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Excavated weapons in Brandenburg
Photo: Momo Katz / dpa
Excavation work at a castle in Senftenberg, Brandenburg, is bringing more and more weapons and historical objects to light.
As the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district announced on Thursday, more weapons and ammunition were recovered after an initial find on Tuesday.
The explosive ordnance clearance service was on site and found typical war equipment from the Second World War and weapons from the First World War.
Historical daggers and sabers had also appeared.
"On Wednesday, the work brought to light another 100 rifles, some of them dating back to before 1900," it said.
"The find is unexpected and surprisingly large."
Archaeologists find three-armed chandelier
According to the district, not only weapons were discovered.
In addition to ceramics, pots, uniform parts and a stirrup, archaeologists also unearthed an ornate, three-armed chandelier.
The district has already speculated as to why so many objects were found on the site: "Due to the abundance and nature of the storage site, historians assume that the war equipment was quickly disposed of and not hidden for further use."
Hidden by German soldiers or disposed of by the Red Army?
According to the authorities, Senftenberg Castle served as military accommodation during the war.
At the end of the war only a few fighters from the Hitler Youth and the Volkssturm remained there.
The building was ultimately handed over to the Soviet army without a fight.
It cannot yet be conclusively answered whether the weapons were buried by German soldiers for fear of reprisals or whether they were disposed of by the Red Army.
There had been excavations on the ramparts of the castle to determine the foundations of a building that used to be there.
For reasons of monument protection, a planned new building to expand the museum at the castle may “only be built in the dimensions of the former building”, it said.
The Senftenberg Castle and Fortress Museum will remain open to visitors during the excavation work.
However, they are asked to avoid the barriers as far as possible.
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