Fire ram (archeology)

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The firebucks of archaeological literature are found objects of different times made of ceramic , stone or iron , whose function is unclear. As firebucks , they would have to appear in pairs and show signs of fire - both are hardly the case. They are therefore often interpreted as cult devices.

As a special form of "andirons" the "are moon idols " (Moon images), devices made from ceramic with two or three legs which have an upper end in form of a horizontal crescent moon. They occur at least since the late Bronze Age urn field culture (around 1300–800 BC).

  • Urn Age Fireborn: "Ebersberger Mondidol"

  • Firebock from the Late Bronze Age bog settlement of Wasserburg Buchau

  • Mondidol firebucks from the Bronze Age settlement of Mörigen on Lake Biel, approx. 900–800 BC Chr.

  • Copy of a fire ram from the early Iron Age burial ground near Sopron (Hungary), 7th century BC Chr.

Interpretations

Firebucks have been interpreted by archaeologists since the middle of the 19th century to mean that they were in use in connection with cultic worship. Another interpretation says that they were attached to the outside of the house or hut as decorations, mostly on the gable or ridge of the otherwise thatched roof - a custom that has been preserved to the present day.

Others see these objects as a replica of bull horns, also for cultic use. It would be conceivable that real rams, which were in ritual and ritual use in connection with animal sacrifices, for example, developed into the custom of using rams as a protective symbol or something similar. In the burial culture they played a role less; if they are found in women's graves - as in eastern Austria - they could indicate a herd cult.

A more profane interpretation says that moon idols were neckrests , whereby they were compared, among other things, with Egyptian headrests , whose function is considered to be certain from images. However, some moon idols are of a form that excludes this purpose. Another profane interpretation wants to see devices in fire rams or moon idols, which were used to put feet on to warm up on fire places.

description

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Firebucks are bar-shaped objects, mostly made of clay, with differently designed, always symmetrical ends. They have a base, one or more feet, or form half a tube. On their sides they have more or less trained horns or rondels . The appearance, shape and dimensions of the tonhorn objects vary, even within the same group or found situation.

The production of the firebacks should not have been carried out in series. For most is mainly medium to coarse quartzite and shame otter oak temper before. The items were made with little care. Quality does not seem to have been a priority in terms of durability. The objects seem to have been made by inexperienced people. The massive clay objects are often only burnt on the surface. This fleeting processing explains the fragile state of today's objects.

The objects often have a decorated front and an undecorated back. The most common is grooved ornamentation, less often puncture ornamentation, round punctures or impressions, rarely incised lines. Often there are bars on the front side. The pieces must have been facing the observer. Around a third of the horn ends show indentations or deliberate flattening. Almost half show traces of fire exposure. The blackenings are mainly on the back, on the nape of the neck and on the outside of the horns. Usually the objects are only preserved in fragments.

literature

  • Dietrich Drost: On the structure and origin of the metal firebucks of Central Europe , in: Ethnographisch-Archäologische Forschungen 2 (1954), pp. 100–158.
  • Werner Endres: Modern ceramic "firebucks" from Regensburg and the surrounding area. In: Contributions to archeology in the Upper Palatinate and in Regensburg, 5 (2002), pp. 419–451.
  • Bernd-Rüdiger Goetze: Firebucks and hut acrotere. An attempt at definition, in: Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 6 (1976), pp. 137–140.
  • Charlotte Fankhauser: urnfield age fire goats and ridge tiles of Switzerland, unpublished licentiate thesis, University of Zurich 1986.
  • Charlotte Fankhauser: The firebucks . In: Margarita Primas: Eschenz Insel Werd IV. The ceramics of the Late Bronze Age. Zurich Studies on Archeology, 1989, pp. 126–148.
  • Calista Fischer: The "ridge tiles" from Reinach: An unsolved riddle. In: Jürg Ewald and Jürg Tauber (eds.): Tatort Past. Results from Archeology Today, Basel 1998, p. 102 f.
  • I. Häggi: Cult customs in the Alpine region and in the Aegean Sea. On the question of the function of the firebucks from Eschenz, in: Antiquitas, series 3, volume 34, Bonn 1995, pp. 211-234.
  • Daniela Hager: Sculptures from the Late Bronze Age: moon horns, fire goats, ridge tiles? Findings and interpretations of the tonhorn objects, Basel 2006 ( excerpt ; PDF; 1.4 MB)
  • Wolfgang Kimmig: “Firstziegel” and firebucks from Baden , in: Prehistoric Journal 25 (1934), pp. 52–61.
  • Otto Kunkel: Firebocks from Ossenheim in the Wetterau , in: Friedberger Geschichtsblätter 6 (1924), pp. 26-28.
  • Johannes Maringer: Horned clay formations from Bronze Age settlements in the Friborg region in the light of other Swiss and non-Swiss finds. Freiburger Geschichtsblätter 50 (1960/61), pp. 17-26.
  • Simon Matzerath: Firebock and Mondidol in the late Urnfield Period - On the cultural-historical significance of a symbol bearer and its earliest evidence in the accessory custom . In: Karl Schmotz (ed.), Lectures of the 29th Lower Bavarian Archaeological Day (Deggendorf 2011) pp. 95–138.
  • László Nagy: On the fire goat and moon idol question due to the Hungarian finds , in: A Veszprém Megyei Múseumok Közleményei / Törtelenem 14 (1979), pp. 19–73
  • Mircea Radu Babeş and V. Mihăilescu-Bîrliba: Germanic Latène Age "firebucks" from the Moldau , in: 51. – 52. Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission 1970/71, pp. 176–196
  • P. Stary: Firebucks and skewers from Iron Age graves of the Apennine peninsula , in: OH Frey / H. Roth (Ed.): Small writings from the Marburg seminar 5 (1979), pp. 40–61
  • Martin Schönfelder: The late Celtic chariot grave of Boé (Dép. Lot-Et-Garonne): studies of chariots and chariot graves of the later Latène period . Dissertation at the University of Marburg, 2000 (online: Wagengrab ; PDF; 6.5 MB)
  • Heiko Steuer: Germanic “fire rams” from the Hannoversche Wendland , in: Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 3 (1973), pp. 213–217.
  • O. Tschumi: Prehistoric pictures of the moon and firebucks . Annual report of the Historical Museum in Bern 1911, supplement, Bern 1912.
  • Hans Peter Uenze: Iron rams of the Laténe period: "Heidelberg" near Schweinthal, Gde. Egloffstein, Ldkr. Forchheim; Oberried, Gde. Breitenthal, Ldkr. Günzburg. In: Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, ed. from the State Art Collections ud Central Institute for Art History in Munich, F. 3. 42 (1991), pp. 173–175.
  • Firebucks. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde Vol. 8, Lfg. 3/4, Berlin, New York 1993, pp. 390–398.
  • Neck supports? Firebucks? Moon idols? Bronze Age finds refuse to be classified. In: MegaLithos, issue 1/2001.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Firebucks and moon idols are a common group of finds and must ultimately be understood as a religious symbol (S. Mazerath)

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