1,000-Year-Old Cross Found in Germany Matches Lost Mold

When Juliane Rangnow's metal detector beeped during excavations in Brandenburg, Germany, she had no idea she was about to unearth a piece of history that would solve a 40-year-old mystery.

The volunteer archaeologist discovered a bronze "wheel cross" featuring Jesus surrounded by a circular design. Dating back to the 10th or 11th century, this wasn't just another ancient artifact.

The cross perfectly matches a blacksmith's mold discovered in nearby Spandau in 1983. For researchers, this connection is thrilling proof that local craftsmen were producing these religious items in large quantities over 1,000 years ago.

"Holding such a find in your hand is like a bridge to the past," Rangnow said. "That's what makes the work as a volunteer archaeological monument conservator so exciting."

The cross tells a powerful story about a turbulent time in German history. In the early 10th century, the East Frankish Kingdom conquered this region, which was home to non-Christian Slavic tribes, and brought Christianity with them.

But the Slavic people fiercely resisted their conquerors' new religion. In 983, they launched the Lutician Revolt and overthrew their rulers, keeping the region politically and religiously independent for the next 150 years.

This makes wheel crosses like the one Rangnow found incredibly rare today. Most were destroyed or lost during the revolt, making each surviving piece precious evidence of that early Christian presence.

The Ripple Effect

The discovery is reshaping how historians understand the spread of Christianity in northeastern Germany. Researchers now believe the blacksmith who created this cross served a "large market" and a "highly mobile population," suggesting early Christianity had more followers than previously thought.

Minister of Culture Dr. Manja Schüle called the find spectacular, noting that matching an artifact to its original mold from this period is virtually unheard of in archaeology. The connection between these two objects, separated by 40 years and several miles, reveals an active network of Christian believers and craftsmen working in the region.

"This new find is one of the rare early pieces of evidence of the unique Christianization history of the northwestern Slavs," said Lukas Goldmann, a research associate studying the Slavic Middle Ages. The religious tensions from that era continue to shape northeastern Germany's cultural identity today.

One volunteer's patience with a metal detector has given us a window into a forgotten chapter of European history, proving that sometimes the most important discoveries are made by those who simply show up and look.