Burrowing Badger Uncovers Medieval Burial Plot

Archaeologists can thank a badger for leading them to a medieval burial plot filled with bejeweled artifacts and the remains of two high-ranking chieftains in Germany.

Though they are adept diggers, badgers are known more for their mean temper than archeological prowess. But the critter in question had burrowed a home for itself on the property of two German artists who happened to be amateur archaeologists themselves.

When one of them saw what he knew to be a human bone lying on the ground near the entrance to the badger hole, he stuck a camera into the ground to see what was beneath the surface.

"We spotted a pelvic bone that had been dug up, it was clearly human," Hendrikje Ring told the German news source Der Spiegel, as reported by the UPI.

"It wasn't exactly surprising to us because a whole field of ancient graves had been found on the other side of the road in the 1960s. So we pushed a camera into the badger's sett and took photos by remote control. We found pieces of jewelry, retrieved them and contacted the authorities."

After professional archaeologists arrived to the site, near Brandenburg in northern Germany, they excavated it and found eight graves, including two skeletons, one of which appeared to still be clutching a sword and had a bronze bowl at the foot of the grave.

"At the time such bowls were used to wet the hands before eating. The bowls would a sign that a man belonged to the upper classes," said Felix Biermann, the Ernst-August University archaeologist, who lead the dig, according to a report by The Daily Mail.

Biermann said the graves are likely of non-Christian Slavic people from the 12th century. The warrior with the sword and bowl was also buried with a belt buckle shaped like a snake head, which is thought to have its origins in Scandinavia.

"He was a well-equipped warrior," Biermann said. "Scars and bone-breaks show that he had been hit by lances and swords, and had also fallen from a horse."