Everyday Objects

With the collection of Martin Rübner, Conrad Engelhardt received a wide variety of finds for the Flensburg collection. Among them were objects that offer a first glimpse into the daily lives of their former owners.

1) Knife handle. 2) Roman razor. 3) Belt buckle. 4) Fibula.

Material: Copper alloy

Parts of Horse Harnesses

Not all finds revealed their function to Engelhardt at first glance.

5) During his excavations in the Thorsberg bog, Engelhardt would later recover additional examples of fittings of this type. It soon became evident that they belonged to horse bridles.

6) Engelhardt described this decorative fitting of bronze and silver as part of a sword strap. However, he remained uncertain. Today it is assumed that this fitting, too, once formed part of a horse harness.

Weapon Parts

Looking at the weapon parts, Conrad Engelhardt was particularly struck by the numerous signs of damage. He described the rivet holes in the shield bosses as roughly cut, “as if barbarians had wanted to enlarge them.”

7) Silver sword strap buckle. 8) Wooden sword pommel with decorative silver nails. 9) Silver sleeve of a sword or knife handle. 10) Sleeve of a handle made of silver and solder. 11) Copper alloy sword scabbard fitting 12-13) Copper alloy shield bosses.

Reconstruction of a Roman Helmet

Mechlenburg’s collection includes several ornaments that were once attached to a Roman helmet as decoration. Signs of damage indicate that the original helmet had been dismantled into individual parts before being discarded. The iron cap did not survive in the bog. During his excavations, Engelhardt found a snake ornament, which he attributed to a Roman helmet based on its ornamentation. The helmet on display is a plastic reconstruction. It attempts to show what the original might have looked like before it was deposited.