Celtic Brooch Schnippenburg, Bronze

Celtic Brooch Schnippenburg

This large Celtic brooch is one of the outstanding finds at the iron age Schnippenburg settlement and comes from a sacrificial pit inventory.
With a length of around 7 cm, the piece is a real "hummer", but nevertheless light and stable enough to also fulfil its function as a brooch!

The Schnippenburg

The fortified iron age settlement known as the "Schnippenburg" near Ostercappeln has been the target of an excavation project by the Osnabrück Municipal and District Archaeology Department since 2000.

The numerous finds prove that the Schnippenburg was located on a trade route that connected the Celtic cultural area in the south with the Germanic northwest. Not only imported Celtic goods, but also local "interpretations" of Celtic products came to light. In addition to the numerous settlement finds, which point to a trading centre and administrative location, sacrificial pits are particularly striking, which in turn also speak for a central cult area. The dating is based on scientific investigations of charcoal remains from the rampart complex, which thus dates to around 278/258 BC. The settlement burnt down after only a few decades and was not rebuilt.

The abundance and composition of the finds is unique for the region. A museum was established in the Ostercappeln district of Schwagsdorf and opened in 2010, presenting the history of the Schnippenburg including the finds.

Some of the finds were scanned using modern laser technology and thus formed the basis for elaborate synthetic resin models. These were completed by us - as usual by hand - and reconstructed in a functional way.