Austria, precious 1,500-year-old ivory reliquary discovered

Major archaeological discovery in Austria, where a team of archaeologists from theUniversity of Innsbruck has unearthed a valuable ivory reliquary dating back 1,500 years. The discovery occurred at the excavation of Burgbichl, a Late Antique settlement located in the municipality of Irschen, Carinthia, a short distance from the well-known ski resort of Lienz and the Italian border. The excavation has been going on since 2016, and the discovery of the Christian reliquary, found at the site of a previously unknown church, was two years ago, although the news was only released by the Austrian university in the past few hours.

Specifically, it was Aug. 4, 2022, when the research team, led by archaeologist Gerald Grabherr, found under the church altar a marble shrine measuring about 20 x 30 centimeters. And inside was found a small, heavily fragmented ivory pyx, richly decorated with Christian motifs: the object was identified as a reliquary. The find is considered rare because normally the reliquary was brought when a church was abandoned, since it contained the relics of a saint and was therefore considered the most valuable object in the house of worship. In this case, however, it was left in place. Archaeologists explain that it is the first reliquary of its type found in an archaeological context in Austria.

The settlement that returned this rare object is located in the Drava Valley in southern Austria, in a hilly area: it was abandoned around the year 610 and was completely unknown until 2016. It covered an area of about one hectare. So far, researchers have found and documented several dwellings, two Christian churches and a cistern, as well as some personal belongings of the settlement’s former inhabitants; a star-shaped baptismal font and a reliquary were found in one of the churches. Gerald Grabherr describes, “Toward the end of the Roman Empire, times became more uncertain, especially in the outlying provinces of the empire, including the area that is now Austria. For this reason, from about the 4th century onward, the inhabitants founded more and more settlements on the more easily defensible hills and off the valley floor.” The year 610 marked a turning point: that year, not far from the settlement of Irschen, the Battle of Aguntum was fought, where a Slavic army clashed with Bavarian armies and settlers. This battle, won by the Slavs, marked the end of the region’s affiliation with the ancient Mediterranean world and also with Christianity: the Slavic settlers brought with them their own apparatus of deities. Since then the settlement on Burgbichl was abandoned, which explains why the church was also abandoned.

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Austria, precious 1,500-year-old ivory reliquary discovered

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