Emstek-Drantum burial ground

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 52 ° 49 ′ 38 "  N , 8 ° 12 ′ 38"  E

Emstek-Drantum burial ground
p1
f1
location Lower Saxony , Germany
Location Drantum
Cemetery of Emstek-Drantum (Lower Saxony)
Emstek-Drantum burial ground
When Carolingian period
Where Drantum , district of Cloppenburg / Lower Saxony

The Carolingian burial ground of Emstek-Drantum, discovered in 1936, is located in the district of Cloppenburg in Lower Saxony . To the northeast of Drantum, there was a large stone grave of the same name on the so-called Hexenberg . The destroyed complex, around which there are numerous legends, was examined in 1906. The chamber is said to have been located in a 22 m × 14 m hill. Next to the megalithic complex was a Saxon-Carolingian burial ground that was examined and cleared in advance of the construction of the A1 motorway. In 1964, 528 burials, which are divided into two groups, were examined on an area of ​​5000 m².

Group 1

In one group there were 46 north-south facing graves, of which 31 (or about 67%) contained grave goods .

  • In the men's graves there were mainly iron planks , belt and strap buckles, belt fittings made of small iron rivets, fire steels, knives , tweezers and two saxes (short swords).
  • The women's burials often contained small iron belt buckles, knives, needle tubes , pearl necklaces , and rectangles of fibers .
  • In addition, eight smaller rectangular pits with beetles and pearls were uncovered, which may be children's burials.

Unusual is a chamber grave with circular moat , which contained the double burial of a man and a woman. With a concentration in the area of ​​this group of graves , a total of 24 horse graves - six of which were found to be double burials. In the opinion of the excavator, four larger structures with post structures and eight smaller posts that were sometimes fenced in or surrounded by pointed trenches belong to the same period . There are open spaces around the posts. Almost all of these facilities were destroyed by fire. The interpretation of these “cult structures” is still unclear.

Group 2

The vast majority of the dead in the cemetery were buried in a west-east direction. Of these 436 graves, only 64 (or about 15%) contained graves.

  • In addition to the belt fittings made of iron rivets, belt buckles and knives, which are common in men's graves, a leather pouch with six denarii of Louis the Pious was found in a grave , which was minted between 820 and 830 AD.
  • The women's graves contained pearl necklaces, bone combs, iron keys and fibulas . The remains of a glass beaker were found in a grave.

According to the grave goods, the Drantum burial ground began to be occupied in the late 7th century and ended around the middle of the 9th century.

literature