Old Hill (Oyle)

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Wall of the Alte Schanze in the southwest corner, on the left the ditch, on the right the presumed earlier access

The Alte Schanze is a hill fort in the Markloh district of Oyle in the Nienburg / Weser district , located on the edge of a steep slope of the Oyler mountain. Walls and moats have been preserved from the fortifications, which have not yet been archaeologically explored. The almost one hectare facility is believed to have been built between the 9th and 11th centuries.

Location and structure

Sketch of the location by Carl Schuchhardt at the beginning of the 20th century, walls subsequently colored light brown

The Alte Schanze formed an interior space in the form of a rectangle 70 × 120 meters in length, which covered an area of ​​almost one hectare. It is located on the Oyler Mountain, which is now densely forested. The fortifications were created taking advantage of the natural features of the ridge. It is located directly on the steep edge of the Geest , which the Weser formed here as a bank. The up to 15 meter high steep slope to the east resulted in the favorable defensive situation of the facility. In the north, the deeply cut streambed of the Mühlengraben with its steep slope represented an obstacle that was difficult to overcome. The shallow sides to the west and south secured two ramparts. Their trenches, 10 meters wide and up to 2 meters deep, are still clearly visible in the area. The walls were secured against sliding into the trenches by a five-meter-wide berm . In the southwest corner of the wall has a breakthrough, in front of which a footbridge led over the moat. At this point the earlier access is assumed. To the west outside the facility there is a rectangular structure in the ground, which could have been a livestock area or a field. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the prehistorian and castle researcher Carl Schuchhardt drew the complex and published it in the atlas of prehistoric fortifications in Lower Saxony.

interpretation

The hill fort of the Alte Schanze has not yet been archaeologically examined, so that no more detailed information is available about its construction and its purpose. Based on similar systems, it can be assumed that the ramparts originally had wooden fixtures for better stability and that a wooden parapet was provided on the crest. The steep slopes in the east and north must have been secured with a palisade fence .

Recent research assigns such structures in the area of ​​the Mittelweser , Deister and Leine to a period from the 8th to the 12th century. It is assumed that the Alte Schanze was built between the 9th and 11th centuries. It was probably owned by a noble landlord, for whom it served as a refuge and who, in case of danger, took his property and his followers to safety.

today

Memorial for the founding of the United North German Liedertafeln

On the top of the wall there is a memorial built around 1890 from three boulders . A plaque commemorates the founding of the United North German Liedertafeln as an amalgamation of the male choir , which took place here in 1831. A stepped path leads up to the monument from a restaurant on the edge of the forest.

In July 2013, geoinformatics students from the University of Hanover carried out a survey of the fortifications and their surroundings on an area of ​​six hectares. It was used to create a map and a virtual 3D model. Such measurements of archaeologically significant facilities have long been taking place in cooperation between the University of Hanover and the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation . The survey was part of four archaeological projects that took place in 2013 in the Nienburg district under the direction of various universities , including excavations at the Müsleringen earthworks , at Wölpe Castle and in the Iron Age and Imperial Age settlement near Lemke .

literature

Web links

Commons : Alte Schanze (Oyle)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archaeological research projects on the Mittelweser
  2. ↑ Looking for traces in the ground in: Kreiszeitung.de of June 7, 2013

Coordinates: 52 ° 38 ′ 51.3 "  N , 9 ° 8 ′ 7.6"  E