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Culture

Berlin Gold Hat: Calendar from the Bronze Age

Silke Wünsch sb
June 17, 2019

The gold leaf masterpiece recalls the fantastic worlds of Harry Potter. Housed in the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte ("Museum for prehistory and early history") in Berlin, it is the best preserved example among four existing Bronze Age golden hats.

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The Berlin Gold Hat is decorated extensively with circle motifs and symbols. It is roughly 74 centimeters tall (29 inches) but weighs only half a kilo (1.1 lbs.). Because it is made of gold leaf, the cone-shaped hat is as thin as paper. The master craftsman, who made it around 1,000 B.C., created a seamless design that was ahead of its time.

The motifs and decorations covering the conical hat were used to predict lunar and solar phases, meaning that the wearer presumably led astronomical ceremonies related to a Bronze Age sun cult extant in Central Europe. You can marvel at the masterpiece at the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte ("Museum for prehistory and early history") in Berlin.

Click here for more videos from "Berlin's Treasure Trove: The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation."

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