A Medieval Jewellery Factory? – Reflections on a Mould from Chur

Mass production is a phenomenon generally associated with Industrialisation and modern times. However, it is not all that simple. This is illustrated, for instance, by a stone slab found during excavations carried out by the Archaeological Service Graubünden on the Sennhof site in Chur.

The stone slab features various motifs and was used around 1000 years ago as a mould for jewellery and religious objects. Cross pendants, disc brooches, finger rings, earrings, as well as pendants and appliqués could be made using this stone slab – and in bulk, at that. Furthermore, both sides of the slab were used for this purpose.

This is not to say that the Sennhof used to house some kind of factory producing medieval jewellery and devotional objects. Nevertheless, the slab certainly is a special artefact. It combines beautiful craftsmanship with a sophisticated production technique.