Archaeologists have discovered a 1,000-year-old cross that could rewrite the history of early Christianity
A volunteer has discovered a 1,000-year-old bronze cross in Brandenburg. The find suggests an earlier Christian presence in the region.
An archaeologist recently uncovered a medieval bronze pendant shaped as a circular cross in the Havelland district of the German state of Brandenburg. The discovery is directly linked to a find made more than 40 years ago, a 10th-century casting mold known as the Spandau Cross mold.
The mold was found in 1983 during excavations at a Slavic fort in the Berlin-Spandau area, alongside the remains of a wooden church. After the pendant was restored, specialists confirmed that it fits perfectly into the mold’s cavity, proving that it was made using that very mold.
According to the Brandenburg State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, both objects date to the same historical period and point to a deeper Christian presence in the region during the 10th century than previously believed. State archaeologist Matthias Wemhoff explained that the find shows the Spandau craftsman was producing goods for a broad market and a highly mobile population, and that Christian symbols were already widespread before the Slavic uprising of 983.
An unusual form of evidence
At the beginning of the 10th century, most of what is now Brandenburg was inhabited by non-Christian Slavic tribes, and early Christian expansion in the area was known mainly through historical documents rather than archaeological remains. Experts had generally placed the full Christianization of the region around the 12th century.
Brandenburg’s minister of culture, Manja Schüle, emphasized that the bronze cross is far from an ordinary discovery. Coins, partially gilded jewelry fragments, and iron weapons were found alongside it. Both the pendant and the mold will be displayed at the Brandenburg State Archaeological Museum.
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