SPECULUM VERUM
Who will benefit most from the controversial Nord Stream Baltic Sea pipeline? 2 benefit? Russia and its oligarchs, as US President-elect Joe Biden made clear? Europe's economy? People, who want to heat their houses? Hard to say.
Only one winner has already been decided: the archaeology.
In order to be able to distribute the gas from Russia from the German coastal town of Lubmin, was already about 480 Kilometer-long Eugal gas pipeline built, which is based on Nord Stream 2 connects and through Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Saxony leads.
to prepare the work, as prescribed, archaeologists; and they were allowed to dig much deeper than, for example, during road construction work. The teams found what they were looking for in hundreds of places. They were hiding, among other things 32 Mine houses from the 4. century, Skeletons from the Neolithic period and around 600 Urns, who were underground near the Spreewald. They also came across a mysterious coin: It comes from what is now Afghanistan and arrived in... 9. Century underground near Pasewalk.
»There were a lot of things there, that we didn't expect.", says archaeologist Heike Baumewerd-Schmidt, who coordinated the work. They would all help, “to reconstruct the settlement history of the individual regions and the way of life of our ancestors”.
Finds have also been made in the past during route work, which can be described as a sensation. As between 2009 and 2012 the Opal and Nel pipelines were built, The researchers in Lower Saxony got it 3300 Years old “gold treasure from Gessel” from the ground. It consists of 117 Rings and other supposed pieces of jewelry. That they were professionals, who dug up the precious items, is a stroke of luck for research. Otherwise, there are usually only detectorists or even robbers out and about in the open landscape, who want to sell their discoveries on the black market - and thus prevent them, that they can be presented to the general public.
In this respect, as an archeology reporter and enthusiastic museum goer, I am grateful for every excavation, which is carried out by well-trained experts. Plus, I can't wait, what another official large-scale excavation will reveal. Starting next year, archaeologists will begin laying one over 700 Prepare kilometers of underground cable, the so-called south left. The route will be a little wider than that of the Eugal, and it is very likely, that the assigned teams will come across many more souvenirs from the past.
What will that be?? Hundreds of skeletons, which indicate Stone Age conflicts? Traces of a city, which no one has ever had on the bill before? Graves, which are full of valuable items? It will be exciting, and I promise you, that I will observe the work and report on it!