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Keltenwelt am Glauberg shows highlight from the region for the first time
The special exhibition on the Celts in Hesse, which occupies the entire exhibition space of the Museum der Keltenwelt am Glauberg, will be extended from March 1. "The enthusiasm among museum visitors and experts is so great that we have decided to show it until the autumn," reports Director Dr. Vera Rupp. "A very special find from the Wetterau region was previously missing from the 400 or so exhibits. We are therefore very pleased that we are now able to present the original of the famous "Borsdorf handle" here on the Glauberg for the first time close to where it was found," she says happily.
This unusual find came to light around 1855 when a farmer was ploughing a field on the outskirts of Nidda-Borsdorf. Old records show that there was previously a forest here, which was cleared in favour of agriculture. The find was discovered when "ploughing out", i.e. probably when removing tree roots.
Today we know that the farmer had discovered the handle of an ancient Etruscan bronze vessel. The find from Borsdorf was first sent to the forestry administration in Nidda and was then transferred to the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt. From then on, it was part of the museum collection, some of which suffered extensive damage during the Second World War. The bronze handle from Borsdorf is one of the undamaged pieces in the collection. After the special exhibition at Glauberg, it will return to Darmstadt in the autumn, where it will be one of the highlights of the permanent exhibition.
The handle probably belonged to an approximately 40 cm tall, bowl-shaped bronze vessel. No remains of it were found at the time. It shows an excellently crafted depiction of wrestling youths cast in bronze. It was produced somewhere between 420 and 300 B.C. New research into this find is still pending. Whether the find can be linked to the Celtic "princely seat" on the Glauberg remains to be seen. This is only around 13 kilometres away from Borsdorf as the crow flies.
It is certain that such objects were made in the land of the Etruscans in northern and central Italy. There are a few comparable pieces, but no two are alike. A vessel from an ancient grave near Filottrano, about 25 kilometres southwest of Ancona in Italy, does indeed bear some similarities to the Borsdorf hilt. However, the figures here are not wrestlers but swordsmen.
It is a mystery what is behind this valuable object. Was it an exquisite import or a special gift for a member of the Celtic upper class? Perhaps someone even brought the vessel back from the south as a souvenir. It is quite possible that Celts from the Hessian region travelled around the Mediterranean as traders, craftsmen or even mercenaries.
If the Wetterau find comes from a rich grave of the Celtic upper class, there is still no trace of it today. Could it be that all the burial mounds in the forest area in question were destroyed when the land was cleared, and with it the grave goods? Or did a craftsman or metal trader set up a material store at the site 2400 years ago? These are exciting questions that keep archaeologists busy.
Trade goods from the entire Mediterranean region and especially from the Etruscan area were very popular with the Celtic upper class as precious and unusual goods, as they came from far away. Ancient artefacts also served the Celtic craftsmen as inspiration for their own creations. This led to the development of a Celtic art style with its very own motifs such as plant tendrils, mixed animal and human creatures, masks and complex circular ornaments. The special exhibition at the Keltenwelt am Glauberg will be showing many examples from Hesse of this extraordinary and enigmatic Celtic art until 31 October.