Cult place in the hallway Grütze
The Kultplatz in the Grütze corridor is near the Gasthof Kreuz in Feldkirch -Altenstadt in Vorarlberg in Austria . Fire earth discovered during field work, ceramics and stone setting prompted a closer investigation of the site in 1954, 1955 and 1957.
A Bronze Age complex of fireplaces, stone circles and dry masonry , which is no longer visible on the surface , was found, over which a 50 cm thick black layer of fire with inclusions of bones and ceramics from the older Laugen-Melaun culture stretched.
Elmar Vonbank (1921–2009) interprets the complex as a place of worship , in which pets were burned and splendid ceramics were intentionally shattered during cultic acts . Fire sacrifices and intentional fragmentation are already handed down from the band ceramic culture 4000 years older . The Fritzens-Sanzeno culture , an archaeological cultural group from the Iron or La Tène period , continued this practice in the Alpine region.
context
Archaeological excavations have brought to light finds from the Middle and Late Bronze Age, especially in the Eastern Alps and their southern foothills. Animal parts and food were once sacrificed in the fire on so-called burnt offering places. Sometimes archaeologists found charred bones and food as well as ceramic vessels and metal objects at these cult sites. The rite of the sacrifice remains in the dark.
An important site is on the former Grütze corridor in Altenstadt. Today the area is overbuilt with houses and there is little evidence that one of the most important prehistoric sites in Vorarlberg was located here. Between 1954 and 1957, the site was excavated under the direction of the then director of the Vorarlberg State Museum , Elmar Vonbank.
Found objects
The following were found:
- Remnants of plants, cereal porridge and bread
- burned and unburned animal bones
- Fragments of clay objects from which 5 Schneppen cans could be completely reconstructed
- 15 bronze needles
- 1 bronze knife
- 6 bronze finger rings
- 6 bronze bangles
meaning
The striking architectural design and the numerous finds suggest that it was an important place of worship from the late Bronze Age in the Alpine region. Burned bones from cattle, pigs and goats as well as grain and bread finds were in a 30 to 50 centimeter thick layer of ash. The sacrificial site was probably used for around 100 years around 1100 BC. Perhaps it was the widely visible location on the plain or a highly frequented traffic route that made the choice for this place.
In the north, the cult complex consisted of a double circle with a diameter of approx. 8 m made of Schrattenkalk blocks, in the center of which there was a setting made of much smaller stones - the possible "altar". The offset access to the interior of the two stone circles is interesting. If you had entered the outer ring from the east, you had to go around the inner ring in order to get into the interior from the northwest. The fact that direct access was not possible should certainly underline the importance of the room and the rituals held in it. It is unclear whether there was a privacy screen in the form of standing wooden structures or whether the stone delimitation of the interior was more symbolic in nature.
To the south of the double ring, stone-framed fireplaces filled with burnt animal bones and ashes were detectable. In addition, the entire facility was covered by a layer up to 50 cm thick, mainly made of burned animal bones and ashes.
Rituals and offerings
The pottery found in the grits consisted mainly of typical goods of the southern German-Swiss urn field culture, which was predominant in the Lake Constance Rhine Valley at that time. In addition, however, numerous vessels of the southern Alpine Laugen-Melaun ceramics were found, especially so-called Schneppen jugs. In principle, this ceramic is not unusual in the urn field time in Lake Constance, but it is its high proportion of over 20 percent in the identifiable found material of the grits. The shape of the Schneppenkannen as well as their regular and massive occurrence at cult sites have led to them being addressed as possible libation vessels in connection with cultic acts. In the specific case of groats, the following scenarios can be imagined on the basis of the findings: Parts of animals were burned at fireplaces that might have been slaughtered on site, also as part of a ritual. It is also conceivable that there were communal feasts. During or afterwards, selected parts of the animals as well as other food and objects deposited such as ceramics and bronze costume elements were burned. It is not known whether there were other fire pits or some kind of meeting place / festival area around the grits. To what extent all bronzes were offerings must remain unclear. In most cases, these are jewelry needles, rings and only in one case a knife. The latter could also have been used when dividing the animals and happened to remain in place.
literature
- Bernhard S. Heeb: Feldkirch, Altenstadt-Grütze. A burnt offer place from the time of the Urnfield in Vorarlberg (= Frankfurt Archaeological Writings . Volume 13 ). Habelt-Verlag, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-7749-3657-7 .
- Elmar Vonbank : Altenstadt - ancient place of human culture. In: Festschrift 100 Years of the Musikverein Altenstadt. Feldkirch 1963. pp. 31-38.
- Information board of the local history association Altenstadt at the place of discovery
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Laugen-Melaun culture is a Late Bronze and Early Iron Age cultural group (1400–1100 BC) in the Alpine region
Coordinates: 47 ° 15 ′ 45 ″ N , 9 ° 37 ′ 4 ″ E