Burial ground of Boilstädt
Coordinates: 50 ° 55 ′ 45.1 ″ N , 10 ° 40 ′ 10.2 ″ E
| Burial ground of Boilstädt | ||
|---|---|---|
 Byzantine lamp with Christian symbolism |
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| location | Thuringia , Germany | |
| Location | Bypass road between Sundhausen and Boilstädt | |
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| When | Late 6th century to mid 7th century | |
| Where | Sundhausen , Thuringian Basin / Thuringia | |
| displayed | Permanent exhibition of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History Weimar | |
The old Thuringian - Franconian burial ground of Boilstädt from the Merovingian period (around 600 AD) is an early medieval ' nobility ' necropolis near Boilstädt in Thuringia . The cemetery was examined from 2012 to 2013 by the Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology (TLDA).
The center of the aristocratic cemetery is the elite grave of the member of a Thuringian-Franconian warrior elite of the 6th century in the Austrasian Thuringia , which is outstanding due to its grave goods .
Dating
According to the excavation results so far, the grave field dates from the late 6th century to the middle of the 7th century AD. The complete record of the grave field and reliable dating of the occupation period is still pending.
The dating of the grave field was based on the characteristic weapons and grave goods ( Visigoth gold coin ). Finding 96 ("Herr von Boilstädt") was dated to a period between 570 and 610 AD, finding 131 was dated to a period between 630 and 650 AD.
It is therefore assumed that there was a generation time between the burials .
expansion
In order to determine the exact extent of the burial field, the area around the previous sites was examined with a magnetometer in the summer of 2016 . The results indicate further burials north of the previous site. The area was registered as a ground monument and placed under protection.
General description of the find
The cemetery was discovered in 2012 during road construction work on the new bypass between Gotha-Sundhausen and Gotha-Boilstädt . From August 2012 to November 2013 excavations were carried out , a partial excavation by the Thuringian State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology .
51 body graves were found from the Merovingian period : 16 graves were burials for children, 15 graves for men and 20 graves for women. The examination of the findings did not reveal any evidence of armed conflict. The average age at death of those buried was 40 years.
The most important findings ("Befund 96" and "Befund 131") were two warrior burials with rich grave goods. The graves were completely preserved or not robbed. Both date to the time between 570 and 650 AD. Thus, they offer archaeologists the rare opportunity to research undisturbed graves in Central Germany during the Merovingian period .
While most of the findings were secured on site, the TLDA decided on a block salvage for these two findings . In October 2013, it was recovered and transported to a TLDA branch in Weimar-Ehringsdorf. Here, the findings could be retrieved and preserved under laboratory conditions. "The finding 96" - "Mr. von Boilstädt" - turned out to be a finding of supraregional importance.
Mr. von Boilstädt (finding 96)
The archaeologists named the site “Herr von Boilstädt” because of its proximity to Boilstädt, despite its location in today's Sundhausen district .
The wooden burial chamber was 1.5 meters by 2.8 meters and was 2.3 meters below the surface. The excavation revealed that the burial chamber was originally covered by a burial mound about eight meters in diameter. A horse skeleton and the remains of a dog were found in the immediate vicinity.
The most important additions include a Byzantine lamp with Christian symbolism and a Visigoth gold coin ( tremissis ). In this combination, the finds are unique in Germany.
Employees of the University Medical Center Göttingen performed a plastic facial reconstruction . The design of the hair and beard costume was based on coin finds from that time.
Elite grave (finding 131)
The second warrior's grave is a warrior who, with his rich grave goods, was probably buried in the first half of the 7th century. The wooden burial chamber was slightly smaller and was only a meter below the surface. An overhang has not yet been proven.
Particularly noteworthy for this finding is a silver inlaid belt set , which shows parallels to a harness from Niederstotzingen . It is likely a piece from the early 7th century from Lombard Italy.
Judith Blödorn: The body grave field of Kleinjena. Studies on the early and late Carolingian times in Central Germany.
Classification of the finds
The findings from Boilstädt belong to the time after the Thuringian Kingdom was broken up. In a battle on the Unstrut , the Thuringians were defeated by the Merovingian Franks under King Herminafried and the Thuringian royal house was wiped out. Its relatives were either murdered, kidnapped and driven out by the victors. King Herminafried was murdered in 534, Radegunde and her brother, both still children in 531, were deported to the Franconian Empire.
Amalaberga fled to Ravenna with her son Amalafrid and daughter . From there she and her children were expelled to Constantinople in 540 .
The Franks tried to integrate the Thuringians into their allegiance system. Chlothar forced the adult Radegunde to marry him in 540 in order to secure his share of the Thuringian Empire.
On the other hand, the Thuringian upper class strived for independence until the Carolingian era . In 786 it came under Hardrad to the Thuringian uprising against Charlemagne .
The equipment of the '' Herr von Boilstädt '' identifies him as a member of the old Thuringian elite. Individual finds show that the Thuringians had contacts with both Eastern and Western Rome in the 6th century. Outstanding finds from Boilstädt such as the Byzantine oil lamp and the Visigoth gold coin testify to the continued independence of the Thuringians under the Franks.
Exhibition in the museum
The Boilstädter finds were displayed from September 21, 2018 to January 6, 2019 in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin in the exhibition Moving Times. Archeology shown in Germany . The findings from the Boilstädter grave field were then included in the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Weimar , together with the facial reconstructions of "Herr von Boilstädt" .
gallery
The gold coin, a tremissis , was located as a " Charon penny " in the dead man's mouth
Shield boss
Comb
Beheaded horse with dog
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literature
- Günter Behm-Blancke : Society and art of the Teutons. The Thuringians and their world . Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1973.
- Helmut Castritius et al. (Ed.): The early days of the Thuringians: archeology, language, history . Supplementary volume to the Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2009, ISBN 978-3-11-021454-3 .
- Werner Mägdefrau : Thuringia in the early Middle Ages. From the Thuringian Kingdom to the end of the Saxon Empire 531–1024 . Bad Langensalza 2003, ISBN 3-936030-98-7 .
- Christian Tannhäuser: European contacts to West and East? The Lord of Boilstädt. In: Matthias Wemhoff , Michael M. Rind (Ed.): Moving Times. Archeology in Germany. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7319-0723-7 , pp. 210-211.
Remarks
- ↑ The "Herr von Boilstädt" and the archaeological excavation for the Gotha-Sundhausen bypass ; Media information from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Weimar, February 12, 2016.
- ↑ Thuringian State Archeology at the special show “Moving Times. Archeology in Germany "from September 21, 2018 in Berlin at the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology. 5th July 2018.
Web links
- Article uncovering of the "Lord of Boilstädt" completed , archeology online , February 12, 2016.
- Brief description , Association of State Archaeologists , February 12, 2016
- Museum video presentation of the burial place of "Herr von Boilstädt", website of the Museum for Prehistory and Early History Weimar