The Stollhof Hoard – the oldest gold jewellery in Austria

The hoard of metal objects found above Stollhof is likely to be around 6,000 years old and mainly comprises copper and gold jewellery.

In the summer of 1864, a shepherd boy found a number of copper and gold objects at the foot of the Hohe Wand mountain ridge at about 700 m above sea level, above the village of Stollhof. They were lying between steep rocks, buried at a shallow depth in the scree, and had probably been hidden around 4000 BC, possibly as an offering. The young shepherd’s discovery turned out to be one of the most spectacular early metal finds in Central Europe, and included the oldest gold jewellery found in Austria.

Priceless find of valuable metal

Apart from two flat axes made of copper, which were used as weapons or tools, most of the find consisted of copper jewellery. An ornamental piece of sheet metal in the shape of a boar’s tusk and with fastening holes was presumably sewn on; two spiral bracelets were worn on the forearm. Nine spiral rolls were probably threaded onto a necklace, while six solid double spirals are likely to have hung individually over the wearer’s chest. However, the highlights of the hoard are two gold discs measuring 10.6 and 13.8 cm in diameter and weighing 71 and 212 g respectively. The polished fronts of the discs each have three round bosses and the rim is decorated with small dots. The fastening holes on the sides suggest that the gold discs also hung from necklaces.

Imported from south-eastern Europe

Similar pieces are primarily known from the Balaton-Lasinja culture of western Hungary and Slavonia. We do not know who wore the discs or on what occasion. However, it can be assumed that only certain people were entitled to do so and that they had a special meaning.

The Stollhof Hoard is an outstanding find from the embryonic phase of metallurgy in Europe at the end of the fifth millennium BC. The near-surface deposits in the Carpathian Basin or in south-eastern Europe that were used at the time were quickly exhausted, however, meaning that the majority of tools continued to be made of stone.

Tipp: the Stollhof Hoard can be seen at the Natural History Museum in Vienna.