French archaeologists have discovered artifacts and sites spanning multiple centuries, from the Late Bronze Age to the medieval era, in Pacé, Brittany, Popular Mechanics reports.
A Roman road dating between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE was identified during an excavation, and a gold ring with an intaglio of Venus Victrix, a Romanized iteration of the goddess indicative of imperial power and romantic conquests, was found there. Dating to the 2nd or 3rd century CE, the stone in the ring is carved from nicolo, a type of onyx that features a more blue surface over a black base. The ring would have belonged to Roman elites who would have used it both as a piece of jewelry and as a seal.
Artifacts from the Carolingian period dating to the 9th or 10th century were also uncovered nearby by specialists with the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP). A hoard of coins believed to have been buried when the Carolingian Empire was under duress during the Viking Age was found.
The remains of a small medieval settlement dating to sometime between the 5th and 10th centuries was also discovered. It sheds light on building techniques from the era, including “quadrangular plots connected by pathways, included houses, pastures, cultivation areas, and silos for grain storage,” per the Popular Mechanics report.
Pottery fragments and terracotta molds were also discovered at the site; they date back to the Late Bronze Age. Experts believe there may have been a workshop at the site that forged swords and other types of weapons based on the terracotta molds.