Kemathen Warriors

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reconstruction of the grave of the warrior von Kemathen in the museum
Warrior skull
Upper half of his skeleton

The warrior of Kemathen was a Germanic mercenary in the service of the Roman army , who was honored in the first half of the 5th century in the Limes foothills near the present-day town of Kemathen near Kipfenberg in the Upper Bavarian district of Eichstätt. The individual grave, which was discovered in 1990, contained not only parts of the skeleton of the 30-year-old man, but also numerous grave objects that distinguish him as a Roman officer as well as a Germanic tribal leader of the Friedenhain-Přešťovice group . His skeleton and the grave finds are together with a faithful replica of the grave complex in the Roman and Bavarian Museum in Kipfenberg.

Location of the grave

The warrior grave was discovered on September 28, 1990 on the occasion of a land consolidation measure in the corridor of Kemathen, a district of the Kipfenberg market. It is located in the Altmühltal about 25 km north of the then Roman imperial border, which at that time was relocated back to the Danube. The site is centrally located in the distribution area of ​​the Friedenhain-Přešťovice group , an archaeological group of finds from the 5th century in Bohemia and Bavaria, which is assigned to the so-called Elbe Germanic circle due to its ceramics .

funeral

In contrast to the usual cremation, the man received an elaborate body burial in a richly furnished individual grave. This illustrates the prominent social position of the dead. The wooden chamber grave was originally covered by a hill and thus clearly visible to everyone. It was located on the edge of a settlement that existed at the same time and was almost 3 m² in size. The dead person was placed in a stretched supine position almost north-south, with the head facing north. Originally he was lying on an animal hide, in full gear and clothing.

Equipment of the grave

The man's clothing and grave goods are culturally inconsistent and point to both Germanic and Roman customs. On the left side of the dead man was a three-inch long, wide iron sword that was sheathed and encircled by his left arm. A sword bead was found in the area of ​​the sword hilt , which was cut in the shape of a disk from the rose of a deer antler. The sword came from a Roman workshop.

On his left ring finger he wore a ring made of strong, spirally wound silver wire. In addition, a two-row crest was found and a chert artifact that had once served as a flint. Both were probably kept in a belt pouch that has not been preserved. Around the body the deceased wore a 10 cm wide, magnificent Roman military belt with bronze fittings, which was made in northeastern Gaul and subsequently repaired and supplemented in Raetia near the burial site.

A simple iron bow brooch was found on his right shoulder that held his cloak together. A pocket with an iron knife was found on the back. The shield was placed above the head , of which only the handle and the cone-shaped shield boss have been preserved. They are both made of iron, with the tip of the shield boss made of bronze. Iron fittings were also found at the head end, presumably from an "officers' chest".

Also on the left side of his body were the food additions, somewhat separated: the bones of a young pig. A 18.5 cm high Roman pointed beaker with a thread made of greenish-yellow glass. Five handmade, dark brown to black clay pots. Two bowls , a mug, a plate with a stand ring and a large bowl of the Friedenhain type. The latter has sloping fluting on the fold , the raised ribs of which are profiled.

Temporal and biographical classification

Based on the glass vessel, the man's death is dated to the first half or the middle of the 5th century. The man was above average, slim, and died between the ages of 25-30. Accordingly, he lived in late antiquity in the last decades of the Western Roman Empire during the so-called migration of peoples after the invasion of the Huns in Europe around 375. An analysis of the man's approximately 1,600 year old DNA , with which his age and origin are more precisely determined has not yet been carried out. A more precise dating of the skeletal remains by means of C14 analysis is still pending.

The finds of sword, shield, belt and drinking cup made of glass prove that the dead man was a Roman officer. On the other hand, clay pots, silver rings, iron brooches and pig bones as well as the body burial with full armament mark the dead as Germanic chief. In the 4th and 5th centuries it was not uncommon for Germans to serve in the late Roman army.

Assignment to the Bavarians

The "warrior of Kemathen" is often referred to as the first " Baiuware ". But he is definitely not, but a Germanic chief who served in the late Roman army, returned to the border region north of the Danube and was buried there about 100 years before the Baiuwaren was even mentioned. The Kemathen warrior grave is the first body grave to be found by the Friedenhain group in Bavaria. However, whether the Friedenhain group is considered to be the origin of Baiuwaren is a traditional hypothesis that is being questioned by modern research.

Presentation of the excavation finds

In order to present the excavation finds, the Roman and Bavarian Museum was founded at Kipfenberg Castle. Since 1999 it has been showing the original finds and the reconstructed skeleton from the warrior grave in Kemathen, as well as a faithful replica of the grave complex. In addition, excavation finds from the area of ​​the Roman fort Böhming and a model of this fort are shown in the museum .

literature

  • Karl Heinz Rieder : The warrior grave of Kemathen. A high-ranking Teuton of the early 5th century with numerous attributes of a Roman officer. In: Bavarian Archeology . Volume 2017, number 3, pp. 23-27.
  • Brigitte Haas-Gebhard : The Baiuvaren: Archeology and history. Pustet, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7917-2482-9 .
  • Roland Gschlößl: The "real" Bavarians have long since died out ... In: Bavarian Archeology . Year 2011, number 1, pp. 16–21.
  • Hubert Fehr: Thoughts on the beginnings of the Bavarians with special consideration of the Ingolstadt area. In: Bavaria and Ingolstadt in the Carolingian era (= contributions to the history of Ingolstadt. Volume 5). City of Ingolstadt [u. a.], Ingolstadt 2008, ISBN 978-3-932113-51-2 , pp. 89-99.
  • Bernd Steidl : Contemporary of the Nibelungs - The warrior of Kemathen. In: Archeology in Bavaria: Window to the past. Pustet, Regensburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-7917-2002-9 , p. 234.
  • Karl Heinz Rieder: Kemathen - The first real Bajuware. In: Bavarian cooperative calendar. 1998, pp. 88–91 ( online ).
  • Erwin Keller , Karl Heinz Rieder: A Germanic warrior burial of the early 5th century AD from Kemathen. In: The Archaeological Year in Bavaria . Born in 1991, published in 1992, pp. 132-137.

Web links

Commons : Krieger von Kemathen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 24 f.
  2. ↑ Steidl 2006
  3. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 24 f.
  4. ^ Rieder 1998
  5. ↑ Steidl 2006
  6. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 25
  7. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 25
  8. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 24 f.
  9. ↑ Keller, Rieder 1992, p. 133
  10. ↑ Steidl 2006
  11. ↑ Haas-Gebhard 2013, p. 60
  12. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 24 f.
  13. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 25
  14. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 25
  15. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 25
  16. ↑ Keller, Rieder 1992, p. 134
  17. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 25
  18. ^ Rieder 1998
  19. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 23
  20. ↑ Fehr 2008, p. 94
  21. ↑ Steidl 2006
  22. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 24
  23. ↑ Haas-Gebhard 2013, p. 58 ff.
  24. ↑ Haas-Gebhard 2013, p. 60
  25. ↑ Rieder 2017, p. 24
  26. ↑ Gschlößl 2011, p. 16
  27. ^ Fehr 2008
personal data
SURNAME Kemathen Warriors
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Germanic mercenary in the service of the Roman army
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century
DATE OF DEATH 5th century