Thousands and thousands of motorists race down the A 9 across the Ingolstadt Basin every day. Are they all aware that this is where the great breath of history is blowing? From the 4th century BC, more than a thousand years before the founding of the cities of Munich and Berlin, life was already raging in all its fullness in the oppidum of Manching. The story is always staged in its own way, where today’s glitz and glamor was nothing but dust and dirt yesterday, and vice versa. In this sense, Manching was once the oldest city north of the Alps. It thrived because it was in an ideal location connected to the extensive trade network along the Danube.
Today the area of the oppidum is a paradise for archaeologists. Since 1955, the wide area has been systematically opened up by excavations. Unfortunately, the archaeological finds also arouse the desires of those clientele who shy away from the light. They are called robbers, they are not concerned with scientific knowledge, but with quick profits. In their greed they do not shy away from destruction, they are unscrupulous mercenaries of mammon.
A few days ago, these robbers dug up numerous objects in Manching and took them away. Under the cover of night they searched the excavation area with metal probes. At more than 100 places they took whatever they could get their hands on. The State Office for the Preservation of Monuments cannot yet say what treasures these were. Certainly there were objects made of metal that were valuable for science, such as clothing pins, pieces of armor and coins. And the thieves were lucky too. They probably had no idea how dangerous entering the excavation area is. Manching military airport is right next to it, and the whole area is contaminated with explosive ordnance from the war.
The robbery demonstrates the problems of the legal situation. Bavaria is almost a paradise for robber graves. Finders and landowners can share a find here, even if the find was unearthed illegally. This seems like an invitation to robbers. In this way, Bavaria is giving up its historical heritage to nefarious profiteers.