Petrus Hill
The Petrushügel is a Neolithic settlement in the municipality of Cazis in the Swiss canton of Graubünden .
location
The striking flattened hill at the foot of the Heinzenberg is located in the north of the village of Cazis, west of Realta, around 80 meters above the valley floor at an altitude of 740 meters. It can be easily reached on foot in fifteen minutes from the small road that runs along the foot of the hill.
Digs
In 1938/1939 Walo Burkart discovered traces of a Neolithic settlement on the hill plateau. He interpreted the finds as the remains of hearths and huts, including a one-meter-deep pit house and a fortification with palisade. The ceramic finds were assigned to the Horgen culture . In addition, Burkart hid about 200 limestone «stone saws», some grindstones, stone axes made of serpentinite , many frames made of deer antlers and artefacts made of antlers, bones and rock crystal. The numerous "saw plates" made Burkart think of an almost "commercial serpentinite saw".
In 1981/1982 the prehistoric seminar of the University of Zurich carried out excavations, during which further discoveries were made. Margarita Primas, who accompanied and documented the excavations, questioned Burkart's interpretations of hut constructions. She identified the «Neolithic fortifications» he observed as dry masonry from the late Middle Ages .
From all the finds, Primas concluded that there was probably no year-round settlement on St. Peter's Hill, but that the place was used seasonally for hunting, pasture, stone and antler processing. C-14 dating showed that the site on St. Peter's Hill can be dated to the later Neolithic, i.e. to the late 4th and early 3rd millennium BC. Chr.
Finds
The findings shown are the Rhaetian Museum issued
Poles and rungs made of deer antler
Heavy clay type Horgen
Animal teeth
literature
- Margarita Primas: Cazis-Petrushügel in Graubünden. Zurich 1985.
- Handbook of Graubünden history. Volume 1. Verlag Bündner Monatsblatt, Chur 2005, p. 21f.
- Andreas C. Zürcher: Prehistoric sites in Graubünden. Series of publications by the Rätisches Museum, No. 27. Chur 1982, p. 22.
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 44 '1.1 " N , 9 ° 25' 20.7" E ; CH1903: 751614 / 177743