Lauchheim burial ground

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View of Lauchheim and the Kapfenburg - the settlement and the burial ground are in the Jagsttal north of the castle

The grave field in Lauchheim in Württemberg - a small town in the Ostalb district - is one of the few grave fields that were not only in continuous use for over 200 years - during the greater part of the Merovingian era - but their associated Alemannic settlement "Mittelhofen" was also almost completely excavated has been.

Burials and grave goods

The Lauchheim burial ground is located in the "Wasserfurche" corridor, about 1.3 km west of the late medieval city. It occupies a rectangular area of ​​approximately 1.5 hectares and contains a little over 1,300 graves from the period between the second half of the 5th and the second half of the 7th century. This cemetery is the largest of this period in southwest Germany to date. The complete excavation thus enables a realistic cross-section through an early medieval local society in the course of time.

As was customary in the Merovingian period, the body burials were furnished with additions. In addition to clothing and jewelry, weapons and equipment items can be found in the graves.

Neighboring settlement

200 meters down the valley from the “Wasserfurche” cemetery, traces of settlement from the time of the Merovingians and later archaeologically were examined between 1989 and 2005 in the “Mittelhofen” district. Scattered over the excavation site were 78 late Merovingian graves, which were mainly divided into six groups (with between four and 25 burials). So there were court burials and a few individual burials. The vast majority of the graves were only dug after the abandonment of the large burial ground "Wasserfurche". Of great importance for science is on the one hand the good preservation of the building traces and on the other hand the size of the excavated areas. It is the most comprehensively documented early medieval settlement area in Baden-Württemberg to date. Post structures and pit houses are documented, and remnants of fences sometimes show a division into courtyard areas. At the east end of the settlement there is a courtyard area, which is interpreted as a mansion because of its richly furnished courtyard tomb and several post structures. Remains of a mill canal have been found on the banks of the Jagst. The settlement lasted longer than the burial grounds.

Research history

Model of the village and the burial ground in the Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen (burial ground in the picture above right)

Discovery and excavation

  • Cemetery "water furrow":

The early medieval burial ground in the “Wasserfurche” district was completely excavated between 1986 and 1996 by the Stuttgart Archaeological Monument Preservation under the direction of Ingo Stork. In May 1986 the first discoveries were made during development work for an industrial area and were immediately reported to the responsible monument conservation authority.

  • Alemannic village "Mittelhofen":

The settlement was discovered in 1989 when the State Monuments Office explored the area with an excavator cut in advance of the construction of a bypass road. The excavations on the occasion of the road construction and the construction of another industrial park lasted until 2005.

The finds from Lauchheim were prominently presented at the 1997 Alamannen exhibition in Stuttgart.

Evaluation as a research project

This Lauchheim “Wasserfurche” burial ground with its abundance of finds and block salvages has, together with the settlement, been the subject of an interdisciplinary cooperation project funded by the German Research Foundation between the State Office for Monument Preservation Baden-Württemberg and the University of Freiburg im Breisgau with its Institute for Archaeological Sciences (Department for Early Historical Archeology and Archeology of the Middle Ages). The main objectives of the project are to develop and test efficient restoration and documentation procedures on a large number of grave finds. Lauchheim “Wasserfurche” was particularly suitable for such a concern because, on the one hand, it is the largest known, almost completely documented burial ground in southwest Germany with over 1300 burials. On the other hand, the large number of individual finds and block salvages from the sometimes very richly furnished graves was not only a special challenge, but also offered the opportunity to gain new knowledge on the basis of a broad database, be it through the non-destructive documentation the content of all block salvages using computed tomographic imaging or the documentation of all organic materials from the graves. The prerequisites for this had already been created with the careful and forward-looking excavation and recovery of the finds in the period from 1986 to 1996.

Another special feature of the Lauchheim burial ground is the immediate vicinity of the deserted early to high medieval settlement in Gewann Mittelhofen in the area of ​​the lower terrace of the Jagst, around 200 meters below the burial site on the slope, which was also extensively excavated by 2005. This was used at least partially at the same time. The oldest findings in Mittelhofen can be dated to the middle of the 6th century, while the cemetery was probably occupied around 80 years earlier. So there must have been at least one other, older settlement in the area. Nevertheless, it can be assumed with certainty that the residents of "Mittelhofen" buried their dead for over 100 years up to the second half of the 7th century on the grave field up the slope.

Main aspects of the research project

Model of a courtyard (in the Archaeological State Museum Baden-Württemberg (ALM))
Two grave decorations from the grave field in the Alemanni Museum in Ellwangen

The DFG research project, which focuses on the development and testing of efficient restoration and documentation processes for a large number of grave finds, can be broken down into the following main aspects:

  • Preservation of artifacts,
  • Virtual restoration through computed tomography,
  • Documentation and analysis of all textiles and organic leftovers,
  • Anthropological studies,
  • Development and use of a project-related database (also as a model for similar projects),
  • Publication of a printed catalog.

Computed Tomography

An enormous number of finds have to be stored in a freezer at −20 ° C. They represent a challenge for archaeological restoration . In many cases, they have been recovered as complexes of finds in block salvages , the normal processing of which can only be done with a great deal of time. The documentation, evaluation and publication of the findings and finds from this burial ground and the associated settlement will be investigated and documented using new methods. Computed tomography plays a central role in this. For the first time, this method can be used systematically for the precise determination of the finds in block salvages. The wide range of objects and materials makes it possible to extensively check this documentation and investigation method.

Central requirements for the method are the visualization , i.e. making the different finds visible, and the determination of the material for the clarification of the objects of investigation and the stratigraphy in the block salvages. In addition, it is checked which further investigations are possible with regard to manufacture, material and dating. Of particular importance are the 105 spaths , the complex blade structure of which is analyzed using computer tomography. A critical evaluation of the method is carried out on the basis of the results.

Jörg Stelzner summarizes for his dissertation:

“Within this work, the use of computed tomography could be checked for the first time on the basis of over three hundred block salvages from the Lauchheim“ Wasserfurche ”grave field in order to accelerate the processing of the grave field. The decisive factor for the informative value of the data is its quality, which is determined by the resolution, the contrast and possible measurement artifacts. These factors are in turn influenced by the size of the objects or block salvages to be examined, their material composition as well as the measurement parameters and the equipment. In addition to micro-X-ray computer tomography, submicro-X-ray computer tomography was used to examine smaller objects, and computer tomography with neutrons, which is particularly suitable for the examination of organic materials. The methodical approach consisted of examining the central requirements for addressing the object, such as the visualization of the various finds and the determination of the material as well as the stratigraphy in the block salvages. This confirmed that an accelerated processing of the finds in sufficient quality is possible. In some cases there are certain restrictions for the determination of the material and the visualization of highly fragmented finds. "

- Jörg Stelzner : Computed tomography as an examination and documentation method for processing early medieval finds. Stuttgart 2016. Dissertation.

textiles

Numerous organic materials such as layers of textile, leather fragments and plant remains have been preserved in the graves of Lauchheim. The systematic recording of several features and characteristic structures is necessary for the determination and assignment of a textile find. The invariable characteristics of a fabric include fiber material, weave, and thread torsion. On the other hand, thread thicknesses, the intensity of the thread twists and fabric densities may differ or have been changed so much during the long storage period in the ground that they can only be used as additional information for assessing the textile. In order to ensure that the observations can be checked later, the results are supplemented by a detailed description of the condition and extensive image documentation of the textile parts or textile structures that have been preserved.

Museum presentation

The abundance of types of burial and grave goods can hardly be represented in a single museum. The Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen shows only a representative selection of the most beautiful grave goods and tries to describe and illustrate.

Some of the finds are exhibited in the Baden-Württemberg State Archaeological Museum . There the focus of the presentation is on the aristocratic lifestyle of the Alemanni, on riding, driving and hunting. There are splendid burials from the Lauchheim burial ground, which show that even small children were buried with badges of rank.

  • Cast of a death bed (Lauchheim-Mittelhofen grave 27, original in the ALM )

  • Wooden burial chamber, dendrochronologically dated to 703/04 AD (Lauchheim-Mittelhofen grave 27)

  • A tree coffin (replica of a coffin from Unterschneidheim-Zöbingen)

  • Cross brooch (original in ALM)

  • Goldblattkreuz (Lauchheim-Wasserfurche grave 38, original in the ALM)

  • Trunk cup (Lauchheim water furrow, grave 66, original in the ALM)

  • Addition for women (Lauchheim water furrow, grave 787, buckle on the right 100 years older, Ostrogothic)

Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen

Replica of a pit house with a loom in the Alemanni Museum in Ellwangen

In order to be able to present the finds from Lauchheim, the Alamannenmuseum was founded in Ellwangen (Jagst) . Well-preserved art, jewelry and everyday objects as well as weapons that are of outstanding importance for research are exhibited. A partially reconstructed pit house with a loom illustrates the textile processing of the Alemanni, other wooden reconstructions illustrate the many everyday objects that were used in the settlements of the Merovingian period. Another thematic focus is the history of the Christianization of the Alemanni . The modern presentation of the exhibits with reconstructions and electronic media gives an insight into the life of the Alemanni . Regular special exhibitions provide new knowledge of the Alemannic period, the excavations in the region and early and high medieval history.

literature

  • Sebastian Brather: Lauchheim in the early Middle Ages. The DFG project and its perspectives. In: Ursula Koch, "Row graves of the early Middle Ages - let's use the abundance of sources!" - Remshalden 2016 (= research on late antiquity and the Middle Ages, No. 3) pp. 47–54.
  • Kati Bott et als . : mass conservation. A challenge for conservation research and for the processes in the DFG project Lauchheim. In: Sebastian Brather and Dirk Krausse, “Fundmassen. Innovative strategies for evaluating early medieval sources ”(Esslingen November 8-10, 2011). Darmstadt 2013 (= material booklets for archeology in Baden-Württemberg, No. 97) pp. 145–156.
  • Benjamin Höke: The Lauchheim burial ground “Wasserfurche” as a whole. In: Ursula Koch, row graves of the early Middle Ages - let's use the wealth of sources! Remshalden 2016 (= research on late antiquity and the Middle Ages, No. 3) pp. 55–60.
  • Christina Peek: The complete and systematic recording of organic materials as an essential part of the comprehensive evaluation of the Lauchheim burial ground “Wasserfurche”. In: Sebastian Brather and Dirk Krausse, Fundmassen. Innovative strategies for evaluating early medieval sources (Esslingen November 8-10 , 2011). Darmstadt 2013 (= material booklets for archeology in Baden-Württemberg, No. 97) pp. 183–198.
  • Valerie Schoenenberg: The early medieval settlement in Lauchheim, Gewann "Mittelhofen", Ostalbkreis. Dissertation Freiburg.
  • Jörg Stelzner: Computed tomography as an examination and documentation method for processing early medieval finds. Stuttgart 2016. Dissertation. [DOI: 10.11588 / artdok.00004429 online publication]
  • Ingo Stork: Prince and Farmer, Heide and Christ. 10 years of archaeological research in Lauchheim / Ostalbkreis. Stuttgart 1995 (= archaeological information from Baden-Württemberg No. 29).
  • Joachim Wahl and Ingo Stork: Extraordinary graves near the manor. Merovingian settlement burials from Lauchheim 'Mittelhofen'. In: Jörg Biel et als . : Landesarchäologie. Festschrift for Dieter Planck on his 65th birthday. - Stuttgart 2009 (= research and reports on prehistory and early history in Baden-Württemberg No. 100) pp. 531–556.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DFG research project Lauchheim , accessed on March 13, 2018.
  2. ↑ DAVID BIBBY and BENJAMIN HÖKE; Lauchheim 1986-2016. The Interdisciplinary Analysis and GIS-Mapping of a Prominent Early Medieval Necropolis in Eastern Swabia. In: Studies in Digital Heritage, Vol. 1, No. 2, Publication date: December 2017 - [1] accessed on March 13, 2018
  3. ↑ [DOI: 10.11588 / artdok.00004429 online publication] accessed on March 13, 2018
  4. ↑ Room 205: "Poor and rich, not the same even in death" - grave finds from Lauchheim accessed on March 16, 2018

Web links

Commons : Alamannenmuseum Ellwangen  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Archaeological State Museum Baden-Württemberg - Lauchheim cemetery  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 52 '17 "  N , 10 ° 13' 54.1"  E