the Netherlands 2025

the Netherlands

Date of Issue: 9th May 2025

one stamp (International 1 value = 1.90 €)

this stamp is issued in a mini-sheet of 6 stamps

One of the most famous archaeological finds in our country is the 8.5 cm fibula of Dorestad. The cloak pin was made around 800 AD. In 1969, the fibula was found in a well from the time of Dorestad, where Wijk bij Duurstede is now located. During the reign of Charlemagne of the Franks (768-814), Dorestad was the largest and richest trading city in the Netherlands. The golden fibula is inlaid with various colours of glass, gemstones of almandine, pearls, and enamel. Over time, some stones have disappeared, as has the pin on the back. Various shapes can be recognised in the inlay work, such as crosses, volutes, and a small tree with leaves and fruits. The crosses of the gemstones and pearls probably indicate that the brooch was worn as subtle propaganda for the increasingly popular Christianity in the Netherlands. Round fibulae were mainly worn by ladies, and especially high-ranking ladies promoted the new faith. The style of the fibula of Dorestad is that of ecclesiastical goldsmithing, made in Burgundian workshops from the time of Charlemagne. The fibula, one of the masterpieces of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, is included in the Canon of the Netherlands under the theme Charlemagne.

Armenia 2025

Armenia

Date of Issue: 29th April 2025

one stamp (400.- AMD)

this stamp is issued in a mini-sheet of 10 stamps

 

The postage stamp depicts a Libation vessel dated XIX-XVIII cc. B.C. and discovered during the excavations of Karashamb Necropolis, located in Kotayk Region of the Republic of Armenia. The vessel was used for pouring wine during ritual ceremonies.

Gibraltar 2025

Gibraltar

Date of Issue: 8th May 2025

two stamps (1.96 & 3.16 GBP) and one souvenir-sheet of 2 stamps (1.96 & 3.16 GBP)

those stamps are issued in mini-sheets of 6 stamps

 

NOTE - On the 4th of July 2025, Gibraltar issued a set of 6 post & go stamps depicting the 2nd Europa stamps design and bearing the Europa logo - price 7.95 GBP

The Gibraltar Neanderthal skulls are among the most significant fossil discoveries related to Neanderthals. The first skull, known as the Forbes’ Quarry Skull or Gibraltar 1, was discovered in 1848 at Forbes’ Quarry, on the northern face of the Rock of Gibraltar. This find predated the famous discovery of Neanderthals in Germany’s Neander Valley (1856), but its importance wasn’t fully recognised at the time. The skull is that of an adult female and exhibits classic Neanderthal features such as a large brow ridge, a long, low skull, and a robust build. It remains one of the best-preserved Neanderthal skulls ever found.

A second skull, Gibraltar 2, was found in 1926 close to Forbes’ Quarry, at Devil’s Tower Cave and belonged to a Neanderthal child. This discovery provided valuable insights into the growth and development of Neanderthals. Studies of the Gibraltar Neanderthals suggest they were among the last surviving populations of their species, with evidence indicating that Neanderthals lived in the region until around 32,000 years ago, long after they had disappeared from much of Europe.

Gibraltar’s caves, particularly Gorham’s Cave, on the Rock’s eastern side, have provided further evidence of Neanderthal life, including hearths, tools, and even possible engravings that suggest symbolic behavior. The region’s mild climate and rich marine resources may have contributed to the Neanderthals’ prolonged survival. Today, the Gibraltar skulls are housed in the Natural History Museum in London, and Gorham’s Cave is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for its importance in understanding Neanderthal history.

Recent research on the Gibraltar Neanderthals has shed light on their diet, behavior, and cognitive abilities. Isotopic analysis of remains from Gorham’s Cave suggests that these Neanderthals had a diverse diet, including marine resources such as shellfish, fish, and seals, challenging earlier notions that Neanderthals were primarily big-game hunters. Additionally, discoveries of charred plant remains indicate they also consumed roasted vegetables. Perhaps most intriguingly, an engraving found in Gorham’s Cave, a cross-hatched pattern etched into the rock, has been interpreted as possible evidence of symbolic or artistic behavior, suggesting that Neanderthals were capable of abstract thought. These findings contribute to the growing understanding that Neanderthals were not the brutish, primitive beings they were once thought to be, but rather intelligent and adaptable hominins capable of complex survival strategies.

Slovenia 2025

Slovenia

Date of Issue: 9th May 2025

two stamps (1.79 & 2.06 €)

both stamps are issued in mini-sheets of 8 stamps + 1 vignette​

Bronze Apollo statuette  

This 11.5 cm high statuette was found in the river Ljubljanica near the village of Blatna Brezovica. It depicts a naked male figure with a hairstyle typical of Classical/Hellenistic depictions of the Greek and Roman god Apollo. The collar, however, does not match traditional depictions of Apollo and is a distinctly Celtic element. The pose of the body and the position of the arms are reminiscent of Italo-Etruscan statuettes. This statuette is assumed to have been made in north-eastern Italy or its eastern hinterland, including the wider surrounding area of the site where it was found. It was probably made during the period of the Romanisation of the Vrhnika and Ljubljana areas in the middle or second half of the first century BC. It represents a non-Roman deity who, under the influence of Roman culture, was identified with Apollo. This deity could be the god Belenus, whose cult extended across north-eastern Italy and the region known as Noricum (mainly in present-day Austria), and who was of pre-Roman origin. There are no known depictions of Belenus – with the possible exception of this statuette from the Ljubljanica – but he is known of from Roman-era inscriptions, in which he is referred to as Apollon Belenus.  The statuette is thought to have been thrown into the river as a votive offering.

Centaur archer

Round brooches made of plated bronze over an iron core are relatively common finds in Slav cemeteries from the eighth and ninth centuries in Slovenia's Gorenjska region. Notable among them, for the quality of workmanship and, above all, for the depiction of a centaur archer, is this brooch from the Brda cemetery near Bled.

In stylistic terms it belongs to Carolingian art, which drew on illuminated manuscripts. Most comparable artefacts are from sites in the Upper Danube basin and the Rhineland. The figure of the centaur archer developed in Babylonian art before 1000 BC as a symbol of the zodiac sign Sagittarius. It entered Roman and medieval astrological depictions of Sagittarius via Egypt and was later adopted in Christianity.

We will probably never know exactly how this brooch ended up in a Slav grave in the Brda cemetery near Bled. It may have been made by a Christian who based the design on an illustration from an illuminated manuscript. On the other hand, the Slavs, who were pagans when they settled this area in the sixth century and whose Christianisation under the Carolingians had only just begun in the eighth century, probably did not see this design as a Christian symbol but as a pagan one. The centaur archer may have reminded them of Perun the Thunderer, the supreme god of the Slavs, who could also be depicted as a horseman with a thunderbolt or bow in his hand.

Lithuania 2025

Lithuania

Date of Issue: 25th April 2025

two stamps (2x 2.10 €)

this stamp is issued a mini-sheet of 10 stamps

The study and research of mounds in Lithuania has been going on since the second half of the 19th century, during which time a great deal of diverse material has been collected about them. Recently, the most important data have been obtained from the study of the most beautiful castle mounds in western Lithuania, which were previously known only for their expressive forms in the landscape and legends. The Medvegalis mound complex and the Bilioniai mound in Šilalė district are the pearls of the Samogitian land, whose cultural layers conceal marketplaces dating back to the times of the Roman Empire, the traces of battles with the Crusaders, the hitherto unknown custom of burying people in mounds, and many other mysteries of the knowledge of our ancient and distinctive culture," says archaeologist Assoc. Prof. Dr Gintautas Zabiela.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb post) 2025

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb post)

Date of Issue: 24th April 2025

two stamps (2x 3.30 BAM) & 1 souvenir-sheet of 2 stamps (2x 3.30 BAM)

both stamps are issued in two mini-sheets of 8 stamps + 1 vignette

At the one hundred and fifty-ninth kilometer from the confluence of the Piva and Tara rivers and the source of the Drina River, on the bend that the river makes around the Osata mountain range in the middle Podrinje, is the town of Skelani. The region is rich in natural and mineral resources, which contributed to the development of a Roman settlement here from the 1st to the 4th century. Excellent urban planners, builders and craftsmen, the Romans, left behind numerous buildings and monuments, the remains of which can still be seen today. One of the inscriptions mentioning the city council "ordo decurionum" was found in Skelani, which suggests that this was the center of the Roman Municipium Malvesiatium.

The first archaeological excavations in Skelani were carried out by Karl Pach back in 1896. On that occasion, he discovered and explored two early Christian churches, a necropolis and a brickyard, and in the wider area of ​​Skelan he collected over 80 Roman monuments. His further efforts were prevented by the Drina River, which in a major flood buried everything he had collected and excavated.

A hundred years later, archaeologists returned to Skelan. Under the leadership of Mirko Babić in 2008, excavations were carried out at four locations: “Zadružni dom”, “Branko’s Field”, “Baba Ankino dvorište” and in the “Porta of the Serbian Orthodox Church”. Remains of ancient buildings were discovered at all four locations, and the finds of Roman floor mosaics at the “Zadružni dom” site and 30 Roman monuments at the “Baba Ankino dvorište” site were particularly valuable. After these discoveries, the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska declared the archaeological complex in Skelani a cultural asset of exceptional importance. The Public Institution Archaeological Museum "Rimski municipium" Skelani was soon established, with the task of taking care of the protected complex.

In the following period, the villa urbana was almost completely explored, in which a corridor with floor mosaics, dominated by floral and geometric motifs, was discovered. While in a room that has been interpreted as a dining room, a mosaic was discovered whose central motif is a medallion with the image of the Gorgon Medusa.

Norway 2025

Norway

Date of issue: 24th April 2025

two stamps (2x Europa 20g. value = 33.- NOK)

Dog and collar from the 16th century & Pair of skis from the 8th century