An 8-centimeter-tall monkey figurine and more than 600 ancient coins were found under the original wooden floors of a 13th-century church in Germany during its renovation, Archaeology News reported.
While aiming to install underfloor heating at St. Mary’s Church in Gardelegen, Germany, between June 2022 and September 2023, volunteers discovered more than 1,000 artifacts underneath the floors.
The monkey figurine is made of lead bronze and is either holding a drinking horn or a wind instrument.
The State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany told Archaeology News that representations of monkeys were quite common in medieval churches.
"They are often shown playing board games, making music, imitating humans, or entangled in vines and loops. During the late Middle Ages, they were increasingly regarded as demonic creatures and as caricatures of sinful, immoral human behavior," they said.
The other artifacts found included ceramics, beads, tweezers and dress pins dating back seven centuries.
