Burial ground of Oberflacht

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The Oberflacht burial ground is a large Franconian - Alemannic burial ground from the Merovingian era in the municipality of Seitingen-Oberflacht in the Tuttlingen district .

Find

Tree coffin from the early medieval cemetery of Oberflacht (Tuttlingen district)
Beeswax candles from the burial ground, the oldest surviving wax candles north of the Alps

The cemetery was discovered around 1810 in Oberflacht , Württemberg , but initially received little attention. In 1846 it was researched in parts by Ferdinand von Dürrich and Wolfgang Menzel . Around 1890 further unsystematic explorations took place in the burial ground. Systematic excavations were carried out by Walther Veeck in 1933/34 , during which over 300 graves were uncovered. Their scientific documentation was lost in the Second World War . It was not until the 1990s that Siegwalt Schiek and Peter Paulsen compiled a record of the previous finds and presented a scientific analysis of all known finds.

Findings

The area investigated so far with over 300 burials should only represent a section of a presumably larger cemetery. Occupation of the cemetery begins in the 6th century and extends to the beginning of the 7th century. The finds prove the presence of an above-average wealthy Alemannic family on site. The dead lay in three- dimensionally decorated tree coffins or wooden burial chambers . Due to the geological subsoil, many organic finds have been preserved through the preservation of moist soil . A large part of the graves was dug in layers of soil that contained groundwater, so that the grave structures were filled with water and cut off from the oxygen supply. That is why, in addition to the grave goods made of metal and ceramics , objects made of wood and textiles have also been preserved here. The finds clearly show how the grave equipment from that time should also be imagined in other burial fields. The rich wood additions include turned and boiled vessels such as buckets, jugs and plates; ornate furniture such as beds, chairs, tables, chests; Weapons like shields and bows ; Handicraft tools such as shoe lasts or turned wooden sticks with uncertain function, which historians interpret as judge's sticks . One of the highlights of the wood finds is a largely preserved lyre from the singer's grave (grave no. 31). In addition, other organic objects such as beeswax candles, leftover drinks and food were found. Of the textiles originally found in large numbers, only a fraction could be preserved due to the as yet undeveloped recovery and conservation options.

meaning

The burial ground is one of the most important finds from the Alemannic era in all of Europe . The unique wooden objects that were found in the graves from the first half of the 6th century give science important information about the life of the Alemanni. The lyre found in the singer's grave is one of the extremely rare finds of a musical instrument for which there are only a few comparable pieces north of the Alps, such as the Trossinger lyre . To commemorate this important site and especially the singer's grave with the lyre, the Sängergau Black Forest erected a memorial stone at Landstrasse 432.

storage

The finds from the old excavations were distributed over numerous collections and some came into private ownership. Many textile and wood finds have not been preserved or have disappeared due to the inadequate conservation methods. Some finds that were in the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin are lost due to the war. A part is in the Württemberg State Museum in Stuttgart in the permanent archaeological exhibition. Some of the grave finds are exhibited in a small museum in Seitingen-Oberflacht.

Drawings of the finds, mid-19th century

  • Plate VIII

  • Plate IX

  • Plate X

  • Plate XI

literature

  • Klaus Düwel , Helga Schach-Dörges :  Oberflacht. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 21, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2002, ISBN 3-11-017272-0 , pp. 476-479. (introductory article)
  • Ferdinand von Dürrich, Wolfgang Menzel : The heathen graves at Lupfen (at Oberflacht) . Arnold, Stuttgart 1847.
  • Ferdinand von Dürrich, Wolfgang Menzel: The grave finds from Oberflacht . In: Annuals of the Wirtenberg antiquity association . tape 1 , booklet 4. Stuttgart 1844.
  • Walther Veeck : The Alemanni cemetery of Oberflacht . In: Publications of the Württemberg State Office for Monument Preservation . tape 2 . Silberburg, Stuttgart 1924.
  • Siegwalt Schiek : The cemetery of the Merovingian period near Oberflacht (municipality of Seitingen-Oberflacht, district of Tuttlingen) . In: Research and reports on prehistory and early history in Baden-Württemberg . tape 42/1 . Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-0859-X .
  • Peter Paulsen : The wood finds from the burial ground near Oberflacht and their cultural and historical significance . In: Research and reports on prehistory and early history in Baden-Württemberg . tape 42/2 . Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-0859-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wilfried Menghin : The singer's grave . German Historical Museum. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  2. ↑ Sights: Seitlingen-Oberflacht. Accessed October 26, 2009.

Web links

Coordinates: 48 ° 1 ′ 23.7 "  N , 8 ° 42 ′ 42.1"  E