Großobringen earthworks
Coordinates: 51 ° 2 ′ 1 ″ N , 11 ° 20 ′ 3 ″ E
The earthworks of Großobringen in the district of Weimarer Land in Thuringia were partially excavated from 1959 to 1962. The excavation north of Weimar initiated by G. Behm-Blancke (1912–1994) revealed that it was an earthwork from the older section of the Bernburg culture , in a special phase of the Neolithic (end of the 4th millennium BC) , in which far-reaching contacts in all directions are proven by finds.
description
Three trench sections with lengths between 27.0 and 38.0 m were excavated in Großobringen . If one reconstructs a ring system, the result is a comparatively small system with an area of about 3.2 hectares. Oval mine systems of this type with many earth bridges were previously primarily known from western continental Europe and the British Isles . In the over-leveled area on the northern outskirts, apart from the pits, only the remains of two square houses with corner posts were preserved. The remains of a hearth were found in one of the approximately 4 × 4 m huts.
The pits or trench segments were not designed as pointed or bottom trenches as in most other trench works. Two of the segments from Großobringen were only indicated as a pit over long stretches. Their shallow depth of between 0.50 and 0.80 m and a width of three to four meters does not constitute an approach obstacle, as these trenches are usually viewed. Pits were sunk in various places in the flat bottom of the trench. A small hut with a clay dome stove was found in one section. A dog burial covered with stone slabs was found in the trench.
Finds
More than 6,000 bones from domestic animals (few wild animals) as well as tools made from animal bones and tools made from flint and rock were found in the dark earth filling of the pits . Most of the 12,000 pieces came from large storage vessels, but bowls, bowls and cup-like vessels were also found. Of these, about 30 were clay ladles of a shape that otherwise only occurs in the south-eastern European Carpathian Basin and in Bohemia (Rivnác culture). A service consisting of a large vessel and several similar creators, which were used in a cultic ceremony, is known from Bohemia. This contributed to the interpretation of the Großobringer mine works as a meeting place for cult activities.
The proportion of flint tools was remarkably high compared to the material that is created in their manufacture. The proportion of cattle (bull cult) was much higher, the proportion of pigs much lower. The number of body parts associated with a large amount of meat was above average, all compared to ordinary settlements.
literature
- Diethard Walter: The early Neolithic earthworks of Großobringen, Kr. Weimar: Results of the excavations 1959–1962 . In: Alt-Thüringen 26 1991 pp. 7–58
Individual evidence
- ^ S. Dušek: Pre- and early history of Thuringia. P. 64