This Week in Archaeology: Swords, Silver, and Desert Engineering
An Anglo-Saxon blade rivals Sutton Hoo, Moscow yields a Time of Troubles fortune, Petra’s water system surprises again, and Bavaria gets its oldest Mithraeum
This week delivered some genuinely impressive finds. We’ve got a sword that has archaeologists invoking Sutton Hoo comparisons, a coin hoard that tells a story of political chaos in early modern Russia, fresh evidence that Petra’s engineers were more ambitious than we thought, and the oldest Mithras sanctuary ever found in Bavaria. Let’s get into it.
A Sword That Rivals Sutton Hoo—And It’s Got Runes
Archaeologists from the University of Central Lancashire have pulled a sixth-century sword from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery near Canterbury, and it’s genuinely one of the most impressive early medieval finds in decades. The discovery, reported by Arkeonews, will feature on BBC Two’s Digging for Britain, where presenter Professor Alice Roberts called it unlike anything she’d seen before.
The weapon features a silver-and-gilt hilt with intricate decorative patterns and a blade inscribed with runic script. Even parts of the leather-and-wood scabbard survived, along with (this is the detail I keep coming back to) beaver fur lining. Someone wrapped their scabbard in beaver fur 1,500 years ago. A ring attached to the pommel likely symbolizes an oath to a king or high-ranking figure.
Professor Duncan Sayer, who led the excavation, explained that swords like this were more than weapons, they were symbols of authority and lordship often passed down through generations. The burial position suggests the man was laid to rest embracing the sword, indicating a deeply personal bond between warrior and weapon.
The grave also contained a gold pendant engraved with a serpent or dragon, typically found in high-status women’s burials. An heirloom from a mother or wife? Artifacts of Scandinavian and Frankish origin at the site highlight Kent’s role as a crossroads between Britain and continental Europe. Only 12 of an estimated 200+ graves have been excavated so far.
20,000 Silver Coins Hidden During Russia’s Time of Troubles
Workers restoring the historic chambers of merchant Averky Kirillov in Moscow have discovered nearly 20,000 silver coins hidden inside a ceramic vessel on the second floor. Russia’s Minister of Culture, Olga Lyubimova, announced the find as one of the most significant monetary discoveries in recent years.
The coins date to the late 1500s and early 1600s, a period of profound upheaval in Russian history known as the Time of Troubles. The Rurik dynasty had ended, political chaos reigned, and foreign powers were actively intervening. Kirillov himself was no ordinary merchant; he controlled salt mining enterprises and oversaw trade, finance, and taxation for the region. His stone chambers, built in the late 17th century, featured decorated window trims, elegant half-columns, and other architectural flourishes befitting his status.
The big question: why was this fortune never retrieved? Similar hoards from this period often remained untouched for centuries because their owners couldn’t return during the chaos. Comparable finds have featured inscriptions like “Grand Prince Ivan” and images of Saint George, typical of silver kopeks minted during contested authority when multiple claimants issued currency simultaneously.
Petra’s Hidden Lead Pipeline Changes What We Know About Nabataean Engineering
A new survey of Petra’s ‘Ain Braq aqueduct has revealed something unexpected: a 116-meter pressurized lead pipeline that previous studies completely missed. Niklas Jungmann from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin led the research, published in the journal Levant, and covered by Arkeonews. The findings suggest the Nabataeans were even more technically sophisticated than we thought.
Here’s why this matters: lead pipes are smooth, welded, and capable of handling high pressure, including use as inverted siphons essentially forcing water uphill before letting it flow down again. This technology is more typically associated with Roman engineering, and finding it in Petra’s infrastructure suggests significant technical exchange or independent development.
The survey mapped nine separate conduits in a 2,500-square-meter section of the Jabal al-Madhbah massif. The team also documented a large reservoir sealed by a high dam, two cisterns, and seven basins of different sizes. The aqueduct appears to have had two phases: an earlier lead system (probably built during the reign of King Aretas IV) and a later terracotta pipe system that required fewer resources to maintain. Petra at its height supported baths, gardens, pool complexes, and water features in temples, all in a semi-arid environment. (We’ll have a full deep-dive on Petra’s water system in Thursday’s post.)
Bavaria’s Oldest Mithraeum Found Beneath Regensburg
An extraordinary discovery in Regensburg’s Old Town (a UNESCO World Heritage city) has reshaped our understanding of Roman life in Bavaria. During routine excavations, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a Roman-era Mithras sanctuary, reports Arkeonews. It’s the oldest such site ever identified in Bavaria.
The discovery was made at Stahlzwingerweg 6, where a construction project led to preliminary excavation by ArchaeoTeam GmbH. What began as routine investigation soon turned into one of the most significant Roman finds in the region in over a decade. The evidence pointed to a wooden temple dedicated to the god Mithras, whose cult was widespread among Roman soldiers but whose sanctuaries are relatively rare north of the Alps.
Among the finds: a votive stone, fragments of votive metal plates, shrine fittings, and ritual objects including ceramic shards with snake motifs, incense cups, jugs, and drinking vessels - all consistent with the ritual banquets central to Mithras worship. Coin finds date the sanctuary to between 80 and 171 AD, during the period of the Roman cohort fort at Kumpfmühl. This predates most known Mithraea, which typically date to the late 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
My Pick This Week
The Canterbury sword edges out the competition for me. Not just because of its condition (though finding beaver fur lining on a 1,500-year-old scabbard is wild) but because of what the whole cemetery reveals about early medieval migration and European connections. Scandinavian and Frankish artifacts alongside Anglo-Saxon burials paint a picture of Kent as a dynamic crossroads, not an isolated island backwater. With 200 more graves to excavate, this site is going to keep delivering.