A Man Found a Tiny Gold Lock in the Dirt. It’s an ‘Extraordinary’ Example of Ancient Roman Craftsmanship.
A tiny Roman lock made of gold was recently discovered in a German field.
It was once damaged, but experts reconstructed the locking mechanism to see that it would have worked well.
The miniature box lock was likely once used to protect a small chest, similar to today’s jewelry boxes.
MISSING: a lock from a specialty Roman craftsman. Either third or fourth century A.D. Tiny, intricate, and made of gold. If found, please celebrate, restore, and study to your heart’s content.
Luckily for archaeologists, that definitely-not-just-made-up ‘missing’ flyer can now be taken down, as a small lock matching that exact description was recently discovered in a German field. It is so exquisite (and complex) that experts had to create a replica of the object just to understand how it worked.
The miniature find—which is less than half-an-inch square—is “smaller than the one-Euro coin but so much more valuable,” Georg Lunemann, director for the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association, said in a translated statement.
Constantin Fried, a licensed searcher, originally reported finding the lock in a Petershagen-Frille field. “I could hardly believe it myself when I held the find in my hand,” he said. “Such Roman [locks] are usually much larger and made of iron or bronze parts.”
This one was gold. And so small. Based on its shape, technical structure, and decorations—according to Barbara Rüschoff-Parzinger, archaeologist and head of culture for the association—the lock was actually a miniature version of a more common style made during the provincial Roman era.
Locks of this kind were typically used to protect chests, but the size of this one probably means it was more likely used to guard something much smaller—maybe something akin to a modern-day jewelry box. Since it was very similar to other Roman locks of the day, experts believe the miniature version was made in a specialized workshop.
“The extraordinary find from Petershagen shows the high level of artistry of the provincial Roman blacksmith and locksmith craft,” Rüschoff-Parzinger said.
“Perhaps a member of a local elite brought an exquisite gem back home as a souvenir or gift when he returned from Roman military service,” speculated Michael Rind, director of archaeology for the association.
Of course, the key for the lock—not to mention the container it was locking—were not found, but the research team still wanted to learn more about the contraption. The outer sheet of metal was finely decorated, and investigations showed a rusted iron core inside, but traditional X-rays didn’t provide much additional detail on the inner workings due to gold’s density. So, the team tried a technique known as neutron computed tomography to gain a clear view of the internal components, which include a spring frame and guide rail, bolt, latch, and base plate.
“They also showed that the mechanics are largely complete, but damaged, because people had obviously poked around in the lock at the time, probably to break it open or to clear a blockage,” Fried said.
Despite the damage, the function was easily reconstructed, and restorers created a replica four times the size of the original.
The tiny find is unlike any ever found in Europe, Rind said, begging the question as to whether the technically complex lock was a one-off creation—or just the only one found.
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