Antler from Essen-Frohnhausen

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The old Stone Age antler from Essen-Frohnhausen in North Rhine-Westphalia was found during the construction of a residential complex in the area of ​​the Grotehof in Essen in the 1990s . The skull- proof, fossilized red deer antler fragment , partly covered with moss on the surface due to prolonged storage, showed signs of processing and use. The investigation of the site did not reveal any findings related to the find.

The historical map of Honigmann from 1803/06 shows some courtyard buildings and several spring pots. The site is today in the middle of built-up areas. The geological profile shows a layer of sediment from the Upper Cretaceous on a sandstone ridge and a thin, soft ice age package above it. Unless the finds were relocated secondarily, the ice age layer package must have been cut during the construction work. Accordingly, the object would date back to the Paleolithic , between 100,000 and 10,000 BC. BC, possibly to the earlier Vistula Ice Age . The fragment comes from the left antler rod. Various cuts and the fact that it is a hunted piece make it clear that the object was damaged. Traces of impact at the ends suggest that it served as a hammer. From the Essen city area there is another skull-proof, processed red deer antler fragment. Both pieces date from the Vistula Ice Age.

Paleolithic artifacts made from deer antlers are comparatively rare in the vicinity. Part of the rose from a giant deer comes from the Emscher deposits near Herne . Pieces comparable to the Frohnhauser artefact come from the central German site of Bilzingsleben and sites on the eastern edge of the Eifel (Ariendorf, Plaidter Hummerich and Tönchesberg). While the antler pieces on the edge of the Eifel are mostly ejecting poles, only 55% of the inventory at Bilzingsleben consists of ejecting sticks, the rest come from hunted game.

Dietrich Mania (born 1938) reconstructs the antler processing and four stages of wear of the devices based on the Bilzingsleben antler material. According to this gradation, the Essen piece would represent the last stage of wear and tear of Bilzingsleben.

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Coordinates: 51 ° 27 '10.8 "  N , 6 ° 57' 39.6"  E