Rössen burial ground

Three graves from the Rössen burial ground; Museum of Prehistory and Early History, Berlin. From left to right: No. 6 (cultural classification uncertain), No. 2 (additions from the Rössen and Gatersleben cultures), No. 13 (presumably Rössen culture)

The Rössen cemetery was a Neolithic cemetery in Rössen , a district of Leuna in the Saalekreis ( Saxony-Anhalt ). Between 1879 and 1890 more than 100 cremation and body graves were found here, mainly belonging to the Rössen culture (4600-4450 BC) and the Gatersleben culture (4500-4000 BC). A single grave belonged to the linear ceramics (5500-4800 BC), another possibly to the Baalberg culture (4000-3400 BC). The Rössen burial ground is the largest Neolithic burial ground in Central Germany. The grave inventory prompted Alfred Götze to first describe the Rössen culture in 1900, which made the grave field the eponymous site . A little further south, further graves and remains of settlements were found in 1918, which, in addition to the two cultures mentioned, stitchery ceramics (4900-4600 BC), the Baalberg culture and the Salzmünder culture (3400-3100 BC) could be assigned.

location

The burial ground was on the western high bank of the Saale, southeast of the historic center of Rössen and is now completely overbuilt by the Neu Rössen residential area. It stretched from today's Merseburger Strasse to the Leuna City Park . A few hundred meters to the north is the end-Neolithic grave mound of Rössen, which was examined in 1918 and 1925, and just a little south of this, directly on the Merseburg-Leipzig-Leutzsch railway line, the wall of Rössen , on the edges of which further Neolithic graves were discovered in 1915 in advance of the construction of the railway line .

Research history

The Rössen cemetery during the excavation (1889)

Since the burial ground partly extended over a quarry, the first prehistoric finds were probably already made in the middle of the 19th century. They awakened from 1879 the interest of time in Merseburg residents and later to Deggendorf relocated August Nagel , who first gained individual finds and carried out 1,882 to 1,890 large-scale excavations. The value of these excavations is ambiguous, as Nagel on the one hand published short notes, but neither prepared a plan of the burial ground nor noted the location and orientation of the individual graves. On the other hand, he attached great importance to the fact that the skeletons and the accessories were recovered in their original position, which means that they retained great scientific importance. In total, Nagel uncovered around 100 graves, 22 of which were complete. 66 were incomplete and only individual pieces were found of the rest. Nagel sold most of his finds to the Museum für Völkerkunde Berlin , today they belong to the collection of the Museum für Pre- und Frühgeschichte . One grave each of the Rössen culture ended up in the Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg (today in the Archaeological Museum ) and in the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg . Individual vessels ended up in the Mannheim Palace Museum .

At the same time as Nagel, Hans von Borries from Halle (Saale) dug in July 1882 , who was able to recover five graves. Nils Niklasson found further graves in 1918 . The finds from these two excavations are now in the possession of the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt and are partially exhibited in the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle.

The scientific processing of the finds began in 1900 with Alfred Götze, who defined a new Neolithic culture, the Rössen culture, based on some of the vessels found. A complete monographic treatment of the graves of the Rössen culture was first presented by Franz Niquet in 1938 . The vessels of the Gatersleben culture were initially referred to as "burial ceramics" and their assignment was initially unclear. Various researchers have assumed that they belong to the Jordansmühler culture , to a local group of the Rössen culture strongly influenced by this, or to the Baalberg culture. It was not until 1953 that Ulrich Fischer demonstrated that the Gatersleben culture was independent . In 1968 Hermann Behrens presented a review of the Gatersleben finds from Rössen. He also took on numerous graves, which Niquet had previously attributed to the Rössen culture.

description

During the excavations between 1882 and 1890 and 1918, a total of 91 safe graves were recovered. In addition, there are numerous individual finds that suggest other graves. Nagel did not document the exact location of the graves; the location of individual graves to one another was only occasionally noted. Borries, who was able to find five burials east of Nagel's excavation area, proceeded more precisely. According to Götze, who was based mainly on Nagel's short reports, the graves formed two groups: to the east were the body graves and directly to the west were the cremation graves. Niklasson's excavations took place south of the previously examined areas. He was able to recover two more cremation graves and the remains of a possible third.

The 91 secured graves are eleven secure and three probable cremation graves and 76 secure body graves. No information is available for a grave, but the nature of the burial makes a body grave probable. In the case of the body graves, the orientation of the buried person was noted in only ten cases. Eight dead were buried in a south-north and two in an east-west direction. The position of the skeleton was documented in 33 cases. Without exception, the dead were buried in the right crouched position.

The cultural assignment of the individual graves was edited several times. Niquet assigned 65 graves to the Rössen culture, 15 to the Jordansmühler culture, one to the linear ceramics and one to the Baalberg culture. The assignment of nine graves was unclear. Fischer assigned the burials referred to by Niquet as Jordansmühler graves to the Gatersleben culture he had redefined, but otherwise largely complied with Niquet's assignments. Of three graves originally assigned to the Rössen culture and one that was not taken into account, Fischer assigned two with certainty and two to the Gatersleben culture with reservation. Behrens made major reassignments in reviewing the material. He counted 21 graves to the Rössen culture and 30 to the Gatersleben culture. The grave inventories of eight graves showed characteristics of both cultures. In the case of 31 graves, no reliable cultural classification seemed possible; this also includes grave no. 55, which Niquet and Fischer assigned to the Baalberg culture, but which, according to Behrens, could belong to both the Baalberg and Gatersleben cultures. When assigning the linear ceramic grave, Behrens complied with Niquet.

Since there is no overall plan, statements on the history of the cemetery 's occupancy are only possible to a very limited extent. According to Behrens, however, it seems rather unlikely that there was a strict sequence of different cultures here. Rather, there is a very strong penetration of the Rössen and Gatersleben cultures. This is noticeable on the one hand in the mixed grave inventory, but also in the orientation of the dead. Burials of the Rössen culture are typically still east-west-oriented in the traditional ceramic tradition, but burials of the Gatersleben culture are usually south-north-oriented. On the Rössen grave field, however, several cases are documented in which the burials were organized in the tradition of the other culture.

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  Grave 16, Museum of Prehistory and Early History Berlin (Rössen culture)

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  Grave 82, Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg (Rössen and Gatersleben culture)

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  Grab 83, Archaeological Museum Hamburg (Gatersleben culture)

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  Vessels; above: Gatersleben culture, below: Rössen culture

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  Kumpf from grave 17 (linear ceramic)

No.	rite	Alignment	location	Additions	Culture	Excavators	Whereabouts
1	Body grave		right stool	Marble beads, decorated cup with stand, flint blade, sheeter, animal bones	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
2	Body grave		right stool	Conical bowl, body part of a ball cup, two marble rings, bone slice (?), Ribs of beef	Rössen + Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
3	Body grave		right stool	two cups, hatchet, blade scraper, bone sliver, sheep bones	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
4th	Body grave		right stool	Necklace made from 156 limestone beads, two bracelets made from 30 or 39 limestone beads, two bracelets, beaker, conical bowl, animal bones	Rössen + Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
5	Body grave		right stool	Chain of approx. 60 marble beads, three perforated animal teeth, a marble pendant in the form of an animal tooth and a bone slice, two double buttons made of boar tooth, ax, flint knife, indefinable black mass	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
6th	Body grave		right stool	Ax, fragment of a ring of bone, ribs of an animal	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
7th	Body grave		right stool	Beaker, spherical beaker, fragment of a blade scraper, cross cutter, fragment of a flint blade, five chips, fragment of a bone slab	Rössen + Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
8th	Body grave		right stool	two beakers, hatchet, two flint blades, animal bones	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
9	Body grave		right stool	Necklace made of 181 marble beads, two bones arm rings (only one preserved), bowl, spherical beaker, decorated beaker with stand, hatchet, flint knife, two cuts	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
10	Body grave		right stool	Necklace made of 52 marble beads and a marble pendant in the shape of an animal tooth, marble beads of an arm chain, marble arm ring	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
11	Body grave		right stool	two anklets (?) made of 108 limestone, two silica slate and two gagat pearls as well as four shell disks, necklace made of 20 limestone pearls, fragments of others and gagat, three-part eyelet cup, cup, ax, flint blade, bone dagger or prong	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
12	Body grave		right stool	Ball cup, three beef bones	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
13	Body grave		right stool	Necklace made of 25 marble beads, two mugs, shards of ceramic vessels, blade scrapers, two unprocessed flint stones, a flint core	Roots?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
14th	Body grave		right stool	cups	Roots?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
15th	Body grave		right stool	cups	Gatersleben?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
16	Body grave		right stool	Eleven marble pearls in a necklace, anklet made from 194 pearls from mussel shells, anklet made from approx. 261 pearls from mussel shells, fragments of further pearls from mussel shells, two arm rings made of marble, decorated cup with stand, ball cup, animal bones	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
17th	Body grave				Line band ceramics	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
18th	Body grave		right stool	Ball cup	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
19th	Body grave		right stool	Tripartite mug, blade scraper, animal bones	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
20th	Body grave		right stool	Tripartite cup	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
21st	Body grave			Marble arm ring	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
22nd	Body grave			Decorated cup with stand, cup, ax, two cross cutters (affiliation to this grave unclear), three unworked pieces of flint	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
23	Body grave			Ornate ball cup, marble arm ring, chain of 18 marble beads, shell	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
24	Body grave			Hatchet, flint fragments	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
25th	Body grave			Chain of 59 marble beads, five double buttons made of boar tooth, mug, the rest of a mug	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
26th	Body grave		Skeleton too badly preserved	Neck and arm chain with 747 limestone beads and a marble pendant in the shape of a deer tooth, mug, ax	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
27	Body grave			Chain of 34 marble beads, hatchet, sheeter, flint blade, flint knife	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
28	Body grave	S-N	right stool	Shell, fragment of a shell	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
29	Body grave	S-N	right stool	Ax, flint knife	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
30th	Body grave	E-W	right stool	Mug with approach to threefolding, flint blade	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
31	Body grave	S-N	right stool	no	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
32	Body grave		Skeleton too badly preserved	Eyelet cup	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
33	Body grave	S-N	right stool	Necklace made of bone beads, double button made of boar tooth, ball cup	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
34	Body grave			three-part amphora, three-part eyelet cup	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
35	Body grave	E-W	right stool	Arm ring made of bone, bone slab, flint knife (not preserved), cattle bone	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
36	Body grave			Bone arm ring, necklace made of 91 marble beads, arm chain made of 54 marble beads, flint knife, two cross cutters, decorated cup with stand	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
37	Body grave			Necklace made from 19 pearls made from shells and two pendants made from deer teeth	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
38	Body grave			Ball beaker, two flint knives, a tee, a piece of flint	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
39	Body grave			Ball cup, fragment of a bone ring, pear-shaped club head made of marble	Gatersleben?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
40	Body grave			Conical bowl, mug with a threefold approach, oval clay pan, blade scraper, two tees	Rössen + Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
41	Body grave			cups	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
42	Body grave			decorated spherical cup, conical bowl	Rössen + Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
43	Body grave			Mug, ax	Roots?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
44	Body grave			Marble arm ring, 71 marble pearl necklace, flint knife	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
45	Body grave			Ax, animal bones	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
46	Body grave			Axe	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
47	Body grave			Chain of 103 shell discs, spherical cup	Roots?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
48	Body grave			47 marble beads from a chain, shell with two holes, ax	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
49	Body grave			Necklace made from 242 marble beads	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
50	no information			Necklace made of 31 marble beads and nine snail tubes, seven double buttons, fragments of a bone ring, indefinable black mass	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
51	Body grave			Bone pendant, two flint knives, two knife-like cuts	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
52	Body grave			Marble beads from a necklace, fragments of a bones arm ring (not preserved, individual finds put together by nails to form a "grave inventory")	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
53	Body grave			Mug, sheeter	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
54	Body grave			Kump-like shell, flint blade	Gatersleben?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
55	Body grave			Funnel beaker, three pendants made of deer teeth, flint knife, cross cutter	Gatersleben? / Baalberge?	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
56	Body grave			Marble arm ring, flint knife, fragment of an ax	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
57	Cremation grave?	-	-	19 limestone beads, one Gaga bead and fragments of another, eleven buttons made of shells, two tubes made of copper sheet	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
58	Body grave			Ball cup	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
59	Body grave			unprocessed advance payment	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
60	Body grave			no	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
61	Body grave			no	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
62	Body grave			no	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
63	Body grave			Fragment of the jaw of an animal skull	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
64	Body grave			Fragments of two axes, animal bones (individual finds put together by nails to form a "grave inventory")	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
65	Cremation grave?	-	-	seven marble beads, conical bowl, three cups	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
66	Cremation grave	-	-	45 marble beads, fragment of a shell pendant, flint blade, eyelet cup, three-part cup	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
67	Cremation grave	-	-	60 limestone pearls, 20 gagat pearls, six pendants made of deer grains, three marble pendants in the form of deer teeth, stone pendants in the shape of an ax, three-part eyelet cup, conical bowl, shard decorated with stitching tape, blade scraper	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
68	Cremation grave	-	-	Tripartite eyelet cup, conical bowl, ax, two tees	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
69	Cremation grave	-	-	two conical bowls, jug, body parts of two beakers, lower part of a beaker (eyelet beaker?), fragments of a vessel, cross hatchet, blade scraper, flint blade	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
70	Cremation grave	-	-	two conical shells, 46 shell buttons, 50–60 shell disks	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
71	Cremation grave	-	-	Eyelet beakers, fragments of beakers (?), Cross hatchet, flint blade, two tees	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
72	Cremation grave	-	-	two tripartite beakers, body part of a beaker, neck-shoulder fragment of a beaker, 46 marble beads, 14 marble pendants in the form of deer teeth, two gagat beads, two flint blades	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
73	Cremation grave	-	-	Chisel, two flint blades, three cuts	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
74	Cremation grave	-	-	Ax, flint blade, two cattle bones (devices?)	Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
75	Body grave			Ax, hatchet, chain made of 165 marble beads, flint knife, tip of a bone prick, device made of deer horn, flint, ceramic shards (possibly individual finds put together by nails to form a "grave inventory")	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
76	Body grave			Ball cup, knife	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
77	Body grave			Ax, five deer teeth, cut, upper and lower jaw of a cow	unsure	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
78	Body grave			Bottom part of a spherical cup, tee	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
79	Body grave			Bowl-like vessel (in it shards of a cup), upper part of a (spherical -?) cup, ax	Rössen + Gatersleben	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
80	Body grave		right stool	Necklace made of 50 marble beads, hatchet, ball cup, indefinable black mass, animal bones	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
81	Body grave		right stool	Ball cup, bowl, triangular arrowhead, a piece of clam shell, animal bones	Rots	nail	Berlin, Museum of Prehistory and Early History
82	Body grave		right stool	decorated mug with stand, tripartite mug, ceramic arm ring	Rössen + Gatersleben	nail	Nuremberg, Germanic National Museum
83	Body grave	S-N	right stool	three-part beaker, beaker, cross hatchet, 14 flint blades and knives	Gatersleben	nail	Hamburg, Archaeological Museum
I.	Body grave		Skeleton too badly preserved	Ball beaker, two feet of vessels, fragment of a bottle-shaped vessel	Rots	v. Borries	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology
II	Body grave	S-N	right stool	Chain made of 48 marble beads, two arm rings made of marble	unsure	v. Borries	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology
IIa	Cremation grave?	-	-	Eye cup, ax	Gatersleben	Niklasson	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology
III	Body grave	S-N	right stool	deep bowl, large decorated vessel, two arm rings made of marble, ceramic shards, flint knife	Rössen + Gatersleben	v. Borries	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology
IV	Body grave	S-N	right stool	decorated mug with stand, lower part of a vessel, ceramic shards	Rots	v. Borries	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology
V	Body grave		Skeleton too badly preserved	Ceramic shards, five pierced deer teeth, flint tools	unsure	v. Borries	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology
XIV	Cremation grave	-	-	Eyelet beaker, limestone pearl necklace, flint blade	Gatersleben	Niklasson	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology
XX	Cremation grave	-	-	Tripartite mug, mug, broken glass, flakes, animal bones	Gatersleben	Niklasson	Halle, State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology

literature

• Hermann Behrens: Graves of the Gatersleben group from the Rössen burial ground. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 52, 1968, pp. 67-80.
• Hans von Borries: Report on the excavation of prehistoric graves near Rössen an der Saale, Kr. Merseburg, which took place on July 21, 30 and 31, 1883. In: Prehistoric antiquities of the province of Saxony. Volume 3, 1886, pp. 1ff.
• Ulrich Fischer: The Stone Age graves in the Saale region. Studies on Neolithic and Early Bronze Age grave and burial forms in Saxony-Thuringia (= prehistoric research. Volume 15). de Gruyter, Berlin 1956.
• Alfred Götze: The Neolithic cemetery of Rössen and a new ceramic group. In: Journal of Ethnology. Volume 32, 1900, pp. 237-253 (online)
• Dieter Kaufmann : Leuna-Rössen. In: Joachim Herrmann (Hrsg.): Archeology in the German Democratic Republic. Monuments and finds. Volume 2, Urania Verlag, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-8062-0531-0 , pp. 423-424.
• Dieter Kaufmann: Alexander Nagel and the eponymous burial ground of Rössen. In: Ralf Gleser, Valeska Becker (Hrsg.): Central Europe in the 5th millennium BC. Contributions to the international conference in Münster 2010 (= Neolithic and older metal ages. Studies and materials. Volume 1). LIT, Berlin / Münster 2012, ISBN 978-3-643-11279-8 , pp. 13–33.
• Klaus Kroitzsch : The Gatersleben group in the Elb-Saale area. In: Neolithic Studies. Volume 2 = Scientific articles from the Martin Luther University Halle. Volume 1972/12, 1973, pp. 5-126.
• August Nagel: Graves of Rössen on the Saale. In: Journal of Ethnology. Volume 14, 1882, pp. 143-144 (online)
• August Nagel: The burial ground in Rössen a / Saale. Merseburg district. In: Correspondence sheet of the German Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory. Volume 18, 1887, pp. 19-20 (online)
• Nils Niklasson: Recent excavations in Rössen. In: Mannus. Volume 11/12, 1919/20, pp. 309-337.
• Franz Niquet: The Rössen culture in Central Germany (= annual publication for the prehistory of the Saxon-Thuringian countries. Volume 26), Gebauer-Schwetschke, Halle (Saale) 1937.
• Franz Niquet: The burial ground of Rössen, Merseburg district (= publications of the State Institute for Folklore. Volume 9). State Institute for Folklore, Halle (Saale) 1938.

Web links

Commons : Gräberfeld von Rössen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hermann Behrens: Graves of the Gatersleben group from the Rössen burial ground. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 52, 1968, p. 67.
2. ^ Hermann Behrens: Graves of the Gatersleben group from the Rössen burial ground. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 52, 1968, pp. 77-79.
3. ^ Hermann Behrens: Graves of the Gatersleben group from the Rössen burial ground. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 52, 1968, p. 80.
4. ^ Assignment according to Hermann Behrens: Graves of the Gatersleben group from the Rössen grave field. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 52, 1968, p. 79.

Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 36.5 ″  N , 12 ° 1 ′ 24.9 ″  E