Kosbach Altar
The Kosbach Altar is a unique stone setting from the late Hallstatt period , 6th to 5th century. v. It is located north of the Erlangen district of Kosbach in a larger burial mound field. The exact function and interpretation is unknown. The altar probably played a central role in the funeral ceremonies . Next to the altar is the reconstruction of the burial mound .
The burial mound
Grave chambers were built from stones or wood to accommodate the dead. A mound of earth was raised over the burial chambers. The edge of the hill consists of a stone wreath. After completion, further burials were made in the hill or in the immediate vicinity. The reconstruction of the hill was based on observations made during the excavation.
First excavation in 1913
During a first excavation carried out by Pastor Rudolf Herold, the mound was removed and most of the finds were recovered, which form the basis of the anthropological-prehistoric university collection, which is owned by the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen -Nuremberg is located. In the center of the altar was a menhir , which Herold interpreted as a phallus symbol. The finding and its interpretation caused quite a stir in the local press and in the professional world.
Second excavation 1979
During a follow-up examination carried out by the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, the known observations and data were checked and supplemented. A detailed plan of the facility was drawn up and remaining finds were salvaged.
The Kosbach Altar today
In order to be able to present the memorial openly, a detailed artificial stone cast of the original made of friable, weather-prone sandstone was made and placed at the point where the altar was found. The making of this copy was made possible by a donation from the Lions Club Erlangen and carried out by the Erlangen Forestry Office. The altar is regularly made by the Bavarian State Forests A.ö.R. Forestry Forchheim maintained in order to keep it public.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the excavation of the Kosbach Altar and the associated establishment of the FAU Prehistory and Protohistory Collection, students from the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory are organizing an exhibition on the Iron Age altar in the Erlangen City Museum in 2014.
Finds from the excavations
The finds were objects that the deceased carried with them as part of their clothing or as grave goods.
Objects or clothing made of organic material as well as skeletal remains can be assumed based on the finds, but were completely decomposed due to the special soil conditions. It was possible to recover fibulae , a set of four bronze neck rings, a glass yellow eye bead with an obviously amulet-like character, a large number of stirrup arm rings and a number of shards of vessels, some of which were artistically painted and filled with food and drink, the dead for the journey according to belief at the time needed to the afterlife.
Individual evidence
- ^ Rudolf Herold: The excavation near Kosbach in August 1913. The Kosbach Altar. Session reports of the Physikalisch-Medizinischen Sozietät in Erlangen, Volume 45, 1913, pp. 55–92
- ↑ Martin Nadler, Brigitte Kaulich: A burial mound in the Mönau forest near Erlangen-Kosbach. In: Konrad Spindler (Ed.): Prehistory between the Main and the Danube. New archaeological research and finds from Franconia and Old Bavaria. Erlanger Research Series A, Volume 26, 1980, pp. 173-205
- ↑ "Rätsel Kosbacher Altar" ( memento of the original from April 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Official website of the Institute for Prehistory and Early History Erlangen on the exhibition in the Erlangen City Museum (accessed on May 11, 2014)
Web links
- Exhibition Institute for Prehistory and Early History: “Rätsel Kosbacher Altar”. - Blog of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Coordinates: 49 ° 36 ′ 37.4 ″ N , 10 ° 56 ′ 1.7 ″ E