The Fishermen's Trove

General

The Fishermen's Trove is a euphemism describing a collection of three artifacts of different conditions. It is kept in the Aerznian Academy of Natural Arts of Ádron. The name was given to the collectible by the fact that it was found by fishermen on the banks of the Filius River, not far south of Opis.

The connection between the three artifacts - or whether there is one at all - is completely unknown.

The Objects

The Bracteate

One object represents a bracteate made of metal. It is made plain and shows a stamped bell on one side, which forms a hole in the center of the bracteate. The edge of the coin is hallmarked with a ring. This piece seems to represent the oldest of the three parts.

The Scarf

One item from the collection find is most often described as a scarf, although this is not certain. It is an old and tattered piece of woven fabric, probably wool, dyed red, although the color is partially faded. It was attributed as a shawl mainly because of the golden pattern of strung diamonds woven around the edge, which is very reminiscent of Flarrockan shawls occasionally worn by people from Flarrock away from home to recognize each other.

The Skull

The main reason for the interest in the find represents the skull. It is a Human skull (without jaw), into the whole surface of which unidentifiable symbols were carved with a certain artistic effort. It has been speculated that the symbols have a Mesócratic tinge, but their meaning has not been deciphered. The Mesócratic reference was also questioned.

History

The collection find was made in the spring of 6962 A.I.D. on the western shore of the Filius River, south of and near the city of Opis by a group of fishermen going about their day's work. They allegedly found the artifacts simply side by side in the sand, as if they had been left there. They brought the pieces to Ádron, to the Academy of Natural Arts, less out of interest than in the hope of selling them for a profit. In fact, the academy bought the items and has kept them ever since.

The connection of the items was publicly discussed for a time in Ádron as a sort of popular sport. Ádron scholars and nobles discussed the find animatedly, and at times it became the number one topic of conversation in the city. A few adventurous people even went in search of more pieces, but nothing else of consequence was found, although the matter did inspire some con artists to try to sell junk to the Academy. This was met with some public amusement. However, interest in the artifacts soon waned again as no new findings came to light.