Moon Tear Hunters and the Quest for Ancient Silver

When the American author, diplomat, inventor, physicist and politician, Benjamin Franklyn, said: “Genius without education is like silver in the mine,” he encapsulated an ancient thirst shared by humans all over the world, and while gold-fever shaped more modern world economies, it was mankind's lust for silver that molded trade in ancient times.

Discovered in Gundestrup, Denmark and dating to 1500 BC this Celtic cauldron is made from 13 silver plates weighing almost nine kg. History Museum Bern. (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Silver to the Moon

The oldest silver artifacts ever discovered come from ancient Sumer and were created about 4000 BC, and since then, symbolically, silver was to the moon what gold was to the sun. In the ancient world, temples shimmered in the moonlight with intricately crafted silver vessels and elaborate ornamentation, and the clothing worn by priests, and particularly priestesses, was often woven with silver threads while the common people wore silver jewelry, spent silver coinage and created everyday utensils and crafted small ritual objects with the metal.