Unearthing A Forgotten Hilltop Settlement
High in Austria’s Carinthian Alps lies Burgbichl, where excavations have exposed stone walls beneath one chapel, a hidden chamber containing a special relic that could change Christianity.
Excavation Team Led By Austrian Archaeologists In 2016
Local archaeologists, supported by international universities, began systematic digs here in 2016. Armed with ground-penetrating radar and precision tools, they mapped the entire settlement that once thrived here.
The Charles Machine Works, Wikimedia Commons
Hidden Beneath The Altar, The Marble Shrine Was Revealed
During the excavation of a side chapel, researchers lifted a worn altar stone. Beneath it sat a sealed marble shrine, remarkably preserved after 1,500 years. Measuring roughly the dimensions of a shoebox, the chamber shielded sacred objects from weather and centuries of upheaval.
David Hawgood, Wikimedia Commons
The Chamber Remained Sealed For Centuries
Compact yet protective, the shrine measured 7.87 × 11.81 inches (20 by 30 centimeters). Thick marble slabs fit tightly to form a near-perfect airtight seal. That simple design kept organic materials from rotting away, preserving fragile ivory in a mountain climate notorious for freezing winters and wet springs.
Archaeologists uncover early medieval site in Austria by Medievalists
First Glimpse Of The Ivory Pyx Fragments In 2022
In 2022, careful lifting of the shrine’s lid revealed pale, delicate shards. The fragments—curved and etched—belonged to an ivory pyx. No one had seen a relic of this type emerge from active excavation since the early 20th century.
Archaeologists uncover early medieval site in Austria by Medievalists
What’s A Pyx?
A pyx is a small, round container used primarily in Christian liturgical practice, especially within the Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Its purpose is to carry the consecrated Eucharist—the body of Christ—to those who are homebound or otherwise unable to attend Mass.
Anonymous (Sierra Leone)Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Why Its Ivory Material Composition Matters
In late antiquity, ivory symbolized wealth and sanctity. Carved from elephant tusks, it traveled thousands of miles through trade routes from Africa or Asia. Owning ivory objects often marked power, and using it for Christian relics underscored the importance of what lay inside.
One Of Only 40 Known Christian Pyxes Worldwide
Globally, scholars have identified about forty ivory pyxes from the 4th to 7th centuries. Most rest in museums in Rome, Ravenna, and the Vatican. This Austrian discovery became the only known example unearthed in its original archaeological context in nearly one hundred years.
Archaeologists uncover early medieval site in Austria by Medievalists
First Pyx Found In Situ During Excavation In Nearly A Century
Archaeologists often study relic boxes that have long been removed from their original setting. This case proved different—still sealed within its marble shrine, untouched since burial. Context like this provides unmatched evidence about ritual and placement in early Christian communities.
Archaeologists uncover early medieval site in Austria by Medievalists
Ivory Softened By Centuries Of Moisture
Moisture had seeped through microcracks, turning the ivory mushy. The once-hard surface felt spongy, fragile to the touch. Specialists described the texture like “wet cheese,” to emphasize how rare it is to recover ivory so saturated yet still recognizable after 1,500 years underground.
Archaeologists uncover early medieval site in Austria by Medievalists
Controlled Drying Process Saves The Ancient Box
Stewards used a slow-drying method to keep the ivory in climate-controlled chambers. Rushing the process risked cracking or collapse. By carefully reducing humidity over months, the team stabilized the fragments. Because of this, it is possible to study carvings and symbols under microscopes without further loss.
Parvathisri, Wikimedia Commons
3D Digital Reconstruction Replaces Physical Restoration
Conservators knew reassembling the softened ivory would destroy it. Instead, they scanned every shard and built a 3D model. You can now rotate that digital pyx yourself at the University of Innsbruck—technology replacing touch for the first time in this excavation.
Subhashish Panigrahi, Wikimedia Commons
One Panel Might Prove Moses’s Story On Mount Sinai
One surviving panel shows Moses reaching for tablets extended from heaven. The moment, etched in ivory, mirrors frescoes in Ravenna’s Basilica of San Vitale. Imagine: the same story carved in Austria and painted in Italy during the very same century.
Christ’s Ascension In A Two-Horse Chariot Scene
On another fragment, Christ soars skyward in a two-horse chariot, the biga. Why a chariot? Because Roman audiences knew this image of power instantly. The only similar celestial rides appear in Antioch mosaics, dated roughly to the 400s.
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, Wikimedia Commons
Biga Depiction Never Seen Before In Christian Art
No other Christian relic box depicts the Ascension in this manner. Pagan deities such as Helios or Sol Invictus thundered across the skies in chariots, yet here Christ takes the reins. That fusion reflects the artistic exchange that occurred across Justinian’s empire around 550 CE.
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, Wikimedia Commons
Blending Old And New Testament Themes
The ivory combined Moses with the Law and Christ in triumph. What message was being sent? Unity of scripture, carved in miniature. The same visual pairing appears in mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome’s great Marian church consecrated in 440 CE.
Metal Hinges And Adhesive Found Alongside The Ivory Pieces
Beside the carved panels lay tiny hinges and hardened glue. These scraps point to the box’s functionality. Comparable fittings have been cataloged in reliquaries at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where the items are real working objects, not just ceremonial imitations.
Stable Isotope Analysis Tracing The Ivory’s Origins
Chemical testing on the objects revealed isotope ratios pointing to African elephants. Tusks traveled through Nubia, Alexandria, and across the Mediterranean. Roman records mention ivory markets in Carthage, still active in the 6th century. This pyx, therefore, ties Austria to African ecosystems thousands of miles away.
James St. John, Wikimedia Commons
Possible Mediterranean Connections
The shrine’s marble matched Carrara stone, quarried in northern Italy. Transporting slabs over alpine passes was a statement of wealth and connection. Centuries later, Michelangelo would also demand Carrara for sculptures like the David in Florence.
Japanexperterna.se, Wikimedia Commons
Wooden Fragments Inside May Be The Original Relic
Buried with the ivory shards were bits of wood, brown and splintered. While some debate whether they are lining or relics, microscopy continues to test them. A parallel exists in the cedar fragments recovered from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem during 2016 renovations.
Gerd Eichmann, Wikimedia Commons
Speculation On The True Cross Hidden Within The Box
By the mid-4th century, fragments of the True Cross were already circulating across Europe, often tied to imperial figures like Constantine and later Heraclius. Could the Burgbichl scraps trace back to that same network? The question lingers in the chapel where the pyx lay sealed since around 610 CE.
Religious Significance Of Pyxes In Early Christian Worship
Pyxes were safeguarded relics central to devotion. Early Christians believed proximity to sacred fragments offered protection. That belief was so strong that inventories from Rome in 594 CE listed multiple pyxes alongside chalices and Gospel books.
Anonymous (France)Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Role Of Reliquaries In Preserving Sacred Memory
Reliquaries acted as time capsules, holding physical reminders of holy lives. They shaped pilgrimage routes across Europe. By the 7th century, travelers sought relics at places like Tours in France, where St Martin’s shrine drew thousands every year.
Attributed to Jean de Toul, also written Jehan de Touyl in one source from 1328, Wikimedia Commons
Location Significance: Irschen At The Edge Of The Christian World
Irschen wasn’t Rome, but a borderland between empires. This remote site echoed with trade and tension, and its distance from Mediterranean centers explains why finding such a high-status relic here is astonishing.
Michielverbeek, Wikimedia Commons
Abandonment Of Burgbichl Settlement Around 610 CE
The Burgbichl site thrived until about 610 CE, when its community suddenly vanished. Archaeological layers stop abruptly. That timeline matches upheaval across Noricum—today’s southern Austria—when settlements crumbled under advancing Slavic groups. Silence fell over the chapel’s altar ever since.
Archaeologists uncover early medieval site in Austria by Medievalists
The Battle Of Aguntum And Slavic Invasion
Nearby Aguntum, a Roman city, fell in battle to Slavic forces in the early 600s. Chronicles by Paul the Deacon describe shifting control across the region. Burgbichl’s desertion likely followed these same conflicts, leaving the pyx sealed beneath marble for good.
Societé de Militaires et gens de lettres, Wikimedia Commons
Cultural Shift Away From Mediterranean Christianity
With Rome’s influence fading, Alpine valleys turned to new rulers. Slavic settlers brought different rituals and languages. The pyx remains a snapshot of Burgbichl’s last Christian generation—linking the site to Mediterranean traditions before its faith practices disappeared.
Krzysztof Golik, Wikimedia Commons
Contrast Of Pagan Past And Christian Symbolism In The Pyx
Centuries earlier, hilltop sanctuaries honored pagan gods. By the 6th century, carvings of Moses and Christ replaced those altars. Think of it: a single mountain ridge holding both shrines to Jupiter and ivory pyxes celebrating Christianity’s newest triumph.
Trade Routes Connecting The Alps To Distant Lands
How did goods reach Burgbichl? Through Roman-built roads still in use. The Via Claudia Augusta, which stretched from Italy into modern Austria, once carried soldiers and merchants. By late antiquity, it carried relics too—perhaps even the pyx itself, hidden in a pilgrim’s pack.
Siegfried Rabanser, Wikimedia Commons
Shrines As Indicators Of Wealth And Influence In Local Communities
A marble reliquary wasn’t cheap. Commissioning one signaled prestige. Communities invested resources to honor relics, proving faith and power. The Burgbichl shrine rivals those found in Aquileia, an early Christian hub in northern Italy, active during the same centuries.
Religious Practices In Small Hilltop Churches Of The 6th Century
Hilltop chapels served as community hubs. Here, villagers gathered for Eucharist, baptisms, and relic veneration. Texts from Gregory of Tours (d. 594 CE) confirm that even small Alpine congregations maintained sacred spaces similar to those in larger cities.
Pyx Size Suggests It Was Designed For Transportable Relics
This pyx could rest easily in your palm. Its portability fits the era’s practice of moving relics for protection. Similar-sized reliquaries were carried during military campaigns, such as those documented in Constantinople under Emperor Maurice around 600 CE.
Early Christian Art Style Reflecting Roman Influence
The carvings echo late Roman artistry: bold outlines and stylized figures. That’s no accident—Roman artists trained Christian craftsmen. Look at ivory diptychs in Milan, dated around 500 CE, and you’ll see the same hands shaping both traditions.
Till Niermann, Wikimedia Commons
Mosaic-Like Detail Carved Into Small Ivory Surfaces
Despite its size, the pyx brimmed with miniature detail—like a mosaic translated to ivory. Tiny grooves created shimmering light effects. A parallel exists in Ravenna’s Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, where shimmering mosaics completed in 504 CE dazzled worshippers with equally intricate storytelling.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological Techniques Used To Carefully Extract The Pyx
Excavators employed scalpels, brushes, and even dental tools to free the fragile ivory. Layers were lifted inch by inch. These methods mirror practices at Vindobona—modern Vienna—where delicate Roman glassware was removed intact from soil in 2019.
Georges Jansoone, Wikimedia Commons
Public Fascination With Relics And The Idea Of Sacred Power
Artifacts once drew crowds the way blockbuster films do today. Pilgrims trekked miles to glimpse sacred fragments. For example, Constantinople’s Church of the Holy Apostles displayed relics to thousands during festivals around 550 CE, making relic veneration a communal spectacle.
Meister der Predigten des Mönchs Johannes Kokkinobaphos, Wikimedia Commons
Scholarly Debates On The Pyx’s Iconography And Meaning
Historians still debate why Christ rides a chariot here. Was it artistic license or theological symbolism? Similar arguments rage over frescoes in Dura-Europos, Syria, dated 244 CE, where Christian and pagan motifs also blur. Debate keeps this pyx in the spotlight.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Comparison With Other Known Pyxes Found In Rome And Ravenna
Most ivory pyxes survive in Italy, far from Austria. Rome’s Lateran Treasury holds examples from the 5th and 6th centuries. Ravenna’s Museo Arcivescovile also houses ornate pyxes carved with biblical scenes. Burgbichl’s discovery now stands alongside these celebrated finds.
GFreihalter, Wikimedia Commons
Significance Of Finding Biblical Art Far From Major Centers
Most ivory artifacts appear in Rome, Constantinople, or Ravenna. Yet here, in remote Irschen, biblical carvings surfaced. This proves artistic networks stretched deep into Alpine valleys by the 6th century, bridging rural communities with the cultural pulse of the Mediterranean.
Unknown artistUnknown artist, Wikimedia Commons
Religious Diversity In The Region Before Christian Dominance
Before Christianity took hold, the people of Noricum worshiped many gods. Archaeological digs nearby uncovered altars to Jupiter and Mercury. The discovery of a Christian pyx here reveals how religious identities shifted rapidly, particularly after Constantine’s Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in 313 CE.
Meister von San Severino, Wikimedia Commons
Shift From Pagan Temples To Small Christian Chapels
By the 500s, pagan sanctuaries gave way to chapels like Burgbichl’s. That transition changed daily life. Inscriptions from Aquileia record temples rededicated to Christ, a process mirrored across frontier towns like Irschen.
Pyx Discovery Strengthens Austria’s Role In Early Christianity Studies
Austria isn’t always associated with early Christianity, yet Burgbichl changes that. The find now joins treasures from Salzburg and Linz in rewriting Central European church history. Museums in Vienna quickly flagged it as one of the decade’s most significant discoveries.
Alvesgaspar, Wikimedia Commons
Media Coverage Sparks Renewed Interest In Ancient Relics
Once news broke in 2023, international outlets from Popular Mechanics to Artnet ran headlines. Audiences responded with curiosity, drawn to the idea of a “holy box” buried for 1,500 years. Few archaeological stories travel so quickly across continents.
Popular Mechanics, Wikimedia Commons
Archaeology As A Bridge Between Faith And Science
Archaeology often balances devotion with data, and this pyx exemplifies that tension. The relic inspires believers, while conservation science—from humidity control to material analysis—anchors it in evidence. A similar dialogue unfolded in 1953, when relics of St Nicholas were examined in Bari, Italy.
Dominator1453, Wikimedia Commons
Museum Plans For Display Of The Digital Reconstruction
Because the ivory remains too delicate, the 3D model will go on public display instead. Innsbruck University partnered with regional museums to bring it to audiences. The debut exhibition is scheduled for 2025 in Klagenfurt, Carinthia’s capital.
Johann Jaritz, Wikimedia Commons
