worth of gold and silver coins believed to have been used by pagans as “devil’s money” at a rare Medieval worship site in the Netherlands.A dig near the hamlet of Hezingen uncovered 190 treasures at the former pagan site dating back to the 8th century, where the faithful would gather to offer up their valuables to unknown deities to ask and give thanks for a successful harvest, according to a new study published in Medieval Archaeology.“Gold coins and jewellery were deposited there at regular intervals over a period of about 100 years,” the researchers surmised.“Based on the phosphate analysis, it is likely that animals were sacrificed there as well.”The Hezingen site was first uncovered in 2020 after people using metal detectors discovered multiple gold and silver coins near the town.Dr.

Jan-Willem de Kort, who led the ensuing dig, said his team then found three worship locations at the site, which provided a rare peek into the belief system of the region just before the spread of Christianity.Given the structure and placings of wooden posts around the site, Kort said he suspects that the sites were primarily used during the spring and autumn equinoxes to ask for and celebrate the blessings of local gods.The researcher noted that not all the shrines were created equal, with one of the sites holding greater treasures and thus likely used by only the elite to show off their wealth as they made their offerings.“I think that this cult site was mainly used by local elites to emphasize their own status, and of course, you do that pre-eminently with valuables,” Kort told Phys.org.

“The finds at the other cult sites are probably more the result of personal offerings and thus less precious,” he said.Exactly which gods the locals prayed to remains a mystery, as the sites were shut down some decades later with the spread of Christianity throughout the nordic region.Missionaries were recorded in the...