By Katharina Locher

The Bernese archaeologists had known for a year that there was an archaeological treasure on the Schnidejoch, a mountain crossing between the cantons of Bern and Valais. However, due to the weather, the recovery was only possible last week: It is a buttoned braid made of bast, probably over 6000 years old.

During this long time, this treasure of organic material was preserved in the ice. But now more and more ice fields are melting away on the Schnidejoch and releasing relics from times long past. It is not the first find on the Schnidejoch.

A well-known reference

In the hot summer of 2003, a birch cork bow case came to light, 4800 years old. Later some leather objects, a bronze needle and Roman shoe nails from the same period were found. All of this showed how early the high mountains were used as a pass.

The latest finds, however, are significantly older: last year, the Bernese archaeologists recovered a large, coherent network of bast, probably a kind of bag. Dated to 4300 BC, which is over 6000 years old. The archaeological service specialist has almost completely preserved the object in the laboratory.

“First I had to remove dirt and stones from it, clean it, and then it is then dried in a laborious process,” says conservator Johanna Klügl. A very difficult job, because nothing should go wrong with such a unique object - there are only a handful of such finds from this time worldwide.

The archaeologists cannot yet say whether the latest find from the Schnidejoch is related to the other network. What is certain, however, is that it comes from the same time and place. And: it is also a sensational find. Regine Stapfer, Head of the Prehistoric Archeology Department and Deputy Cantonal Archaeologist: “All the finds from the Schnidejoch are highlights, unique pieces worldwide. Finding organic material from this period in particular is extremely rare! "

Difficult recovery

But first the latest find had to be salvaged and this turned out to be even more difficult than expected. Because the ancient raffia is extremely fragile: if it is moved, it immediately breaks apart. That is why such objects are usually recovered in the block, that is, including the entire underground.

But on the Schnidejoch loose stones are the subsoil. So the archaeologists had to try different variants for the block recovery. And in the end the only solution was to fix the whole block with construction foam, lift it up like that and turn it over. Stones fell out of the block. “That certainly didn't go ideally,” says conservator Johanna Klügl. It is still unclear whether the object was damaged, but tests in the laboratory will only show that.

"We knew that it would be particularly difficult up here," says project manager Regula Gubler. But she is confident that the property is still in good condition. "And now we are happy that we have recovered the find and can examine it in the laboratory under the best conditions."

(translated from German by Xiaotong Wei)

Read the original story here.