Archaeologists in the Czech Republic have unearthed the oldest known glass workshop north of the Alps at a site that may have been used for ritualistic purposes.
The Iron Age workshop is part of an early settlement site known as Němčice that operated throughout the third and second centuries B.C., churning out a variety of exquisite glass bracelets and beads. During excavations, archaeologists also discovered more than 2,000 gold and silver coins minted by Celts who lived in continental Europe, indicating that the site was a trading hotspot. The team also unearthed a possible sanctuary, suggesting that Iron Age people performed rituals there, according to a study published June 29 in the journal Antiquity.
