That archaeologists search the dustbins of history is a thing understood.
Finding, on the other hand, the remains of a medieval saint hidden in the middle of the garbage, is an unusual discovery.
In 2008, during an excavation campaign carried out in the historic center of Mainz, Germany, archaeologists discovered a small metal pendant.
The thing, blackened and weathered by centuries, lay amidst thousands of ceramic shards, in a medieval-era dump identified in the courtyard of a 17th-century mansion.
The object turns out to be a gilded copper ornament, dated to the end of the 12th century and decorated with figures in champlevé enamel.
Fourteen years later, however, the pendant reveals a new secret: it contains unsuspected relics.
An examination of this six centimeter pendant carried out in recent months in the laboratories of the Technical University of Munich, in Bavaria, revealed the presence of five bone fragments.
Hidden in an interior compartment of the jewel, they were wrapped in silk and bound together by a string;
the presence of beeswax was also noticed.
So many clues that lead one to believe that this polylobed pendant thus contained the relics of a holy person.
It is difficult, however, to know to which saint the owner of this precious adornment was dedicated.
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“Relics of this kind are generally accompanied by a strip of parchment on which is inscribed the name of the saint. But in the present case, we unfortunately cannot observe
it”, indicated on January 5, in a press release, Matthias Heinzel, restorer within the Leiza (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie), known until 2022 under the name of Central Roman-Germanic Museum in Mainz.
"
The corrosion has damaged the pendant, especially the closing mechanism, so that trying to open it could destroy it irreparably",
adds the specialist.
View of the interior of the small reliquary.
A tomography examination of the adornment was entrusted to teams from the Technical University of Munich.
Burkhard Schillinger, MLZ
To discover these relics, the scientists used tomographic imaging, a neutron scanning technique that has been used in the past to examine mummies without opening a sarcophagus, for example.
“The neutron examination was particularly useful because it is non-intrusive and we could not simply open the object to look inside
,” says Matthias Heinzel.
An impenetrable reliquary
Researchers are not yet losing hope of getting their hands on the parchment in question.
Its inscriptions could indeed be deciphered thanks to the acids of vegetable origin employed in the preparation of the black ink.
Additional examinations will be carried out during a future observation campaign.
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The restoration campaign of the pendant was carried out in preparation for an exhibition of the Regional Museum of Mainz dedicated to the medieval treasures of the city, where the object is presented at the moment.
In addition to the tomographic examinations, some 500 hours of work were needed to restore the object, rid it of the corrosion that was eating away at it and finally restore an ounce of its luster.
According to Leiza researchers, this type of reliquary is referred to as a phylactery.
It would be one of only three objects of this precise model that can be attributed to a reputable workshop in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony.
The enamelled figures represent on one side Christ, surrounded by the four Gospels, as well as, on the other side, the Virgin Mary accompanied by four holy women.
The identity of the saint or of the saint, meanwhile, should remain a time still in the secret of the gods.
And under the protection of its small copper fortress.
