Leaf cavity

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Leaf cavity

Entrance to the leaf cave (status in summer 2005)

Entrance to the leaf cave (status in summer 2005)
Location: Sauerland , Germany
Geographic
location: 		51 ° 21 '30 "  N , 7 ° 33' 4"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 21 '30 "  N , 7 ° 33' 4"  E
Blatthöhle (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Leaf cavity
Cadastral number: 4611/090
Discovery: 1983
Overall length: 91.5 m
Level difference: 7 m
Particularities: Human remains from Beuronia (here around 9200-8650 BC) and the younger Neolithic (here around 3900-3000 BC)
Website: Website of the historical center Hagen

The leaf cave ( cadastral number 4611/090, formerly 4710/114) is the still accessible part of an originally larger rock cave. It is located on the " Weißenstein " in the Lennetal in the Westphalian city ​​of Hagen . The human remains from the late Paleolithic, early Mesolithic and Neolithic times discovered there are of great importance for archaeological research. In summer 2010 the funding of a research project was approved by the German Research Foundation to explore this cave, which is supervised at the University of Cologne . Since 2014, the investigations have been carried out under the umbrella of a research network consisting of several universities, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe , the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the City of Hagen.

Location of the cave

The cave is located in a side valley of the Lenne that narrows to the canyon on the " Weißenstein " in Hagen-Holthausen . The large, bright white limestone cliffs of the Weißenstein form a landmark in the lower Lennetal that can be seen from afar. Topographically , the rock massif stands at the beginning of the Lenne river area, which narrows from Hohenlimburg to a deep mountain valley to the south. To the north of the Weißenstein, the Lennetal opens up to a wide terraced landscape , which is closed by the Ruhr valley and the southern foothills of the Ardey Mountains as well as the dominant Syberg .

Part of a historical landscape

The area around the Blätterhöhle is one of the most important historical landscapes in North Rhine-Westphalia . Directly opposite the leaf cave is the imposing rock gate of the Hünenpforte , the remainder of a huge collapse cave .

Looking south from Weißenstein to Hohenlimburg Castle , the rock formation made up of central Devonian mass limestone ends with the Raffenberg , which bears the ruins of an Electoral Cologne castle from the 13th century. The adjoining mountain ranges already belong to the Sauerland mountainous region. To the south, the valley is cordoned off by the castle hill of Hohenlimburg, which was first mentioned in a document in 1242 . In this narrow section of the valley lies the Oeger cave , in which numerous archaeological finds have been discovered since the Upper Palaeolithic (younger Paleolithic) and especially from the New Stone Age.

Since the Middle Ages, numerous legends, legends and myths have grown up around the romantically situated rock formations in the Lennetal. Many of the stories handed down in popular belief are about giants, robber knights, dwarves, werewolves, ghosts and " white women " who are said to have been up to mischief in the surroundings of the Weißenstein, the Hünenpforte and the Raffenberg.

Nature reserve

The lime beech forests on the Weißenstein , which offer a habitat for a unique vegetation with orchids and other protected plants and animals, is a nature reserve of European standing ( NSG Mastberg and Weißenstein ). The Barmer pond at the foot of the Weißenstein is one of the few karstified spring ponds in Europe and the only source of the Vaucluse in Westphalia. Road construction and other construction work destroyed parts of this pond in the 1960 / 70s. Like the entire Weißenstein, the remains of the Barmer pond are also under nature and landscape protection.

Find history

The area around the leaf cave was known as an archaeological site before 1930, after the Hagen teacher Albert Schäfer discovered numerous stone artefacts on the Weißenstein and in the fields around it. Stone Age artefacts and prehistoric pottery shards are known from caves at the Hünenpforte . They are dated to the late Paleolithic , Neolithic, and Iron Ages.

In 1983 the Kluterthöhle working group (AKKH) discovered a hole filled with leaves, which was documented under the cadastral number 4710/114 (later regrouped to 4611/090). The cave is registered as a "leaf hole" in the cave cadastre . Since the Weißenstein is under nature protection, no further visits by the cave explorers are made .

In February 2004 the AKKH was commissioned by the city of Hagen in connection with the planned expansion of the Donnerkuhle quarry to investigate the hydrological situation in general and the groundwater level at Weißenstein in particular. After installing a cave protection gate, around 20 tonnes of sediment, mostly rubble and rock debris in the buried entrance area of ​​the cave, were removed in around 250 hours to overcome a bottleneck . Since animal skulls and small bones were found, the AKKH decided to temporarily store the removed material in a hall for a more detailed examination.

In the further course of the excavations, namely at a narrow point in the interior of the cave, which were later examined in detail during scientific excavations, human bones (skull and long bones) also came to light. Therefore the excavations were stopped for the time being. After reporting the find to the Lower Monument Authority , the AKKH was given the clearance to continue the research under scientific supervision. The breakthrough was achieved in an open corridor area decorated with sinter .

The skull of a Stone Age woman found in the cave of leaves in 2004

The human bones have meanwhile been examined by forensic medicine and determined to be more than 100 years old. As a result, there is no further interest of the law enforcement authorities , since a crime relevant to law enforcement must be ruled out. Ralf Blank from the Historisches Centrum Hagen recognized that the finds could be from the Stone Age , but other experts only considered the bones to be a few hundred years old due to their good state of preservation. None of the bodies involved is therefore prepared to cover the costs of determining the age of the finds. After the cave had been measured by the AKKH, the latter drew up a first detailed cave plan .

In August 2004, the AKKH commissioned the radiocarbon dating of the bones at its own expense . At the beginning of September 2004, the oldest bone sample was dated to an age of 10,700 years, the youngest to 5,600 years. Overall, the skeletal remains could be dated to different periods of the Mesolithic and the Neolithic .

In November 2004, some of the finds were exhibited for the first time in the newly opened Hagen Museum for Prehistory and Early History at Werdringen Castle. Further cooperation was regulated in early 2005 in a cooperation agreement between the city of Hagen and the Kluterthöhle working group . Due to the contract, the finds remained in Hagen, although the AKKH is half the owner of the finds according to § 984 BGB . The AKKH then provided the leaf cavity with a second gate and an alarm system. The neighboring caves, Horseshoe Cave and Sallowski Cave, were also closed by the AKKH.

Further dates and finds from 2005 to 2006 confirmed these first analyzes, which were supplemented by further results. At the beginning of 2005 a working group of cave researchers and scientists from different disciplines was formed under the direction of Jörg Orschiedt . Since then she has been investigating the finds and carrying out systematic excavations and prospecting in the find area. Extensive excavations are also carried out in front of the cave. The first excavations and investigations were financed and promoted by the city of Hagen until 2009.

The newly discovered parts were measured in March 2006 by the Kluterthöhle working group and a complete plan was drawn up. A second part of the cave with a 5 m passage length and further human bones was discovered in 2007. The second entrance was immediately closed by the AKKH. In 2009, after the AKKH had chiseled open a narrow shaft gap at the end of the cave, a 10 m long continuation was discovered in which no human bones have yet been discovered.

The scientific excavations and investigations continue to this day. In parallel to the excavations, genetic examinations are also carried out, some of which are carried out at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig and the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.

Meaning of the finds

The Mesolithic finds from the leaf cave, which are up to 11,300 years old, are the earliest direct archaeological evidence of anatomically modern people in Westphalia and the Ruhr area . In addition, these finds are among the earliest human remains from the post-glacial period in Europe. Comparably old human remains are mainly known from caves in Belgium and southern Germany . In 2011, the skull part of a young person from the leaf cavity was dated to around 11,300 years.

Of their age comparable finds are in North Rhine-Westphalia to date only from about 30 kilometers from the leaves cave in the scenic similar Hönnetal lying Balver cave known. In an excavation from 1939 with no horizon, the small skull fragment of a person was dated to an age of 10,400 years using the radiocarbon method in 2003. Unlike in the leaf cavity, the details of the find and further findings are not known. The remains of the skull are exhibited in the Westphalian Museum of Archeology in Herne .

The Neolithic finds from the leaf cavity are also of great importance. Burials from this period, which can be attributed to the Michelsberg culture , are rare in Europe. Dating from 4000 to 3000 BC The skeletal remains of Neolithic people from the leaf cave can be classified as the end of the Michelsberg culture and an early phase of the Wartberg culture . The culture also created gallery graves ; including in East Westphalia, on the northern edge of the Sauerland and in North Hesse.

Due to the composition, dating and find situation of its Stone Age relics, the Leaf Cave is one of the most important archaeological sites in Germany. In addition, the finds are of great importance for international Stone Age research. Find complexes comparable to the relics and findings in the leaf cave have so far only become known from caves in southern Germany and Belgium .

The early Neolithic findings show a parallel society of hunters / gatherers and agriculturally oriented people. So far, they have rarely been archaeologically proven in this form.

Archaeological evidence

The previous archaeological investigations have identified at least two phases of use of the cave: Early Mesolithic and Early Neolithic . However, individual stone tools that were carried upwards by badgers and the dating of charcoal from deep boreholes already show that there are layers of finds from the Paleolithic in lower elevations . During the excavation campaign in summer 2016, find layers and artefacts, including a spine tip, from the late Paleolithic could be identified for the first time. The dating of charcoal from a drill sample revealed a C-14 age of over 10,900 BC. Chr.

The Mesolithic human remains, animal bones and stone artifacts that have so far been recovered in the interior of the cave date mainly to an early period of up to 11,300 years. During excavations on the forecourt, a stratigraphy from the early to the late Mesolithic and, for the first time in 2016, also from the late Palaeolithic could be uncovered and dated via fire pits and find layers. This finding is so far unique for the low mountain range north of the Alps. The Neolithic finds date from a period between 4000 and 3000 BC. And document a use of the cave as a burial place. They are particularly interesting because they provide human remains from the transition period from the Early to the Late Neolithic.

The Mesolithic skeletal remains come from numerous people, including small children and young people, who were deposited in the cave at different times in the early Mesolithic. The Neolithic human remains also represent different age groups, including children, adolescents as well as adult men and women up to old age.

Since the archaeological and scientific investigations as well as excavations will probably take several years to complete, further findings are to be expected. Lower sediments in the cave and on its forecourt could contain older layers. Stone artifacts discovered during the excavations from animal passages and individual C14-dated bones and charcoal from drillings in deeper layers already reach into the late Upper Paleolithic .

In the vicinity of the cave there are other, partly buried, rock roofs and caves, which are also being scientifically investigated. In addition, there are several surface finds in the immediate vicinity, which have provided numerous artifacts from the Middle Paleolithic and from the following prehistoric epochs.

Like the leaf cave, the other sites in its vicinity were placed under increased protection as a historical monument from 2004. According to reports in the press and on television, they can only be searched and viewed for scientific research and with prior approval, in order to prevent important archaeological finds from disappearing in private collections and in the antique trade.

The leaf cave and other sites are therefore secured by alarm systems, sensors and cameras. So far, according to reports, several criminal charges have been filed for illegal search for found objects and robbery . Some of these people were also prosecuted as a result.

exploration

The finds and their location have been investigated by an international research team since 2004. In addition to the analysis of bones, teeth, pollen and sediments in various laboratories, major excavations have also been carried out in the cave, on its forecourt and in its surroundings since 2006. The archaeologists Jörg Orschiedt and Flora Gröning presented the first comprehensive scientific publication of the results obtained from the investigation of human remains up to 2005 (see literature).

The excavations in July and August 2006 confirmed that the entrance area to the cave was originally much larger than is indicated by the current situation. According to the investigations, the actual portal of the cave is hidden under meter-high sediments of hillside and frost debris. In the summer of 2006, during scientific excavations on the forecourt of the cave, important findings were found that provide new information on the use of the leaf cavity.

In addition to the traces of a fireplace, the excavation in August 2006 discovered several characteristic microliths , many other stone artifacts, numerous remains of bones from wild animals and part of a human skull. The investigation of sediments around animal burrows in the cave also yielded a large number of other Stone Age finds, other human fragments, ceramics and stone artefacts, including microliths from the Mesolithic.

During the excavations in the summer of 2007, other stone tools and bones were discovered in the cave. What is important is the finding of three large wild boar skulls, which were found together with a part that could be precisely adapted to the skull of the Mesolithic man. In the opinion of archaeologists, this points to a landfill in the early Mesolithic. However, stone tools have also been found that are apparently older and date from the late Paleolithic.

In the spring and summer of 2008, further excavations were carried out in the cave and on its forecourt, about which no publications have yet been submitted. It became known that one of the three large boar skulls discovered in the cave along with human remains from the early Mesolithic in 2007 is the same age according to a C14 dating. This is taken as an indication that the skulls were added to one or more burials. Similar findings from the early post-glacial period are so far unknown in Europe.

The research work has been funded by the DFG since summer 2010 . A separate project at the University of Cologne is under the direction of the archaeologist Jörg Orschiedt, who also supervised the research in previous years.

Genetic studies by an international research team from 2012 onwards for the first time provided evidence of a Neolithic parallel society of hunters / gatherers and an agrarian-oriented population in the leaf cavity.

Original appearance of the cave

In its original form, the leaf cave evidently corresponded to an abri or a large portal cave , the entrance area of ​​which collapsed around the late Mesolithic. According to more recent findings, such rock roofs and overhangs on rock walls are common in the Sauerland mass limestone . Since they are buried by meter-high slope sediments, they have not yet been scientifically investigated in this area - with the exception of the leaf cavity. After the excavation campaign in summer 2012, the ceiling of a larger portal cave completely filled with sediment is becoming more and more evident.

Storage of the finds

Museum of Prehistory and Early History, Werdringen moated castle - exhibition site of several finds from the leaf cave

The found material is kept in the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in the Werdringen moated castle in Hagen , and some of it is also exhibited there. After the discovery of the finds, the city of Hagen had consistently endeavored to remain in Hagen. This prevented these important finds, such as the fossils from the brickworks' entrance hall, from reaching other museums because politicians in Hagen were disinterested in promoting art as the only form of culture. The finds from the lobby can therefore only be seen on loan in Hagen.

In the exhibition "Attention Excavation!" In the LWL Archaeological Museum in Herne (November 1, 2007 - August 10, 2008), a separate room was dedicated to the cave of leaves, where the original finds were temporarily exhibited. The current research results are presented in the booklet accompanying the exhibition.

Finds from the leaf cave could be seen in the North Rhine-Westphalian state exhibition 2010/11. In the Ruhr Museum in Essen, which opened in 2009, finds from the cave of leaves, including a replica of a skull, are also presented on loan from the city of Hagen.

From June 2010 to February 2011 the special exhibition “The Secret of the Leaf Cave. In search of the oldest Westphalians ”.

In the Archaeological State Exhibition of North Rhine-Westphalia in the LVR State Museum in Bonn (September 5, 2015 to September 4, 2016), the young neolithic human remains from the leaf cavity and the facial reconstruction of a woman's skull formed a central exhibition theme.

Well-known caves in the area

See also

literature

  • Jörg Orschiedt , Birgit Gehlen, Werner Schön and Flora Gröning: The leaf cave in Hagen . In: Michael Baales , Ralf Blank and Jörg Orschiedt (eds.): Archeology in Hagen. A historical landscape is explored . Essen 2010, pp. 127–149.
  • Jörg Orschiedt, Birgit Gehlen, Werner Schön and Flora Gröning: The Cave of Leaves - A newly discovered Stone Age site in Hagen / Westphalia . In: T. Otten, H.Hellenkemper, J. Kunow u. MM Rind (Hrsg.) Fundgeschichten - Archeology in North Rhine-Westphalia . Mainz. 2010, 52-54.
  • Jörg Orschiedt, Flora Gröning: The human skeletal remains from the leaf cavity, city of Hagen. in: F. Andraschko, B. Kraus and B. Meller (eds.): Archeology between findings and reconstruction. Address and clarity. Festschrift for Prof. Dr. Renate Rolle on her 65th birthday. Hamburg 2007, pp. 349-361.
  • Jörg Orschiedt, Flora Gröning, Thorsten M. Buzug: Virtual reconstruction and stereolithographic model of a early Neolithic skull find from the leaf cave in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia. In: Archaeological Information. 30/1, 2007, pp. 1-7. ( online , PDF file; 168 kB)
  • Jörg Orschiedt, Jan F. Kegler, Birgit Gehlen, Werner Schön and Flora Gröning: The cave of leaves in Hagen (Westphalia). Preliminary report of the first archaeological investigations. In: Archaeological correspondence sheet. 38, no. 1, 2008.
  • The leaf cavity. In: Ralf Blank, Stephanie Marra and Gerhard E. Sollbach: Hagen. History of a city and its region. Essen 2008, pp. 57–60 and 64–66.
  • Jörg Orschiedt, Ruth Bollongino, Olaf Nehlich, Flora Gröning, Joachim Burger: Parallel societies ? Paleogenetics and stable isotopes on Mesolithic and Neolithic human remains from the leaf cavity. Archaeological Information 37, 2014, 23–31. - Open Access .

Web links

Text passages and contents of the site were taken over with kind permission from the project site of the Historisches Centrum Hagen.

Photos, videos and virtual tours

Commons : Cave of Leaves  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andreas Fasel: Loophole in the past . September 27, 2017 ( welt.de [accessed May 10, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Andreas Fasel: Early parallel society . September 13, 2015 ( welt.de [accessed May 10, 2019]).