Beckum burial ground

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The grave field in Beckum in Westphalia consists of the two spatially nearby Germanic grave fields Beckum I and Beckum II. Numerous graves from Merovingian and Christian times were found, some of which were rich in grave supplements. In addition, a large number of horse and two dog burials were discovered. The so-called “ Prince's Grave ” found in the Beckum II cemetery is of outstanding importance . The grave field and the princely grave must not be confused with the gallery grave in the Beckum-Dalmer peasantry .

Ancient and early Middle Ages

The area between the middle Ems and Lippe , and thus also the Beckum area, were settled by the Brukterians from the 1st century AD . In the early Middle Ages , the period from which all finds from the burial ground originate, Beckum was then in the border area between the Franconian Empire and the settlement area of ​​the Saxons .

However, it is not possible to clearly assign the human remains found to one of these tribal groups. Different grave attachments in one and the same grave can be assigned to either Franconian or Saxon tribes.

It is conceivable that the people who settled here were a regional group who joined the Franks in battle, but did not belong to them directly. Strontium isotope analyzes have recently been able to confirm that the bones found are people who were resident in the Beckum area and not, as assumed at the beginning of the excavations, "migrating warriors from the north" .

The burial ground

The grave field is mostly north of Hammer Str. (L 507) in the southeast of the city of Beckum between Frankenstrasse and Sachsenstrasse. The two grave fields I and II are spatially separated from each other and have a north-west-south-east orientation. Age dating through grave attachments and through the radiocarbon method suggest that both grave fields were occupied at the same time. It is possible that an old trade route ran right through the burial ground. The early excavators report deep ruts in this area. However, these findings were not sufficiently documented and can no longer be traced in the landscape today, since a large part of the burial ground was built over by residential and commercial areas.

Beckum I

The first indications of graves in this area were found in bones that came to light during the expansion of Hammer Str. In the years 1860 - 1863 the building officer Franz Arnold Borggreve and Hofrat Conrad Esselen carried out systematic excavations in the area of ​​today's Germanenstraße. A total of 61 human and 17 horse burials were excavated in this larger area of ​​the burial ground. These are exclusively “ pagan ” Germanic burials. Typical grave goods are jewelry, utensils and weapons.

Among the graves there is also that of a supposed blacksmith who was given a hammer, pliers and precision scales.

Of particular importance, however, is a wood-lined grave (No. 18) of a warrior on the southeastern edge of the excavation area, which contained the remains of war equipment, a harness and the remains of a clay pot. Several horse graves in the immediate vicinity are assigned to the warrior and testify to his outstanding position. The burial was dated to the last quarter of the 6th century. Due to the similarities, both in the arrangement of the graves and in the grave supplements, it is assumed that the deceased could be the predecessor of the nobleman from the "Prince's grave" of the Beckum II cemetery.

Beckum II

After the local history researcher Anton Schulte made further discoveries in the area of ​​today's Sachsenstraße during further construction work on Hammer Straße and through reports from the excavators of Beckum I, further excavations were carried out by Wilhelm Winkelmann between 1959 and 1967 . As a demarcation from the already known burial ground, the newly excavated area was marked as Beckum II. It is located approx. 250 southwest of the cemetery that was first excavated .

The size of the second burial ground is approx. 90 m × 30 m. The southeast end is now below Hammer Straße. The south-western border is approximately at the level of Sachsenstrasse. A total of around 30 people and 20 cremation graves , an additional 30 horse burials and a dog skeleton in a double grave were excavated. The large number of horse skeletons is particularly unusual. Chamber fixtures made of wood or stone have been found in many graves. Items of daily use, clothing, weapons and glass beads were found as grave attachments, and some richly decorated bridles were found in the horse graves .

Radiocarbon dating enabled burials in this part of the cemetery to be documented in the 5th century and then again for the end of the 7th to 8th centuries. While the early graves are all pagan-Germanic burials, the first Christian graves without grave enclosures and in a west-east orientation can also be found from the 8th century. It is assumed that this cemetery was occupied until the time of the first church foundation in Beckum (handed down as the predecessor of today's Stephanuskirche ) in Carolingian times and the construction of a Christian cemetery on the church square. This thesis would mean a continuous settlement of Beckum since at least the 7th century AD.

The "Prince's Grave"

The grave (No. 13) of an aristocratic warrior with valuable grave accessories - popularly known as the “Prince's Grave” - is of extraordinary importance on the north-western edge of the burial ground . The burial chamber with the dimensions 2 m × 3.2 & nbsp × 1.2 m had a southwest-northeast orientation and was clad and covered with stone slabs. The burial place was determined by the grave supplements found in it (oldest artifact : coin (527 AD), youngest artifacts: two knife blades (7th to 8th centuries)) for a period around 600 AD up to the first decade of Dated 7th century and is thus about a generation younger than the warrior grave in cemetery I. The arrangement in the cemetery as well as the surrounding horse graves and the chronological arrangement suggest a reference to the warrior grave in the Beckum I cemetery.

The 1.90 m tall and around 50 year old man was buried on a shield with iron fittings . The following grave attachments were also found on him:

In his arms the buried person held a valuable ring- knob spatha (sword) made of damascene steel and a knob decorated with silver and gold in a wooden sheath .

Outside the coffin, a lance tip from an ango (throwing spear ), a bronze basin with a comb, the remains of a metal vessel and seven gold and two silver decorated fittings were found.

These precious and rich grave goods indicate a high reputation. In any case, the deceased belonged to the aristocratic class of his tribe. His position as “ Prince ” cannot be proven historically, which is why modern science speaks of the “Lord of Beckum”.

Exhibitions

Museums

The original finds and the inventory from the Beckum “Prince's Grave” are exhibited in the permanent exhibition “The Lord of Beckum” in the LWL Museum for Archeology in Herne . In the Beckum City Museum there is a permanent exhibition on Beckum's early history with duplicates from the “Prince's Grave”, finds from the blacksmith's grave and a replica of a spathe.

Monuments

At the site where the “Prince's Grave” was found on Sachsenstrasse, there is a memorial stone with a bronze plate, which was designed by the Beckum artist Heinrich Gerhard Bücker . In the immediate vicinity, in the roundabout Hammer Str. - Sachsenstr. - Processional way, there is the oversized replica of the ring knob spatha found. Various street names in the area of ​​the burial ground indicate the historical background, for example. B. Germanenstrasse, Sachsenstrasse, Frankenstrasse, Cheruskerstrasse, Markomannenstrasse, Langobardenstrasse, Friesenweg and Wittekindstrasse.

literature

  • Cosack, E .: Some remarks on the “princely grave” of Beckum in Westphalia, in: Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt Heft 36,1 / 2006, Ed .: Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM), Mainz

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