by The puzzling depiction of a vicious predator — either a dragon or a snake — devouring a frog on an early medieval belt buckle from the Czech Republic may be a symbol from an unknown pagan cult, archaeologists say.
The bronze belt fitting or buckle was found by a metal detectorist near the village of Lány, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Prague.
It's not known what the snake — or dragon — and the frog-like creature actually signified.
But the researchers noted that fights with a snake or dragon are common in pagan creation myths, as "the counterpoint between two opposing forces representing the central act of cosmogonic … myth," while the "interaction" between the snake and the frog might be linked to fertility cult practices, they wrote in the study.
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The bronze belt fitting or buckle was found by a metal detectorist near the village of Lány, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Prague.
It's not known what the snake — or dragon — and the frog-like creature actually signified.
But the researchers noted that fights with a snake or dragon are common in pagan creation myths, as "the counterpoint between two opposing forces representing the central act of cosmogonic … myth," while the "interaction" between the snake and the frog might be linked to fertility cult practices, they wrote in the study.
Source
