The 2010 archaeological campaign on the upper castle of Attimis took place in July with the collaboration of the Ente Friuli nel Mondo, an association which looks after relations with Friulian emigrants. Thanks to its help eight young people from Argentina, Brasil, Canada and South Africa, all descendents of Friulian emigrants were able to take part in the campaign.

During maintenance work on the site and cleaning of the archaeological area an object of great interest was recovered. This is the front part of a mirror box (4.9 × 1.2 cm; thickness 2mm). The type is well-known in Germany and has been the subject of several studies by Ingeborg Krueger, in particular between 1990-2000.
Although, due to the fragility of the material, to date no intact artefacts of this type have been found, from the circa 15 fragments known in Europe it is possible to reconstruct its form and dimensions, which do not vary greatly. Generally the two valves depict respectively a woman, mainly with a long plait, as in this case, facing which was a man, with long hair and a long robe, mainly standing behind a large shield, of various shapes and heights.

The distribution area of the known examples extends from the Hamburg area to London, to the south-east it reaches Vienna (two examples) and to the south-west stops at the convent of Hirsau in Baden-Württemberg and the surroundings of Munich, on the Lech. Therefore, the fragment from Attimis is the only Italian example and also the most southerly. On the basis of the examples from north of the Alps it is possible to date the artefact to between the mid 12th and the mid 13th century. The dating is based on such considerations as style of dress, such as the long drooping sleeves and the women’s long plaits or the shape of the long shield, and evaluations of a stylistic nature. Well dated finds, such as that from the ancient fortress of Warberg in Lower Saxony, destroyed in 1199 and never rebuilt, provide further confirmation.

The castle of Attimis took on a new life in the mid 12th century when the marquis Vodalrico di Attems, on his return from the marquisate of Tuscany, repossessed all of his wife’s assets, which had been left to the vassals. Building works were undertaken and a smith’s workshop, either making or repairing arms, was constructed within the fortified structure. Towards the middle of the 13th century the area was again radically restructured. This led to the sealing of a number of structures, such as the drainage tank previously in use in the smithy. Among the material obliterated in this period was a precious seal (once attached to a lost document) of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus I.

The fill in the tank which was sealed towards the mid 13th century there were also two spurs of the type widely used in German territory, but also known in Slovenia. This demonstrates the widespread diffusion in the military detachments of Friuli of German material culture, in particular in this part of the patriarchate of Aquileia which until 1250 relied heavily on aristocratic families and personalities of German origin. This cultural climate is also confirmed by the toponyms that are certainly of medieval German origin and the information according to which the second part of the Poem of the Nibelungs was written at the court of Wolfger von Erla at Passau, before Wolfger himself became the patriarch of Aquileia and thus moved his seat (and court) to Cividale.

The discovery of a mirror box fragment in a castle that was specifically a military installation, reflects the relationship between knight and lady which was celebrated in contemporary poetry, more reminiscent of the Tristan and Arthur cycles than of Provençal courtly poetry.