Archaeologists Keep Finding Evidence of a Mysterious Ancient Cult In Europe

The discovery of a gilded belt buckle depicting a snake eating a frog was thought to be unique. However, similar evidence is popping up across Europe.

MG
By Mirjam Guesgen
January 8, 2024, 11:05am



IMAGE: FACULTY OF ARTS OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY

Gilded belt buckles discovered across Europe have revealed a previously-unknown ancient fertility cult with ties across the continent, researchers believe.

Four bronze belt ends depicting a snake devouring a frog—thought to be a symbol of creation and/or fertility—were recently discovered in Moravia, Bohemia, Bavaria, and Hungary. Because of their near-identical shape and make, archaeologists now believe that these belt ends are evidence of an unknown pagan cult with far-reaching and diverse populations across Europe in the early Middle Ages.

“However, we later found that other nearly identical artifacts were also unearthed in Germany, Hungary and Bohemia. I realized that we were looking at a previously unknown pagan cult that linked different regions of central Europe,” the head of the Department of Archaeology and Museology at the Masaryk University Faculty of Arts said.

Macháček’s team conducted a thorough series of analyses to learn more about the buckles and their provenance, which they reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

More:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg5n3p/archaeologists-keep-finding-evidence-of-a-mysterious-ancient-cult-in-europe

(One would think a snake eating a frog would start by snagging its head first, after which everything behind it would fold up easily. )