188 medieval figurines that held Christian saints' bones unearthed in Berlin's oldest town square

Archaeologists in Berlin have uncovered the remains of 188 figurines that were used as reliquaries — objects that held the bones of people who were considered to be saints or worthy of veneration.

The reliquaries were found during excavations of the Molkenmarkt, meaning "whey market," which is the oldest square in Berlin. The figurines date to the mid-14th century, the Berlin State Office for Monument Preservation said in a translated statement.

Each of the figures depicts a female and stands 3.1 inches (8 centimeters) tall. Some, but not all, wear crowns. But the most intriguing features of these figurines are circular inlays, some of which still hold the remains of human bones, the statement reported.

During the Middle Ages it was a common practice for Christians to preserve and venerate the physical remains of saints and other individuals considered to be holy. But it's unclear who the human bones within these figurines belonged to, and it's also uncertain why so many were placed within this square.

Related: Medieval pendant found in a garbage pit may hold the bones of a saint

More Molkenmarkt finds

The team also found a 4.3-inches-tall (11 cm) statuette of Saint Catherine of Alexandria that dates to the mid-15th century. According to legend, she lived in the fourth century and was a Christian missionary who converted people to Christianity and protested the persecution of Christians. Legend says that the Roman emperor Maxentius (reign circa 306 to 312) ordered her tortured on a wheel and killed. However, scholars question whether she really existed. This statuette shows her holding a sword and wheel while wearing a jagged crown, a symbol of her marriage with the divine.

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A statuette of St. Catherine of Alexandria holding a sword and wheel while wearing a crown.

This statuette shows the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus. The head has not survived.

Additionally, archaeologists found a headless statuette depicting the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus in her arms. It appears she may be offering him an apple, which symbolizes his identity as the new Adam. It dates to the mid-15th century.

"Both figures of saints are extremely rare in the archaeological context of the Berlin area — and beyond — and offer a special insight into the bourgeois piety of the late Middle Ages," Sebastian Heber, the head of the Department of Archaeological Monuments at the Berlin State Office for Monument Preservation, said in the statement.

Excavations have been ongoing at the Molkenmarkt for about five years and have unearthed hundreds of thousands of artifacts, including a samurai sword from Japan's Edo period (1603 to 1868) that was found in rubble from World War II. These excavations are being undertaken before the square is redeveloped.