Mesolithic site in Rottenburg-Siebenlinden

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mesolithic site Rottenburg-Siebenlinden is an archaeological site in the Siebenlinden district of Rottenburg am Neckar ( Baden-Württemberg ). The findings uncovered since 1990 in the run-up to construction work are several Mesolithic ( Mesolithic ) storage areas, which are designated as Rottenburg-Siebenlinden 1-5 .

In addition to the enormous abundance of finds, which include a multitude of stone artefacts, tools and animal and plant remains, the associated fireplace, the locations of the dwellings and various workplaces in their use can be proven here thanks to the exceptionally good preservation. Siebenlinden is of particular importance because it is one of the few open-air stations of the Mesolithic that can still be accessed .

Research history

In 1987 an Iron Age settlement was discovered during construction work in the Rottenburg industrial area Siebenlinden ; later excavations in 1990 discovered further traces of settlement from the Hallstatt and La Tène periods , and Neolithic remains were also found . The Mesolithic find horizons were only noticed later, when reddish discoloration of the soil, which was associated with flint artifacts , was uncovered at the bottom of a settlement pit, which was identified as a fireplace.
The subsequent excavation, aimed at the Mesolithic layers, produced the Siebenlinden 1 site. In 1991, another complex was uncovered 80 meters south of Siebenlinden 1, which was named Siebenlinden 2, as well as another site, Siebenlinden 3, 85 meters to the south-southeast Removal of Siebenlinden 1. In 2001, Siebenlinden 4 was added, until 2004 also supplemented by Siebenlinden 5. The investigation and evaluation of the finds has not yet been fully completed, so some of the faunistic remains have not yet been clearly identified.

Stratigraphy and dating

The soil in Siebenlinden consists of flood sediments that rest on larger layers of river gravel. The stratigraphy in Rottenburg-Siebenlinden is relatively clearly divided. The existing layers comprise nine sediment zones, which in turn are subdivided into a total of eight find horizons . In some cases, the horizons between the individual find complexes overlap strongly, which is why Siebenlinden 3 to 5 are also referred to together below. If it was initially assumed that the individual areas would have to be different stations, today it is evident that large parts of them are probably larger, connected stations.
Siebenlinden 1 has two find horizons, horizon I dated in Beuronia C, horizon II in Beuronia B. Horizont I in Siebenlinden 2, the only find horizon of Siebenlinden 2, dated like horizon I in Siebenlinden 1 in Beuronia C. Siebenlinden 3 to 5 lead again four archaeological horizons, only three of which fall into the Mesolithic. Horizont I has a wide variety of finds, which range from the Neolithic to the present day, Horizont Iu belongs purely to the Neolithic. Horizon II is late Mesolithic, Horizon III falls in Beuronia C and thus corresponds to Horizons I in Siebenlinden 1 and 2. The last archaeological horizon to be named is Horizon IV from Beuronia B, which in turn corresponds to Horizon II in Siebenlinden 1.
Up to the year 2003, 14 C-dates were available for 15 objects , a total of 13 of these measurements matched the period assumed for the respective find horizon. The two unsuitable results contradict the presumed dating, but probably only got into the relevant layers through interference in the stratigraphy, for example a 125-year-old sheep bone found in horizon I in Siebenlinden 2. There are now at least 60 14 C dates, which also largely confirm the assumed temporal classifications.

Finds

Well over 5000 flint artifacts were found in Siebenlinden. The three largest inventories come from Horizon II from Siebenlinden 1, Siebenlinden 2 and Horizon II from Siebenlinden 3. These three find concentrations date to different epochs, so the finds from Horizon II from Siebenlinden 1 belong to the older Boreal , Siebenlinden 2 at the end des Boreal or the beginning of the Atlantic and Horizon II from Siebenlinden 3 dated to the middle Atlantic. 98% of the pieces are made of shell limestone chert or Jurassic hornstone . The shell limestone was probably collected near the storage area, and the rarer pieces of quartz or quartzite are also of regional origin. The situation is different with the Jura chimney, which is available in two variants. The first variant, namely Weissjurahornstein does not occur in the region, the closest distribution area of ​​this rock is 20 kilometers away. The second variant is brown chert, which also occurs only 50 kilometers away from Siebenlinden, so this material can also be considered an imported raw material. The different raw materials are represented in all find horizons, but with different frequencies, so in horizon II of Siebenlinden 1 70% white Jura maple can be found, while in horizon II of Siebenlinden 3 it is only 40%. The basic shapes of the unmodified blades do not differ to any great extent. The majority of these objects are broken, and some are complete. There are only insignificant differences between the inventories; almost all blades are 2 to 3 cm long and on average between 7 and 9 mm wide and 2 to 3 mm thick. Not only the basic shapes, but also the kernels hardly vary. Almost every inventory in Siebenlinden contains many tempered artifacts, in Horizon II of Siebenlinden 1 even 67% of the artifacts have been affected by fire.
The modified artifacts are typical of the Mesolithic, there are the classic geometrical forms of the microliths , there are also a large number of macroliths . In the macrolithic devices, the laterally retouched blades and knives predominate, which occur in all horizons. Some pieces only appear once, for example a knocker that was made from a residual core. There are also device forms that are atypical for the Mesolithic in Baden-Württemberg, for example burins . Different forms of microliths are characteristic of the find horizons, these exist in all find horizons with the exception of horizon I in Siebenlinden 1. The late Mesolithic Horizon II in Siebenlinden 3 has trapezoidal square microliths, predominantly these are very regular in their design, triangular microliths are missing. Horizon III and Horizon IV of Siebenlinden 3 contain mainly triangular microliths, eight of the thirteen microliths found in Horizon III are unequal, whereas five of the seven microliths in Horizon IV are dominated by the isosceles. The inventory of the single horizon in Siebenlinden 2 consists, as in the temporally corresponding horizon III in Siebenlinden 3, for the most part of unequal triangular microliths. Finally, Horizon II in Siebenlinden I, the most extensive finding with 36 microliths, is mentioned here, as in the corresponding Horizon IV in Siebenlinden 3, isosceles triangular microliths are present.
The rock artifacts, i.e. those stone artifacts that do not consist of flint, also form a large group of finds. In the case of linden trees, the material is usually shell limestone or Keupers sandstone. Artifacts from rock exist in Horizon I of Siebenlinden 1, where a blowstone was found, in Horizon II of Siebenlinden 1, for example, there are blowstones and grinding plates, and in Siebenlinden 2, where a hammer, chopping tools and a grooved stone were discovered. Also of importance is a splinter from a cut stone ax , which was in horizon III in Siebenlinden 4, and thus comes from Beuronia C and is one of the earliest cut objects.
Another finding are different forms of fireplace, a total of four variants can be distinguished. There are ground-level fireplaces without any construction, as well as those with a stone border, there is also a type in which only a shallow hollow was created in the ground, which is paved with river rubble. This last group also represents the most complicated construction, the paved hearths were probably cleaned again and again.
In Siebenlinden there is an above-average amount of botanical remains for a site with mineral soil. The material found consists exclusively of charred plant remains, either in the form of charcoal or burnt fruits and seeds. The finds include maple , hazel , elm , ash , beech , oak , pine , fir and other deciduous and coniferous woods that are not precisely identified . There are also remnants of Rutenmelde , turnip cabbage , raspberry , hazelnut , goose foot , knotweed and crab apple . In particular, hazelnut shells are found in considerable numbers, which is typical for Mesolithic sites.
Faunistic remains were to be found in all horizons, the excavations in Siebenlinden 3 alone found over a thousand bones, mostly these were damaged, probably because the marrow was removed from them. A wide variety of species are represented, for example pieces of bone from the roe deer , red deer , wild boar , beaver or mole to those from the aurochs or other unspecified species, and several types of birds can be detected. The species spectrum varies from horizon to horizon, so in horizon III of Siebenlinden 3 there are predominantly wild boar fragments and in horizon II of Siebenlinden 3 there are animal species that cannot be detected in other layers, such as the elk or even a mussel . What is striking is the lack of fish , despite the proximity of the water, with the exception of a pearlfish tooth . Pearl fish are not found in the Neckar . So it is hardly a coincidentally obtained part of a captured animal, but rather a part deliberately brought into the warehouse, possibly as jewelry. This fact was explained by the presence of domestic dogs , documented in Siebenlinden 1 and 2, which could have enjoyed the remains of the fish. The dogs are also held responsible for the presence of the bones of some animal species that do not belong to the normal range of prey of humans, such as the mole, so the dogs could have brought the carcasses of these animals to the campsite. Of particular interest are two metatarsus fragments from Horizon II of Siebenlinden 1, which belong to a reindeer, an animal that cannot be detected anywhere else in the high boreal region of Central Europe.
There are only a small number of bone and antler artefacts, in total there are probably a good dozen objects, most of the pieces come from Horizon II from Siebenlinden 1. The types of objects represented include axes made from deer antlers, boar or beaver tooth knives, smoothers and chisels made of deer bones, as well as artifacts that cannot be specified but are obviously deliberately carved out.

Functional areas

Due to the good preservation of the storage areas in the clay layers, different functional areas can be identified in the archaeological horizons of Siebenlinden.
In the horizon I of Siebenlinden 1 it is hardly possible to make any statements about the function of individual areas, the fireplace was probably enclosed by a dwelling, stone artifact production cannot be proven here, and no hunted prey was dismantled here, which inferred from the almost complete absence of skull bones probably only food was prepared in the dwelling. Horizon II is much more clearly structured, here three functional areas could be identified, all with stone artefacts and the cutting of hunted prey, fireplaces were found in two of the areas, and a large number of hazelnut shells were found in one of the areas with fireplaces.
Siebenlinden 2 can be subdivided into five areas, four of them with stone artefact production, two of the zones with stone artefact production could also have been used for food preparation, in another of these areas the cutting up of hunt took place. A total of four fireplaces were found, three of which were in the areas with stone artefacts, one in the fifth area, which was probably used for rehab, retooling and antler artefact production.
In Horinzont II of Siebenlinden 3 there are numerous areas with different functions, there are three fireplaces, each of which has two zones. A fireplace has two areas with stone artefact production, on the other two a zone with stone artefact production is associated either with an area that was used for antler processing or for reafting and retooling. Hunting took place in two areas on the edge of the camp. The Horizon III has a zone in which there was probably a dwelling, in this area rehafting and retooling took place as well as food preparation, there are also two fire places. Another zone was used for the production of stone artefacts or for rehab and retooling, and hunting prey was also dismantled here. Also worth mentioning is an area in which there was only rubbish, probably from the fire pits. Finally, Horizon IV should be mentioned, where only two areas can be made out, one for cutting up the hunted prey and one for producing stone artefacts.

More recent finds

In addition to the Mesolithic finds in Siebenlinden, there are also a large number of finds that can be dated more recently. This younger find layer can only be found in Siebenlinden 3, the reason for this is likely to be the removal of the upper sediment layers in Siebenlinden 1 and 2, which was carried out before the excavations.
Horizont I von Siebenlinden 3 carries a wide variety of recent objects, these range from modern ceramic remains and iron objects to Latène and Neolithic ceramics, whereby only one of the vessels is in a condition that allows closer classification. This lean vessel was probably a funnel pot, similar to those of the Schwieberdinger or the Schussenried culture . Horizont Iu, which is a kind of "intermediate horizon" from horizon I to horizon II, contains some Neolithic stone artifacts, for example a blade with a glossy lacquer and two drills. The Neolithic finds from Horizont Iu are mostly attributed to the linear ceramic band due to their proximity to the late Mesolithic Horizont II , but the attribution cannot be considered certain.

literature

  • Petra Kieselbach, Claus-Joachim Kind (ed.): Siebenlinden 2. A mesolithic storage area near Rottenburg am Neckar, Tübingen district . (= Material booklets for archeology in Baden-Württemberg. Booklet 51). Theiss, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8062-1432-8 .
  • Claus-Joachim Kind: The Mesolithic in the Neckar floodplain. The sites of Rottenburg Siebenlinden 1 and 3 . (= Research and reports on prehistory and early history in Baden-Württemberg. Volume 88). Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1788-2 .
  • Claus-Joachim Kind, Thomas Beutelspacher, Eva David, Elisabeth Stephan: The Mesolithic in the Neckar floodplain 2 - The scattering of finds from Siebenlinden 3, 4 and 5. (= research and reports on prehistory and early history in Baden-Württemberg, volume 125 ). Theiss, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8062-2794-9 .

Web links

Coordinates: 48 ° 28 '44 "  N , 8 ° 57' 8.3"  E