Made by stringing beetle exoskeletons along a preserved blade of grass, this eye-catching artifact may seem strange, but others like it have repeatedly been unearthed throughout Europe.
J. Józefczuk, J. Kania & A. Hałuszko/AntiquityThe heads, legs, and abdomens were removed from the exoskeletons, which were then strung onto a preserved blade of grass in order to make a necklace-like ornament.
Countless ancient graves unearthed across Europe have been found to contain keepsakes and offerings made of everything from wood and stone to silver and gold. But archaeologists in Poland just found a funerary offering made from another sort of material altogether: beetles.
While excavating a roughly 2,500-year-old cemetery in southwestern Poland, researchers came across a necklace-like artifact made by stringing the exoskeletons of about a dozen beetles on a blade of grass. And though this may sound grotesque to some, archaeologists have actually uncovered a number of similar pieces made from beetles, a style that was popular in certain parts of Europe as recently as the 19th century.
The 2,500-Year-Old Beetle Necklace Unearthed In Poland
A. Hałuszko/AntiquityHigh-resolution imaging of the ventral side of the ancient beetle necklace found in Poland.
Archaeologists made this striking find when digging at a cemetery in Domasław, Poland that dates back to the late Hallstatt period, sometime between 800 and 450 B.C.E. Used by the Lusatian Urnfield culture, this massive grave site was found to contain approximately 800 burials — but it was number 543 that truly caught the experts’ attention.
That grave, belonging to a child who died at the age of just nine or 10, held everything from goat and sheep bones to birch bark and dandelion pollen. But the most interesting find was the necklace-like ornament made from beetles, detailed in a new paper published in the journal Antiquity.
Twelve whole exoskeletons and five partial ones, all belonging to the weevil beetle of the species Phyllobius viridicollis, were found in the burial urn, most of them strung along a blade of preserved grass. It quickly became clear that great care went into making this bizarre relic.
First, the heads, legs, and abdomens were carefully removed from the exoskeletons. Then the remains were neatly threaded onto a piece of grass in a uniform orientation.
But with organic ingredients so easily prone to decay, how is it that this beetle necklace stayed so well preserved after more than two millennia?
The researchers behind this find contend that the necklace could have been preserved by the area’s natural environmental conditions, if in fact this location was some sort of wetland 2,500 years ago. Wetland conditions are able to freeze organic matter in time due to their low-oxygen, highly-acidic nature, which keeps out the tiny aerobic organisms that initiate decomposition (the phenomenon that’s responsible for creating bog bodies).
The other possibility is that the beetle necklace was preserved thanks to the bronze found nearby in this burial. When bronze corrodes, its copper content can kill bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms, thus keeping decomposition at bay.
Setting aside its remarkable preservation, however, why was this beetle necklace placed in this grave in the first place?
The Historical Prevalence Of Beetle Jewelry — And The Meaning Behind It
J. Zipser, A. Józefowska, S. Domański & A. Hałuszko/AntiquityThe Hallstatt cemetery uncovered in Domasław, Poland.
Though it may sound disturbing to some, insect jewelry and ornaments are not uncommon in the archaeological record of Europe and beyond, from antiquity through the modern era.
The Slavic group known as the Hutsuls, while inhabiting western Ukraine and northern Romania in the 1800s, was known to make necklaces using 80 beetles. They were specifically worn by young girls as a talisman to ensure prosperity.
Beetle wings, meanwhile, were used in jewelry and costumes in Victorian England. Elsewhere, archaeologists in Korea recently unearthed a 1,400-year-old crown adorned with beetle wings.
A. Woźniak & A. Hałuszko/AntiquitySome of the vessels found at the ancient cemetery in Domasław.
In any of these cases, beetle remains aren’t known to have any particular symbolic significance. It’s possible they were used as funerary offerings due to their luster and durability. It’s also possible that, in the case of the necklace found in Poland, that beetle parts were simply the ingredient that was on hand at the time of the burial.
Experts indeed believe that this necklace was made specifically for the burial, as opposed to having been a prior keepsake. Because these beetles typically emerge in May and are gone by July, it’s likely that this child died in the late spring or early summer.
For now, that child’s fate is shrouded in mystery, as is the exact meaning behind the beetle necklace. But what is clear is that this striking find remains fascinating even after 2,500 years.
Next, read about the ancient axe head found by a Polish man who was weeding his raspberry patch. Then, learn about the 2,600-year-old urn shaped like a house that was found at a Polish construction site.
