Linear ceramic settlement of Niedernstöcken
The line ceramic settlement Niedernstöcken is a Neolithic settlement in Niedernstöcken , a district of Neustadt am Rübenberge in Lower Saxony . The settlement from around 5300-5100 BC. BC is assigned to the linear ceramic culture , which was the first rural culture from around 5500 BC. Widespread in Central Europe. Although the culture usually only occurs in areas with fertile loess soils , it is found in Niedernstöcken in the north German lowlands about 50 km north of the loess border.
Reference
The site is on a field on the northern outskirts of Niedernstöcken on the lower terrace of the Leine and on the western bank of the river. It is around 1100 meters from the current course of the Leine and around 300 meters from the edge of the river valley.
description
The settlement was discovered in 2015 when an agricultural building was being built. A rescue excavation took place over several days by an excavation company . Because of its particular scientific importance, the investigation was supported by the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation . The findings included numerous trash and post pits that were found at a depth of 50 cm below the surface of the earth. House floor plans could not be recognized with certainty. Among the salvaged finds many were artifacts of flint in the form of 200 flint . The inventory largely corresponds to that of other linear ceramic sites in the Leinetal south of Hanover . Other finds were three stone adzes , a spindle whorl , grindstone fragments , burnt clay and around 700 pieces of line-decorated ceramics. The decorations appear as V-shaped incised lines as well as punctures and finger dots. The ceramics can largely be assigned to the younger Flomborn stage , which in the Rhineland dates from between 5300 and 5125 BC. Is dated. Investigations on organic material using the radiocarbon method essentially confirmed this period.
Since only a small area was examined during the excavation and further finds were to be expected in the immediate vicinity, a geophysical prospecting was carried out , covering an area of 5000 m². Patterns emerged in the floor, which could be house floor plans. They suggest a larger area of the settlement. In 2018 the seminar for prehistory at the University of Göttingen carried out a geomagnetic survey on an area of 24,000 m². The results of the investigation indicated an intensive settlement of the area.
rating
The settlement is the first known linear ceramic settlement in Lower Saxony, which is located in the North German lowlands north of the loess zone of the Lower Saxony mountainous region . The next secured settlement areas for this culture are around 50 km south in Sarstedt and Bründeln . According to today's knowledge, linear band ceramists only settled on loess soils. The archaeologists assume that they settled on the site near today's Niedernstöcken, as it corresponded to the conditions in the southern loess areas with good tillage, high fertility and far from flooding.
A current research desideratum is the Neolithization processes in the Lower Saxony lowlands north of the loess border. At the time of the existence of the settlement around 5200 BC, the area persisted. In all probability also late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups . This raises the question of possible contacts between Mesolithic artists and ceramic farmers. Researchers therefore recommend further excavations to investigate the Niedernstöcken site.
literature
- Klaus Gerken, Hildegard Nelson: Niedernstöcken 21 - Line ceramic expansion area beyond the loess line in the land of hunters and gatherers? in: News from Lower Saxony's Prehistory 85, 2016, p. 31 ff. ( Online )
- Clemens Ludwig, Alexandra Philippi: Niedernstöcken 2.0. Geomagnetic prospecting on a linear ceramic settlement beyond the loess distribution. in: Archeology in Lower Saxony 22, 2019, pp. 115–118 ( online )
Web links
- Kathrin Götze: Finds from the Neolithic in Neue Presse from May 22, 2015
Coordinates: 52 ° 39 ′ 13.8 " N , 9 ° 34 ′ 20.3" E