A significant discovery has been made near the Dutch village of Hezingen, where a 1,300-year-old hoard of gold and silver has been unearthed. The site, located approximately 130 kilometers east of Amsterdam, is believed to have been used for pagan rituals. The artifacts include more than 100 gold and silver coins, jewelry and other valuables, indicating the presence of a religious offering site. The term “devil’s money” was used by Christian missionaries at the time to condemn such practices, as per reports. Researchers believe the site may have been a place of worship in response to the growing influence of Christianity in the region.

Findings Indicate Pagan Ritual Practices

According to the study published in Medieval Archaeology, the discovery comprises multiple deposits of gold and silver, suggesting repeated offerings over time. The coins originate from various Frankish mints, dating back to the first half of the seventh century. Some jewelry pieces exhibit Germanic animal-style motifs, while others reflect Roman influences. The presence of large silver and gold fragments, possibly used as currency by weight, further indicates the site’s significance. Geochemical analysis has also revealed traces of decayed bones, suggesting that animal sacrifices may have taken place alongside these offerings.

Historical Context and Archaeological Evidence

Jan-Willem de Kort, archaeologist at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and lead author of the study, stated to Live Science that the site was within an area traditionally linked to Saxon communities, although the term “Saxons” may have been a broad classification used by outsiders. The region was once near the Lower German Limes, a former boundary of the Roman Empire before its decline in the fifth century. Some local inhabitants may have served in the Roman auxiliary forces, but by the sixth and seventh centuries, the site appears to have been dedicated to pagan rituals.

Architectural Features and Ritual Significance

During excavations, a line of 14 postholes aligned with the east-west axis was identified. Some of the metal artifacts were found in these postholes, suggesting that they may have once held wooden posts used in rituals. De Kort suggested that the central posts could have supported a “holy pillar,” a feature referenced in early Christian texts as an element of pagan worship. The alignment of these structures with the equinoxes indicates a possible connection to agricultural cycles, where offerings might have been made to ensure fertility and a successful harvest.

Christian Influence and Suppression of Pagan Practices

Historical records indicate that early Christian missionaries opposed these rituals. A ninth-century Saxon baptismal promise explicitly required converts to renounce “diobolgeldæ,” or “devil’s gold.” This aligns with efforts by Christian rulers, such as Charlemagne, to eradicate pagan customs in the region. The persistence of such offerings despite these efforts suggests that some communities continued their traditional practices in defiance of Christian influence.

Cultural Significance of the Discovery

The artifacts provide valuable insights into the religious landscape of early medieval Europe. The hoard not only reflects the material wealth of the time but also highlights the resistance of local communities to the Christianisation process. The site near Hezingen represents one of the most well-preserved examples of pagan ritual practices from this period, offering a glimpse into the region’s complex cultural and religious history. Further analysis of the artifacts and site may provide deeper understanding of the transition from pagan traditions to Christian dominance in medieval Europe.

A lunar mission involving a rocket-powered hopper is set to launch later this month. The spacecraft, named Athena, is expected to carry multiple payloads, including ‘Gracie,’ a small robotic explorer developed through a collaboration between Intuitive Machines and NASA. The launch is scheduled to take place from Florida’s Space Coast within a four-day window opening on February 26. If the landing proceeds as planned, Athena will touch down on a plateau approximately 160 kilometres from the Moon’s south pole, a region believed to contain water ice deposits.

Gracie’s Mission Objectives and Design

As reported by space.com, Gracie is designed to perform five controlled hops across the lunar surface using thrusters. The initial hop is expected to reach 20 metres in height, followed by progressively higher leaps, culminating in a descent into a shadowed lunar crater known as Crater H. This crater, located approximately 500 metres from Athena’s landing site, has a depth of around 20 metres.

Trent Martin, Senior Vice President of Space Systems at Intuitive Machines, stated in a NASA press conference that the hopper is intended to operate in extreme conditions, with its final hop aiming to explore the crater floor. Efforts are being made to maintain communication during this phase through Nokia’s Lunar Surface Communication System, which aims to establish the first 4G/LTE network on the Moon.

Scientific Exploration and Data Collection

Gracie is expected to collect data using its onboard instruments. A key feature is the ‘water snooper’ sensor, designed to detect water ice in the surrounding environment. Additionally, the hopper is equipped with cameras, which will provide images of the lunar surface and its movements. The mission is intended to demonstrate alternative exploration methods beyond traditional rover-based designs, with Gracie’s success potentially influencing future lunar exploration strategies.

Additional Payloads on Athena

The Athena lander is set to carry several other payloads. NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1) will conduct subsurface sampling using a drill capable of reaching depths of one metre. A mass spectrometer will be used to analyse these samples for signs of water and other volatile compounds. Another payload, the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP), developed by Lunar Outpost, will explore the lunar surface with high-resolution optical and thermal cameras. A smaller rover known as AstroAnt, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will also be deployed from MAPP to collect temperature data.

Expected Landing and Operational Timeline

If Athena’s landing is successful, operations on the Moon are expected to last approximately ten Earth days. The lander and its payloads will function until the lunar night sets in, cutting off solar power. This mission follows the success of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission, which landed the Odysseus spacecraft on the lunar surface in February 2024, marking the first private soft landing on the Moon. Despite minor landing issues, Odysseus provided valuable insights, setting a precedent for future commercial lunar missions.

Additional lunar missions by private companies are currently underway, including Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and Tokyo-based ispace’s Resilience lander, both launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket in January. These missions form part of an increasing number of private sector efforts aimed at exploring and utilising lunar resources.

A rare Einstein ring has been detected by the Euclid space telescope, offering valuable insights into dark matter distribution. The phenomenon, created by the gravitational lensing effect of a galaxy located nearly 600 million light-years away, has provided researchers with a means to analyse the mass and composition of the lensing galaxy. The discovery occurred as Euclid commenced its mission to construct an extensive 3D map of the universe.

Dark Matter Insights from Gravitational Lensing

According to research published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, the gravitational lens responsible for this Einstein ring has been identified as the galaxy NGC 6505. Situated around 590 million light-years from Earth, the galaxy’s mass is significant enough to bend light from a more distant source, forming a nearly perfect circle. This alignment has enabled scientists to examine the lensing galaxy’s central region, where dark matter presence is notably lower than expected.

As reported by space.com, the research team has referred to this structure as “Altieri’s lens,” named after astronomer Bruno Altieri, who played a key role in its identification. The lensing effect allows astronomers to measure the mass distribution of NGC 6505, revealing that dark matter accounts for approximately 11 percent of the central region’s total mass. Giulia Despali, a researcher at the University of Bologna, stated that this percentage contrasts sharply with dark matter’s estimated 85 percent contribution to the universe’s overall mass.

Einstein Rings and Their Significance

The discovery of an Einstein ring aligns with Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which predicts the warping of space-time by massive objects. Strong gravitational lenses, such as the one seen in NGC 6505, provide a method for mapping the otherwise invisible distribution of dark matter. Massimo Meneghetti, a researcher at the National Institute for Astrophysics, explained that while galaxies at this distance are not typically powerful enough to form strong lenses, NGC 6505’s dense central mass has enabled this rare event. The nearly perfect symmetry of the ring suggests a precise alignment between the background light source, the lensing galaxy, and the telescope.

Euclid’s Mission and Future Discoveries

The Euclid telescope, launched in July 2023 by the European Space Agency (ESA), is designed to examine the dark universe by mapping cosmic structures over the past 10 billion years. Strong gravitational lenses such as Altieri’s lens are expected to be rare, with scientists estimating that no more than 20 similar structures will be identified over the mission’s course.

Despite this rarity, Euclid is projected to locate over 100,000 additional gravitational lensing events in its study of 14,000 square degrees of the sky. This extensive mapping will assist researchers in analysing the distribution of dark matter and dark energy across different galaxies and their evolution over time.