The 41 Celtic gold coins with an age of more than two thousand years from a field south of Potsdam are for the explorer and voluntary ground monument conservator Wolfgang Herkt an "exceptional find that you only make once in a lifetime".
On Monday they were presented to the public in the State Chancellery in Potsdam.
The Celtic culture spread since the Iron Age, especially in Western and Central Europe, but no Celtic settlements are known in the area of today's Brandenburg. Expert Marjanko Pilekic suspects the origin of the coins in the Hessian or Rhineland-Palatinate area. For the state archaeologist Franz Schopper, the main question is how the coins got to the region. It was obvious that the Celts had trade contacts with the early Germanic Jastorf culture that settled on the site. The goods could have been skins, women's hair or slaves. For Brandenburg's Minister of Culture, Manja Schüle (SPD), the findings underscore the fact that “exchange and migration were necessary for successful development at all times”.
Initially, eleven coins were discovered in 2017. During archaeological excavations, the researchers came across more specimens a year later.
According to Schopper, the total value of the gold, silver and copper coins found must have been considerable.
While Herkt pursued purely scientific interests and immediately informed the State Monuments Office after his discovery, such finds often also attract illegal treasure hunters.
In order to be able to search the excavation site several times in peace and secure it against robbery excavations, the find was therefore only now presented to the public.
However, the honorary explorer Herkt is not entitled to a finder's reward.
As he says, he would be happy to receive a subsidy for fuel costs.