History

Follow the link for photographs.

Archaeologists working in Switzerland have discovered many items during a dig outside of Kyburg Castle. It includes a well-preserved gauntlet dating to the 14th century.

Officials from the canton of Zurich announced the discovery, during a dig southeast of Kyburg Castle, a well-known medieval site near the German border. The archaeologists came across a cellar that was destroyed by fire in the 14th century, and it was here that forging likely took place. Over 50 metal objects were found, including a hammer, tweezers, pliers, keys, and knives/

However, the most exciting discovery is the completely preserved components of an armoured gauntlet, along with further fragments of its counterpart for the other hand.

Previously known gauntlets from museums and collections mostly date back to the 15th century at the earliest. Older examples from the 14th century, however, are extremely rare. So far, only five other gauntlets from this period have been found during archaeological excavations in Switzerland, although none of these pieces is anywhere near as well preserved and shows as many details of design and decoration as the Kyburg gauntlet.

In detail, it is a four-fold finger glove on the right hand, with the individual iron plates are placed on top of each other like scales and connected with side rivets. The individual components of the glove were attached to the inside with additional rivets on a leather or textile carrier material, which in turn was sewn onto a textile finger glove. There are still unanswered questions about the typological development and the question of who the gauntlet once belonged to because of the few finds in Switzerland.

Starting in late March, a copy of the sensational find will be on display in the permanent exhibition at Kyburg Castle – together with a reconstruction that shows what this important piece of armour originally looked like. The original gauntlet will also be displayed at Kyburg, but only for a short time: from September 7, 2024, European Heritage Day, it will be on loan there for three weeks.