Emily Chan
The ivory comb had been heavily damaged. After extensive restoration work, experts found carved decorations of gazelle-like animals on both sides of the comb.
The creatures were leaping to escape predators that did not exist in Europe. So, it appeared that the scenes on the comb were based on African wildlife.
Combs are common in burials from the Middle Ages, but they are typically much simpler than the ivory one.
In sixth-century graves, ivory carvings on combs are a rarity. Those that do exist are engraved with Christian imagery.
The man’s skeleton was accompanied by a shield, battle axe, lance, longsword, and the remains of a horse, indicating his wealth and importance.
In the woman’s grave, there were food items, such as preserved eggs, along with a weaving sword, which is a wooden accessory used to tighten threads on a loom.
Most of the burial items were produced locally, but the one foreign object that really stood out was the red bowl from the woman’s grave.
The bowl was in excellent condition and was an example of African red slipware. It was likely crafted in what is now Tunisia.
Such bowls were known from the ancient Mediterranean trade. A cross stamped on the bowl’s base and markings on its rim may represent magical symbols or runes that spell out the owner’s name. The bowl is the first of its kind to be found intact so far north.
