Gold arm ring made from cutters
The Bronze Age gold arm ring from Schneidlingen in the Salzlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt was found in 1893 when a new barn was being built in Schneidlingen . It was said to be about two feet below the surface, in an ash container that lay beneath a horse's skeleton. There was an empty urn nearby . One of the vessels and the gold ring came to the then Provincial Museum in Halle in 1913 (inventory number 13: 3071b).
Typologically, the vessel and ring belong to the end of the Late Bronze Age (1300–750 BC). At that time the region on the Saale and the middle Elbe was densely populated. The shallow graves found were often protected with carefully placed stones. The dead were cremated, the burned bones were placed in ceramic urns and buried together with accompanying vessels. In richer graves, in addition to crockery, various bronze objects such as lance tips, knives, rings or small pieces of jewelry can be found, while gold objects apart from a few small spiral rings are missing from the inventories. Even if you look at the much richer deposits found in Central Germany, which were buried at the time, the lack of gold stands out.
The ring of cutters is a specialty. Its appearance with the ornate stamped ends and the serrated edge is characteristic and points to Bronze Age cultural groups in northern Germany and in the Baltic Sea region, where such rings are known in greater numbers. Golden oath rings are known there from sacrificial finds and richly decorated men's graves. At the end of the Nordic Bronze Age , gold arm rings were probably one of the insignia of lordly power. Corpse burn and ceramic vessels indicate a local custom. The golden arm ring and the possibly associated horse skeleton give the burial a noble character.
literature
- Florian Innerhofer: Primus inter pares. In: Harald Meller (ed.): Beauty, Power and Death. 120 finds from 120 years of the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle. State Office for Archeology, State Museum for Prehistory, Halle 2001, ISBN 3-910010-64-4 , p. 76.
Web links
- The gold ring from Schneidlingen on the website of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle, with photo.
Coordinates: 51 ° 53 ′ 39.8 " N , 11 ° 26 ′ 39.8" E