Rannersdorf site

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Aerial photo of the large Rannersdorf excavation in 2001.

The Rannersdorf site is the area south of Schwechat on which, in the course of the construction of the S1, the Vienna outer ring expressway , the Federal Monuments Office carried out a large-scale rescue excavation in 2001 and 2002 to document archaeological findings and the recovery of found material. Settlement remains and graves were found and documented from the early Neolithic to the late Bronze Age (5300–750 BC).

Geographical location

The 70,000 m² excavation area of ​​Rannersdorf was between Schwechat and Zwölfaxing . It was discovered through field inspections and aerial photographs before construction began . Today the Rannersdorfer Tunnel is located underneath. In a few months, under the direction of Franz Sauer , Stanislaw Brzyski, Jaroslaw Czubak and Andrzej Karbinski, 6,740 findings were documented, which became apparent as dark discolorations in the light loess or gravel after the removal of the humus layer.

Early Neolithic

Floor plan of the House of Linear Ceramic Culture.

Longhouse

The discoloration of the post holes of a house from the early Neolithic (5300-4900 BC), which was located in the north-east of the excavation area, was particularly evident. It is one of at least ten houses that are assigned to the linear ceramic culture . The floor plan was 29 × 6 m. The inner posts stood in rows of three to carry the weight of the roof structure. The outer walls consisted of plastered wattle that filled the outer rows of posts. The house was oriented almost north-south. It was divided into three areas: a north-east part, the middle part and the south-west part (type 1b according to Moddermann). The north-east part was marked by wall trenches that emerged as a closed line in the findings. In the south-west part the rows of three were reinforced twice. The three areas are said to have served different functions: the north-east part as a bedroom, the middle part as a living and working area and the south-west part as a storage floor. Outside the house, irregular pits ran along the walls, from which the clay for the plaster was taken and which were used to take the water from the roof. The archaeological finds that were found in the pits include fragments of vessels, millstones and remnants of plastering. Due to the decoration on the vessel fragments, the complex of finds is dated to the later section of the note head ceramic . This house floor plan served as a template for the reconstruction of the new nave in the Prehistory Museum Asparn / Zaya , which was built by Wolfgang Lobisser (VIAS-Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science) as part of the Lower Austrian State Exhibition 2013.

funeral

A man's burial was discovered not far from the nave. He was lying on his side crouching in a settlement pit . In the head area, vessels were found that had been used to receive the food. The shape and decoration of the vessels indicate that this man was one of the residents of the linear ceramic houses.

Middle Neolithic

Floor plan of the house from the Middle Neolithic.

Houses

To the west of the excavation area, there were younger houses, the layout and construction of which differed considerably from that of the early Neolithic. A total of seven houses - four long houses and three outbuildings - can be assigned to the middle Neolithic (4900-4300 BC). The largest covered a footprint of 20 × 7 m. They are recognizable by the rectangular foundation trenches in the gravel body, which originally contained wooden sleepers on which the house stood. The partition is an indication of the division of space within the house. The longitudinal walls were extended beyond the transverse walls, creating a small, covered area in front of the building - the so-called ante. Accordingly, this type of house is called an Antenhaus .

Late Bronze Age

The late Bronze Age is represented by a particularly interesting spectrum of finds. In addition to traces of settlement, a depot and a burial ground were discovered.

Jewelry, weapons and tools made of bronze from the burial ground of the Urnfield Age.

Burial ground

95 urns were found in pits. There was corpse burn in the urn, on top of which two to four small vessels with food and drink were placed, and over them the deformed bronze jewelry of the deceased. In some graves, the urn was covered with a bowl or stone. Occasionally, small vessels were found next to the urn. Urn burial is the only known form of burial at this time. It was practiced widely. The funeral rite gives the culture its name: Urnfield culture . The burial ground was at the highest point in the area and encloses an area of ​​4,000 m². Due to the shallow depth, many urns were damaged by agricultural activity.

The corpse burns found in the urns were analyzed as part of an anthropological study. The sex and age of death could be determined from about half of the dead. There are 18 female and 18 male individuals. What is striking about the age structure is that there are hardly any deaths before the subadult age, i.e. younger than 18 years.

Floor plan of an urnfield house.

Houses

The houses of the late Bronze Age differ significantly from those of the previous Neolithic. They have an orientation offset by 90 °, the outer walls are passed down by tightly set, thin posts, the roof is supported by two to four strong central posts inside the building. 12 large, two-aisled main houses were each up to 25 m long and 8.2 m wide. Numerous small houses are referred to as economic and storage buildings. The smallest were square four-post storages. They were made between 1250 and 750 BC. Built in BC. Some of the residents were buried in the nearby burial ground.

depot

Metal depot from Rannersdorf.

In the archeology so soberly referred to as " deposit ", it is a treasure in the narrower sense. Valuables were once hidden, buried and never lifted again until they were discovered. The Rannersdorf depot remained underground for around 3000 years. A large part of the 8.5 kg treasure consisted of cast cake - the product of copper smelting and the starting material for the manufacture of bronze jewelry, weapons and tools. It also contained three new lance tips , a fragment of a sickle , a razor, a broken ax blade, a decorative disk and wafer-thin belt plates decorated with point and hump decoration . All of these items were in a large clay pot when they were found.

literature

  • Franz Sauer: Rannersdorf site. The archaeological excavations on the route of the S 1. Vienna 2006.
  • Franz Sauer, Stanislaw Brzyski, Jaroslaw Czubak and Andrzej Karbinski: Rannersdorf , in: Fundberichte aus Österreich 40 (2001), p. 26ff.
  • Franz Sauer, Jaroslaw Czubak and Andrzej Karbinski: Rannersdorf , in: Find reports from Austria 41 (2002), p. 28ff.
  • Heinz Gruber: A newly discovered Brucherzhort of the urn field culture from Schwechat-Rannersdorf, Lower Austria. A first overview , in: Fund reports from Austria 42 (2003), pp. 569-571.
  • Judith Schwarzäugl: A large linear ceramic building in Schwechat, Flur Unteres Feld , in: Fund reports from Austria 44 (2005), pp. 117–142.

Web links

Commons : Fundstelle Unteres Feld, Rannersdorf  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz Sauer: Introduction . In: Franz Sauer (Ed.): Rannersdorf site. The archaeological excavations on the route of the S1. Grasl Druck & Neue Medien, Bad Vöslau 2006, p. 10.
  2. ↑ Franz Sauer, Stanislaw Brzyski, Jaroslaw Czubak and Andrzej Karbinski: Rannersdorf . Find reports from Austria 40.Berger and Sons, Horn 2001, p. 26.
  3. ^ Franz Sauer, Jaroslaw Czubak and Andrzej Karbinski: Rannersdorf . Find reports from Austria 41.Berger and Sons, Horn 2002, p. 28.
  4. ^ Judith Schwarzäugl: A large linear ceramic building in Schwechat, Flur Unteres Feld . Find reports from Austria 44, Berger and Sons, Horn 2005, p. 117.
  5. ↑ PJR Modderman and HT Waterbolk: The large buildings of the band ceramics. Paleohistoria 6/7. Groningen 1958/1959, p. 163.
  6. ^ Judith Schwarzäugl: A large linear ceramic building in Schwechat, Flur Unteres Feld. Find reports from Austria 44, Berger and Sons, Horn 2005, p. 129.
  7. ^ Judith Schwarzäugl: A large linear ceramic building in Schwechat, Flur Unteres Feld . Find reports from Austria 44, Berger and Sons, Horn 2005, p. 131.
  8. ↑ Franz Sauer and Judith Schwarzäugl: The nave of the older Neolithic . In: Franz Sauer (Ed.): Rannersdorf site. The archaeological excavations on the route of the S1. Grasl Druck & Neue Medien, Bad Vöslau 2006, p. 20.
  9. ↑ Franz Sauer: The settlement findings of the middle Neolithic . In: Franz Sauer (Ed.): Rannersdorf site. The archaeological excavations on the route of the S1. Grasl Druck & Neue Medien, Bad Vöslau 2006, p. 26.
  10. ↑ Heinz Gruber: The urnfield time grave field. In: Franz Sauer (Ed.): Rannersdorf site. The archaeological excavations on the route of the S1. Grasl Druck & Neue Medien, Bad Vöslau 2006, p. 37.
  11. ↑ We only encounter a select group of people in the body graves of the band ceramics. This is also indicated by the age structure. Since we are dealing with a selection, palaeodemographic analyzes - e.g. B. the average life expectancy - should be viewed with the greatest caution. (see also grave field ). Norbert Nieszery : Linear ceramic grave fields in Bavaria by VML Verlag Marie Leidorf 1995 ISBN 3-924734-34-8
  12. ↑ Simona Baier: A human corpse fire from the middle and younger Urnfield Period (11th-10th centuries BC) from Rannersdorf, Lower Austria . Unpublished diploma thesis, University of Vienna 2009, pp. 67–69.
  13. ↑ Franz Sauer: House and Farm in the Urnfield Period - A look behind the scenes of settlement archeology . In: Franz Sauer (Ed.): Rannersdorf site. The archaeological excavations on the route of the S1. Grasl Druck & Neue Medien, Bad Vöslau 2006, p. 48.
  14. ↑ Heinz Gruber: A newly discovered Brucherzhort of the urn field culture from Schwechat-Rannersdorf, Lower Austria. - A first overview. Find reports from Austria 42. Berger and Sons, Horn 2003, pp. 569–571.
  15. ↑ Heinz Gruber: The urnfield time hoard find. In: Franz Sauer (Ed.): Rannersdorf site. The archaeological excavations on the route of the S1. Grasl Druck & Neue Medien, Bad Vöslau 2006, pp. 53–59.

Coordinates: 48 ° 7 ′ 23 ″  N , 16 ° 28 ′ 27 ″  E