Experts with Bavaria’s Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments in Munich presented the finds discovered in Nordendorf, near the city of Augsburg, which include weapons, a shield and a harness from the grave of a cavalryman, which is estimated to be 1,300 to 1,500 years old

The adult man was buried with his valuables next to a horse. What makes the equestrian grave rare is that it was not looted by grave robbers, as often happened in the early Middle Ages.

“Three undecorated gold-leaf crosses in the grave are also interesting,” head conservator Mathias Pfeil said. “Apart from their pure material value, they are a sign of progressing Christianization.”

Scientists discovered evidence of a Roman settlement in another grave in Nordendorf. The grave had been looted, but it was filled with the rubble of Roman buildings. The archaeologists believe there must have been Roman buildings nearby but were previously unaware of such a settlement. Two thousand years ago, what is now Swabia, including the city of Augsburg, was one of the Romans’ most important centres north of the Alps.