Archaeologists in Krefeld have come across some 500-year-old floor tiles with a Christmas tree motif.
"Just in the run-up to Christmas to make such a find, of course, is something special," said city archaeologist Hans Peter Schletter on Thursday. The well-preserved, glazed floor tiles came to light in the excavation of a medieval court complex from deeper layers of earth.
Decorated Christmas tree only in the 19th century
Their high quality suggests a wealthy, presumably noble family. They were probably from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Of course, we can not say so soon after the find whether it really is a Christmas motive, because I'm currently unaware of such a plot from other excavations, "Schletter said.
The age of the tiles falls in the beginning of the Christmas tree custom. Thus, for 1539, the sale of fir trees as Christmas trees in Strasbourg survived. However, the decorated Christmas tree was not widely used until the 19th century.