An Unlikely Discovery
On October 5, 1882, a farmer plowing a field near the village of Vettersfelde in Brandenburg, Germany, uncovered a spectacular collection of gold objects. The location, now known as Witaszkowo in modern Poland, yielded a find that would rewrite chapters of the European Iron Age. The centerpiece of this find is a large, fish-shaped plaque measuring 41 centimeters long and weighing 608 grams. Dated to the end of the 6th century BCE, the object is not pure gold, but electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.
The fish was one part of the "Vettersfelde Hoard," which included other Scythian-style objects: a dagger sheath, a four-disked ornament perhaps from a breastplate, and a massive torc. Some smaller pieces from the original find were unfortunately sold or melted down before they could be properly studied. The discovery immediately posed a question for archaeologists: how did these objects, crafted in a style typical of nomads from the Black Sea region, end up buried in a field in Central Europe?
Art of the Steppes
The Vettersfelde Fish is an example of Scythian "animal style" art. The entire surface teems with dynamic figures. Its pectoral fin divides the body into two distinct zones. In the upper section, a panther attacks a boar while a lion brings down a stag. The lower zone shows a school of fish. The tail of the great fish is ingeniously formed from the heads of two rams. This dense, energetic style, with animals contorting to fit the available space, is typical of Scythian craftsmanship.
The creators were likely artisans in an Ionian Greek colony on the northern coast of the Black Sea, such as Olbia or Panticapaeum, making luxury goods for powerful Scythian clients. The presence of this artifact 2,000 kilometers away from the Scythian heartlands shows long-distance interactions around 500 BCE. Theories about its journey range from it being the grave goods of a Scythian prince who died on an expedition, to loot acquired by local warriors, or a diplomatic gift to a chieftain of the local Lusatian culture. More recent analysis of the find spot, which was precisely relocated in 2001, suggests it may have been a ritual deposit at a ceremonial spring. The function of the fish itself is also debated; loops on the back suggest it was an attachment, most likely a spectacular ornament for the center of a shield or possibly a gorytos (a combination bow-case and quiver).