Grave field on the Westerhammrich

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The cemetery on the Westerhammrich is located on a Geest ridge near the Ems north of Leer in the district of Leer in Lower Saxony . 26 cremation burials form the oldest graves that belong to the Havelte stage of the late Funnel Beaker Culture (TBK). The youngest are from the Iron Age .

The grave field on the Westerhammrich is difficult to see under heavy vegetation.

The 14 C analysis of charcoal from one of the graves dates the burial ground to 2900–2700 BC. Chr. This is the oldest evidence of the cremation custom in northwest Germany . Seven graves were equipped with additional vessels, whereby the multiple use of halved vessels is particularly interesting.

The Westerhammrich was an important settlement in the Iron Age, in which five wells were discovered, which are among the oldest in the region. The eight centimeter torso of a Mars statuette was found on the Westerhammrich . Her legs are missing, her hands are broken, her head is worn. The figure has raised its right arm as if to throw a spear , the left hand points forward at an angle as if it were holding a sword , the left leg is pointed backwards. This is how the Romans depicted their god of war Mars . It was probably cast in the 2nd or 3rd century AD. The find is the second figurative Roman sculpture that came to light in East Frisia . In Emsland , the Cloppenburg and Oldenburg space and especially in the Netherlands, dozens of Roman gods figures have already been found. A vessel fragment also discovered on the Westerhammrich with an incised "XII" represents the oldest surviving document in East Frisia.

The Westerhammrich is today a local recreation area of ​​the city of Leer.

Web links

Commons : Gräberfeld auf dem Westerhammrich  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • Rolf Bärenfänger : Lower Saxony Fund Chronicle 1996 . News from Lower Saxony's prehistory 66, 1997, 388f .;
  • Rolf Bärenfänger: Lower Saxony Fund Chronicle 1997 . News from Lower Saxony's Prehistory, Supplement 1, 1998, 105-107;
  • W. Schwarz, R. Stutzke: Archaeological finds from the district of Leer . Archaeological Communications from Northwest Germany, Supplement 21. Oldenburg 1998, 16f .;
  • W. Schwarz: Neolithic . In: Ostfriesland. Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany 35. Stuttgart 1999, 44–53.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Norbert Fiks: The Romans in East Friesland. Archaeological and literary traces. Norbert Fiks, 2002 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 14 '23 "  N , 7 ° 26' 8"  E