Krems-Wachtberg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The excavation area with the one-sided glazed cellar, in which excavations were carried out from 2005 to 2015.

Krems-Wachtberg is the archaeological site of a Upper Palaeolithic open-air station on the Wachtberg in Krems an der Donau in Lower Austria .

Due to the large number of artifact finds , two infant burials and the excavation campaigns carried out between 2005 and 2015, Krems-Wachtberg is one of the most important and most intensively researched gravettia discovery sites in Central Europe. The 32,000-year-old double burial of two toddlers of early Homo sapiens is considered the world's oldest grave of this type.

About a hundred meters to the south-east there is another important find place of prehistory in Austria : Krems-Hundssteig .

Geographical location and topography

The Wachtberg is a spur-like offshoot of the Kuhberg , which extends in Krems on the northern bank of the Danube up to an altitude of 398  m above sea level. A. raises. Some of the loess deposits , which are up to 20 m thick in places , are designed as a 500 m × 500 m large terrace, slightly inclined to the southeast, from which there is a good view of the Tullnerfeld and the Wachau . Due to the sheltered location and the proximity to Krems and Danube, the Wachtberg offered the Paleolithic hunters and gatherers good conditions for the construction of what are presumably semi-permanent storage areas.

Today, large parts of the Wachtberg are designated as residential areas and are built on with single and multi-family houses; in the higher elevations, viticulture is predominantly practiced.

Finds before 1930

The earliest Ice Age finds on the Wachtberg are known from the year 1645, when mammoth bones were uncovered during the Swedish occupation while digging trenches , which were initially thought to be "incredibly large giants ". Even later, when building cellars and embankments, stone tools, remains of bones and charcoal came to light, a small part of which is still in school collections or in private property.

Excavation 1930

The house built on the Bayer excavation as seen from Schießstattgasse. The loess layer above the Bohemian Massif is about 8 meters thick here.

On March 24, 1930, the tenant of plot 217/4 48 ° 24 ′ 55 ″ N, 15 ° 35 ′ 57 ″ E (today Schießstattgasse 3) discovered a mammoth tusk, remains of a fireplace and several while laying a footpath on his property Stone Age tool blades. An employee of the Krems City Museum informed the archaeologist Josef Bayer who excavated the 15 m² site in July 1930 in a campaign that lasted only seven days. Bayer only documented the work in a handwritten excavation diary in which he also made three sketches on the stratigraphy and location of the larger finds. Karoline "Lotte" Adametz photographed the excavation activities and various plans . A copy of the excavation diary and twenty-two plate photos are now in the Prehistoric Department of the Natural History Museum in Vienna . In addition to the few surviving artefacts, they provided the only information available to the Austrian archaeologist Thomas Einwögerer for his reconstruction of the Bayer excavation carried out in the late 1990s. Almost seventy years after Bayer's death, he was able to publish a monograph of the excavation from 1930 for the first time in 2000 .

Evaluation of the findings, records and photos

From Bayer's notes and various photos, two ditches tapering towards each other and filled with ash and charcoal crumbs emerged, which allow two different interpretations of the original purpose of the site: On the one hand, it could have been the remains of a long-term dwelling, with in Supports made of large animal bones and mammoth tusks were wedged into the post holes, similar to the huts of Meshyrich . This is supported by the found tusk and the large number of stones that could have been used for wedging in the ground, as well as the arrangement of the filled trenches, which in this form probably formed the foundations of the hut or a drainage . On the other hand, it is possible that the trenches were the air ducts of a kiln, as they are known in the same period from the findings in Dolní Věstonice about 120 km away . In view of the two clay figure finds modeled from clay and fired and preserved in fragments (head of Ren or Saiga , front part of the trunk of a cave lion , both not clearly identifiable), this interpretation also seems plausible.

Of the more than 2,200 lithic artefacts that are kept in the Krems City Museum, only 209 pieces can be unequivocally assigned to the Bayer excavation; according to Joachim Hahn, most of them were mixed up with the Krems-Hundsteig finds from the Aurignacia period (removal of a loess wall 1893–1904) cannot be ruled out. After intensive examination of all parts Einwögerer could not confirm this assumption, even if next scrapers , frequently mikrolithisch knives executed and engravers as well as pavlovientypischen micro sawing a number of Dufour slats were. The raw materials used, radiolarite , silica limestone and chert, came mainly from local Danube gravel .

The remaining faunas were restored in Vienna between 1993 and 1997 and then evaluated by Florian A. Fladerer. From 28 individuals he had around 450 bones and teeth or their fragments for analysis. Mammoth (8 animals), wolf  (min. 6), red fox  (4), wolverine  (3), reindeer and ibex  (2 each), musk ox , red deer and arctic fox  (1 each) could be detected . The high number of mammoth calves captured is an indicator of a large and healthy population of this species at the time and makes it likely that the outdoor station will be used predominantly in the autumn and winter months. The fact that the long bones of the carnivores also have slaughter marks and were opened for marrow production shows that these animals were hunted both for fur and for food. Half of all Wolf mandibles show the " dog-like " tooth anomalies with slight shortening of the snout , which are already known from the Moravian sites of Předmostí and Dolní Věstonice . Often these changes are interpreted as evidence of the domestication of the wolf, but Fladerer suspects the cause more in a changed eating behavior, which resulted from an oversupply of carcass remains of large herbivores.

Excavations 2005–2015

Ivory flakes, clay figure, fingernail print

After the excavations on Hundssteig in Krems (2000–2002), the complex stratigraphy on the Wachtberg , which was often displaced by landslides, was to be examined in more detail and classified . For this purpose, the Institute for Geography and Regional Studies of the University of Vienna prospected several uphill, still undeveloped plots of land by means of numerous pile-driving drillings . At a distance of 40 meters from the Bayer excavation of 1930, plots 241/1 and 217/1 48 ° 24 ′ 54 ″ N, 15 ° 35 ′ 58 ″ E were found 5.5 meters below ground. The Austrian Academy of Sciences thereupon arranged an excavation in 2005, in the course of which an approx. 200 m² inspection horizon could be exposed in situ . In addition to several thousand stone artefacts and remains of fauna, two clay objects, each a fragment of ribs and tusks painted with red chalk , and two baby graves were recovered.

Burials

Reconstruction of the first grave pit

In September 2005, a mammoth shoulder blade was uncovered in the southeastern part of the excavation area, on the underside of which clear traces of processing could be seen: The shoulder bone had been removed by several evenly executed blows with a tool. Supported on the side on a chip made of mammoth ivory, this shoulder blade formed the cover of an oval grave pit in which the skeletal remains of two babies, some of which have been preserved in three dimensions, were (burial 1). These were presumably twins who died during or shortly after birth. Both were put down in a crouched position with their legs sharply bent, their skulls facing north, faces facing east. In the pelvic area of ​​the infant lying to the west, there were at least 35 ivory pearls that could have been part of a chain or belt. The scattering of ocher typical of Gravettian burials was also found here; the sharply defined color boundaries in the surrounding sediment also suggest that the children were wrapped in leather or fur before they were deposited. After the first on-site investigations, the grave pit was recovered en bloc and taken to the General Hospital of the City of Vienna for the production of CT images . The age determination and all other analyzes have since been carried out under the direction of Maria Teschler-Nicola in the Natural History Museum. After creating a 3D model with a stripe light scanner, work began in July 2015 to uncover the 32,000-year-old bones and artifacts from the grave block.

Another grave pit (burial 2) was uncovered in July 2006. At a distance of 1.5 m from burial 1 in the same horizon (AH 4.3) the bones of an approximately 3-month-old baby were found. Since no cover had been used here, Burial 2 was found to be in a less good state of preservation, but the identical type of storage with bent legs, ocher scattered and face facing east could be proven beyond doubt. In contrast to burial 1, the skull here faced south. A 7 cm long ivory needle exposed in the head area could have been used to close the fur or leather cover.

Excavation cellar

The excavation cellar seen from the northeast and in a simplified section The excavation cellar seen from the northeast and in a simplified section
The excavation cellar seen from the northeast and in a simplified section

In 2007 the excavation area was expanded in a westerly direction after the new owner of the adjoining parcel 212/4 48 ° 24 ′ 54 ″ N, 15 ° 35 ′ 58 ″ E (today Josef-Kinzl-Gasse 7) had given his consent. There, the archaeologists came across a fireplace surrounded by several cooking pits, which had different tile horizons and was probably the center of the storage area used around 27,000 years ago. The construction of a single-family house was planned to start in July 2008 and in the meantime more of the surrounding plots - which are still urgently needed for the disposal of overburden and sediment sludge - were for sale. After it was not possible to find sponsors for their acquisition despite intensive efforts, the excavation work threatened to stop. Only after the governor of Lower Austria intervened in the negotiations with the landowners was it possible to find a suitable compromise: A deep cellar under the new building financed by the state of Lower Austria with 350,000 euros should enable the excavations to continue until the end of 2015 and then become the property of the Pass homeowners. In return, all claims to the finds are awarded to the State of Lower Austria, only the scientific rights remain with the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In autumn 2008, the archaeological investigation and removal of the areas later claimed by the basement foundations (around 30 m²) was started, so that the 8 m × 10 m excavation cellar could be completed in the following winter.

stratigraphy

AH 4 with stone artifacts, bone fragments and charcoal AH 4 and GH 25 in profile
AH 4 with stone artifacts, bone fragments and charcoal
AH 4 and GH 25 in profile

Under the plow horizon covered with a thin layer of humus , in the north profile of the excavation at an altitude between 258 m and 250 m above sea level. A. A total of 38 different geological horizons  (GH) can be distinguished, which lay on a layer of early Pleistocene gravel . The build-up of the loess deposits indicated rapid, continuous sedimentation , with no traces of soil formation to be seen. Periods with humid climatic conditions can be derived from a gray color, while erosive processes can be derived from the sandy consistency of the strata concerned. The archaeological Horizonzte (AH) with the up to 15 cm thick gravettia find layers were between 253 m and 252 m above sea level. A. and thus about 4 m below the level of the excavation in 1930. The horizons AH 4.1 and AH 4.11 were shifted horizontally and vertically by soil flow and mixing , so that they lay above the main find layer AH 4.4, which was about 1000 years younger. About 20 cm above AH 4.4, GH 25 was a very fine, double band of organic ash , presumably due to steppe fires , which was previously detected in the gravettia profiles of Krems-Hundssteig and in numerous drill cores from previous prospections. The uncalibrated 14 C age of this important stratigraphic biomarker was 26,050 ± 200 BP .

See also

literature

  • C. Neugebauer-Maresch , T. Einwögerer, U. Simon, M. Handel: The “excavation cellar” from the Wachtberg in Krems. A unique piece for research. , Archeology of Austria Volume 23/1, year 2012
  • T. Einwögerer, U. Simon: Two paleolithic infant burials on the Danube , Archeology in Germany Volume 3, year 2011
  • C. Neugebauer-Maresch, Linda R. Owen: New Aspects of the Central and Eastern European Upper Palaeolithic - methods, chronology, technology and subsistence , Announcements of the Prehistoric Commission, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2010
  • M. Händel, U. Simon, T. Einwögerer, C. Neugebauer-Maresch: New excavations at Krems-Wachtberg - approaching a well-preserved Gravettian settlement site in the middle Danube region , Quartär Volume 56, year 2009
  • Florian A. Fladerer: The remains of fauna from the Upper Paleolithic Krems-Wachtberg camp site, excavation 1930. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2001
  • Thomas Einwögerer: The Upper Palaeolithic station on the Wachtberg in Krems, Lower Austria. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2000

Web links

Commons : Krems-Wachtberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b science.orf.at: Stone Age babies from Krems are exposed , accessed on July 27, 2015
  2. ↑ S. Handschuh: The rock and rubble artifacts of the Krems-Wachtberg Gravettienstation . Vienna 2013.
  3. ↑ a b C. Neugebauer-Maresch, T. Einwögerer, U. Simon, M. Handel: Archeology Austria, edition 23/1 2012: The “excavation cellar” from the Wachtberg in Krems . Austrian Society for Prehistory, Vienna 2012.
  4. ^ A b C. Neugebauer-Maresch: First results of the new excavations in Krems-Hundssteig as part of a project of the Austrian. Academy of Sciences . Preistoria Alpina, Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Trento 2003.
  5. ↑ JE Ziehaus: The flint industries of Gravettian reference Krems - Wachtberg (Lower Austria) . Vienna 2008.
  6. ↑ a b c Thomas Einwögerer: The Upper Palaeolithic station on the Wachtberg in Krems, Lower Austria . Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2000.
  7. ^ FA Fladerer: The remains of fauna from the Upper Paleolithic Krems-Wachtberg camp site, excavation 1930 . Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2001.
  8. ↑ C. Neugebauer-Maresch: Archeology Austria, Edition 19/1 2008: stones, bytes and babies. Projects Krems-Wachtberg since 2005 . Austrian Society for Pre- and Protohistory, Vienna 2008.
  9. ↑ M. Händel, U. Simon, T. Einwögerer, C. Neugebauer-Maresch: New excavations at Krems-Wachtberg - approaching a well-preserved Gravettian settlement site in the middle Danube region . Quaternary Volume 56, Rahden 2009.
  10. ↑ M. Handel, T. Einwögerer, U. Simon: Krems-Wachtberg - A Gravettian Settlement Site in the Middle Danube Region . Office of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria, St. Pölten 2008.
  11. ↑ T. Einwögerer, U. Simon: Archeology Austria, edition 19/1 2008: The gravettia discovery site Krems-Wachtberg . Austrian Society for Pre- and Protohistory, Vienna 2008.
  12. ↑ T. Einwögerer, U. Simon: Archeology in Germany, issue 3/2011: Two Paleolithic infant burials on the Danube . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2011.
  13. ↑ derStandard.at: Oldest burial in Austria no longer threatened by house builders , accessed on January 8, 2015
  14. ↑ M. Handel, U. Simon, T. Einwögerer, C. Neugebauer-Maresch: Loess deposits and the conservation of the archaeological record - The Krems-Wachtberg example . Quaternary International, 2008.
  15. ↑ T. Einwögerer, M. Händel, U. Simon, A. Masur, C. Neugebauer-Maresch: Upper Palaeolithic occupation in the Wachtberg area of ​​Krems: The evidence of surveys sections and core samples . Quaternary International, 2014.

Coordinates: 48 ° 25 '  N , 15 ° 36'  E