Erfurt-Melchendorf mine
The Erfurt-Melchendorf mine is an archaeological excavation site in the Melchendorf district of the city of Erfurt in Thuringia .
Finds
During the investigation of an extensive burial ground from the Urnfield Age between 1982 and 1985, Neolithic settlement pits were also found, which can be assigned to the oldest stage of the funnel cup culture (TBK), the Baalberg culture . On the slope, sloping slightly to the south, there was a settlement of the Baalberg culture on both sides of a former stream, the course of which was recognized during the excavation.
In addition to the prehistoric stream, an accumulation of small stones and burnt clay was found in the planum , which turned out to be the top layer of the filling of an almost round pit with cultic findings. Due to its complex structure, the pit was removed in strata of 10 to 15 cm. At about the level of the excavation subgrade - approx. 60–70 cm below the surface - the pit filling was covered with stone slabs and fragments of thick-walled vessels. At the edge lay stones with an edge length of 10 to 25 cm, arranged roughly in a ring that was filled with an area of ceramic pieces and brown Keup stones.
A mighty stone block forms the middle of the pit. It was about 50 cm long, 40 cm wide and 25 cm high and consisted of crumbly, wine-red keuper . Its top was ground in the shape of a saddle like a millstone . On top of it lay the ribs and some vertebrae of a person, as well as a cow bone. Other skeletal parts (pelvic half, leg bones, lower jaw, spine and two kidney-shaped structures made of lightly fired clay) lay around the block on the bottom of the pit. Under the stone block lay a dark layer with particles of charcoal and baked clay, as well as a kneecap, while the skull was missing.
The round pit with vertical walls was dug in loess to a depth of 100 to 120 cm, with a diameter of 120 cm. From the sole, a central part with a diameter of approx. 65 cm was sunk in by a further 10 cm and this area was deepened again concentrically with a diameter of approx. In this stepped depression, a fire was likely to have burned first, which was perhaps extinguished with a loess cover; this made the sole flat and the large stone block could be inserted in the middle. The fire could have served the purpose of firing up or consecrating the pit. The body of an adult has been placed over the Keuperblock - with the upper body on the millstone-like surface. He was probably dead, presumably even with some of the soft tissue substance removed.
From the very beginning, considerations about the layout and filling of the pit were connected with the question of meaning and purpose. The impression that was already gained during the excavation dominates, according to which the entire appearance has a cultic purpose, however it is to be interpreted.
It is essential for the reconstruction of the previous course to establish that, despite all the non-anatomical positioning of individual bones, the overall positioning of the individual was given and no traces of cuts could be found on the bones . In addition, the upper skull is missing, without the ends of the lower jaw showing any incisions. While modern disturbances can be ruled out, two changes in prehistoric times can be recorded. One is the deepening of a children's grave from the Urnfield period, which only explains a disruption of the bones on the stone block, i.e. in the shoulder and pelvic area. The upper skull, on the other hand, probably did not end up in the pit or was removed as early as the Neolithic.
literature
- Bernd W. Bahn: Three thousand year old finds from the Bronze Age in the new Erfurt-Melchendorf development area . In: Museums of the City of Erfurt (Hrsg.): Publications on city history and folklore . Issue 3. Erfurt 1988, p. 34-45 .
- Bernd W. Bahn: A pit of the Baalberg culture with cultic findings from Melchendorf Kr. Erfurt city . In: Friedrich Schlette , Dieter Kaufmann (ed.): Religion and cult in prehistoric and early historical times . Akademie, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-05-000662-5 , pp. 165–170.
- Adelheid Bach, Horst Bruchhaus: The skeletal material from the Neolithic pit of Melchendorf Kr. Erfurt . In: Friedrich Schlette, Dieter Kaufmann (ed.): Religion and cult in prehistoric and early historical times . Akademie, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-05-000662-5 , pp. 171-174.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 57 ′ 6 ″ N , 11 ° 4 ′ 9 ″ E