Pohlsberg

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Coordinates: 51 ° 48 ′ 11.2 "  N , 11 ° 48 ′ 37.1"  E

Pohlsberg
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The Pohlsberg near Latdorf

The Pohlsberg near Latdorf

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Pohlsberg (Saxony-Anhalt)
Pohlsberg
When 3900-750 BC BC, Early , Late and End Neolithic , Late Bronze Age
Where Nienburg (Saale) , OT Latdorf in Saxony-Anhalt , Germany

The Pohlsberg is a burial mound of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in Latdorf , a district of Nienburg (Saale) in the Salzlandkreis , Saxony-Anhalt, used during several phases . The oldest grave on the hill comes from the Baalberg culture (3900-3400 BC). Other burials were later by Walter Nienburger Culture (3350-3100 v. Chr.), The Globular Amphora (3100-2650 v. Chr.), The Corded Ware (2800-2050 v. Chr.) And the Late Bronze Age Saale estuary group (1300-750 v . Chr.) Created. In 1904 an excavation took place on Pohlsberg under the direction of Paul Höfer . The finds are now in the Bernburg Castle Museum .

location

Prehistoric grave monuments near Bernburg, which were integrated into the fortification of a Swedish army camp in 1644. Green: large stone graves, red: burial mounds, orange: structures destroyed today (probably burial mounds)

The Pohlsberg is located southeast of Latdorf. In the area there are some other preserved burial mounds, about 1.5 km east of the Pfingstberg and 1.5 km west of the Spitze Hoch , 2.6 km southeast of Weddegast the Fuchsberg , 4 km south of Baalberge the Schneiderberg and 8, The Stockhof burial mound near Gröna is 3 km southwest . The presumed burial mounds of Gorrenberg , Leerberg and Trappenberg between Gerbitz and Latdorf were probably not destroyed until the 20th century . There are also three large stone graves in the vicinity : 1.5 km east of the Pohlsberg the Steinerne Hütte and 3 km north of the Heringsberg near Grimschleben and the Bierberg near Gerbitz. The Schneiderberg is of particular importance here, as it has a very similar cultural sequence of use to the Pohlsberg.

Maps from the 17th century show that the Swedish general Lennart Torstensson set up an army camp near Bernburg in 1644 during the Thirty Years War , which enclosed Latdorf and the Heringsberg, the Bierberg, (possibly) the Gorrenberg, the Leerberg, the Trappenberg, the Pohlsberg and used the Pfingstberg as viewpoints for the bastions of the fortification.

A Bronze Age stone box was discovered just 28 m north of the Pohlsberg .

Research history

Excavation at Pohlsberg (1904)

Since the hill was acutely threatened by gravel mining , the Bernburg Antiquities Association decided in 1904 to carry out an excavation, which was carried out in September of the same year under the direction of Paul Höfer. At the height of the hill bottom towards the center, ten cuts with a width of about 2 m each were initially made: two from the east, three each from north and south and one each from the southeast and northeast. The cuts were later given numbers, from which the numbering of the graves found in them was partly derived. Subsequently, another cut was made on the north side and three on the west side, but they remained empty.

description

The hill

Cross-section and plan of the hill
Finds from the Pohlsberg
Finds from the Pohlsberg
Information board from the Archeology Working Group in the Bernburger Land eV

The elongated hill is oriented roughly east-west. It has a length of 40 m, a width of 18 m and an average height of 4 m. The hill rests on a layer of gravel, but is itself made of humus soil. In addition, an approx. 15 m long extension of the hill was found in the west by an embankment of sand. Activities in a neighboring gravel pit have damaged its western end. In addition, the mound is heavily interspersed with rabbit burrows, which means that burial remains and grave goods were partially relocated. After the excavation was completed, all of the cuts were filled in again and the external appearance of the hill was restored to its original state. A stone ax made of dark gray syenite with a length of 7.7 cm and a width of 5.3 cm at the edge and 3.2 cm at the neck was found. Höfer suspected that it came from the upper grave of the Cord Ceramic Culture (see below), since an ax made of the same material was discovered there.

The central plate grave of the Baalberg culture

The original grave of the Baalberg culture in the middle of the hill was built above a slight natural elevation. The gravel layer is about 0.8 m higher at this point than at the edges of the hill. The grave itself was built about 0.6 m above the layer of gravel. It is oriented roughly east-west and has a trapezoidal stone enclosure made of granite slabs. Its width is 6.45 m on the eastern narrow side. The northern long side could be followed over a length of 25 m, the southern only 19.5 m. At this point their distance had decreased to 4.25 m. A western narrow side could not be determined. The eastern narrow side of the enclosure consists of eight stones. An overturned enclosure stone was 1.4 m long. The gaps between the boulders were filled with smaller stones.

The burial chamber is located approximately on the center line between the two long sides of the enclosure . It is 2.4 m away from the northern long side, 2.3 m from the southern long side and 3.9 m from the eastern narrow side. The chamber is covered with a 2 m long and 1 m wide slab of sandstone, which is 0.24 m thick in the west and 0.4 m in the east. The wall panels are also made of sandstone. The southern one has a length of 1.62 m, a height of 0.95 m and a thickness of 0.12 m. The northern one has a length of 1.76 m, a height of 0.95 m and a thickness of 0.16 m. The two plates on the narrow side are 0.2 and 0.28 cm thick. The joints between the panels were covered with clay . The southern wall panel had an outer support structure, consisting of three panels standing next to each other, on which in turn an inclined panel and a 0.5 m long, 0.5 m wide and 0.36 m high stone were supported. The inside of the burial chamber has an east-west length of 1.42 m, a north-south width of 0.7 m and a height of 0.95 m.

By breaking out the western half of the southern wall plate, the excavators got inside the chamber. Only a few very porous bone fragments remained from the funeral, mostly tubular bones and joint ends. The only burial object was a jug found in the northeast corner . It has a height of 17.5 cm, a maximum diameter of 16.3 cm and a mouth diameter of 8.5 cm. The belly-shoulder line is rounded and the mouth curves slightly outwards. A band of small notches runs around the neck and shoulder break, which is a special feature, since Baalberger ceramics are mostly undecorated.

Locations A and B

In the eastern hill area, about 19 m east and 6 m south of the center, directly on the bed of the mound or 1.25 m below the surface, the excavators came across a sandstone slab (site A) with a layer of ash as well as human and animal bones was covered, but otherwise had no other finds. About 3 m to the north of it was another 0.7 m sandstone slab, which was completely without any findings.

Another, inclined, north-south oriented sandstone slab was discovered nearby (site B). It had a length of 1.55 m, a height of almost 1.0 m and a thickness of 0.5 m. It was inclined to the east at an angle of about 45 °. At the southern end, stone packings were attached to the west. The underside of the plate remained empty. At the lower end of its upper side, however, numerous ceramic shards were found, from which three vessels could be reconstructed, one of which can certainly be assigned to the Walternienburg culture. It is a gray amphora with a conical neck, four eyelets and a decoration of a zigzag band with dots on the belly. A second vessel appears to be a black spherical amphora . The third vessel was a red-brown pot with an offset cylindrical neck. Two separate sherds were also found in the stones, one of which belonged to the Walternienburg amphora, the second was decorated with two rows of horizontal, square dimples and an imitation string line running underneath.

Reference C

About 11.5 m to the east and 6 m to the south of the center, 0.75 m below the surface, another site of the Walternienburg culture was discovered. The only find was an undecorated, double-conical cup with a height of 9 cm, a bottom diameter of 4 cm, a maximum diameter of 9 cm and a mouth diameter of 7 cm.

Two fragments of a human skull were found very close by, but no connection to the cup was evident. Presumably they had been moved by animals, but maybe they came from a destroyed grave together with the cup.

The upper grave of the Cord Ceramic Culture

A body burial was found about 3 m east and 1.5 m south of the center at a depth of 1 m, which was bedded on a 4 cm thick sandstone slab that was broken in two parts. The skeleton was poorly preserved, the lower jaw was incomplete and the skull was missing. The skull fragments found near site C probably originally came from here.

Two vessels, further individual shards, a stone ax and several pearls were found among grave goods . The first vessel was on a stone. It was an undecorated, red-brown, spherical amphora with two eyelets on the belly. It has a preserved height of 27 cm, a bottom diameter of 9.5 cm and a maximum diameter of 27.4 cm; the neck was missing. A black-brown beaker with string decoration was found 70 cm north of it. It had a height of 14 cm and a mouth diameter of 10 cm. The individual pieces included one that had a tenon and a decoration made up of two rows of dots, as well as a few more that belonged to a reddish cup decorated with a herringbone pattern. The stone ax consisted of dark gray, marbled syenite and was faceted, whereby the transitions between the individual facets were rather soft. The length of the ax was 14 cm. The pearls were ring-shaped, about 4 mm wide and between 7 and 8 mm in diameter. Höfer initially thought the material was bronze , but a chemical analysis carried out in Halle (Saale) showed that it was pure copper .

The cord ceramic site D

Immediately south of the Bronze Age stone box IV-V (see below) a large collection of shards was found. Some had a zigzag pattern. They belonged to a bulbous amphora with a height of 24 cm and a maximum diameter of 26 cm. It had four eyelets with a band of zigzag lines running between them. A narrow zigzag band ran at the neck and shoulder break. Other ribbons ran between this and the eyelets. Other shards had string decorations. From these vessels, Höfer was able to assemble a cup with a relatively short neck. It had a total height of 17 cm, with 10 cm on the stomach and 7 cm on the neck. The bottom diameter was 7 cm, the mouth diameter, which was also the maximum diameter, 11.5 cm.

Höfer assumed that the two vessels came from an older burial that was removed when the Bronze Age stone box IV-V was erected.

The destroyed stone age stone box grave in section III

At about the same time as the Bronze Age stone box I (see below), a stone box containing a body burial was discovered in section III, about 11.5 m east and 4.4 m south of the center, 1.6 m below the surface. Since the find was made shortly before closing time, it was first filled up again. The next day, however, the site was found looted. The top plate was torn out and the bones were scattered around. However, the original condition of the grave could still be reconstructed.

The tomb had an inner length of 0.90 m, a width of 0.55 m and a height of 0.37 m. It was surrounded on all sides by slabs of sandstone. The wall panels had thicknesses of 5, 7 and 13 cm, the cover panel was 6 cm thick. The bones belonged to a child who was about 4 years old and 99 cm tall and was apparently buried in a crouched position. The skeleton was not completely preserved. A femur with a length of 22.5 cm was well preserved. Only a part of the lower jaw remained, in which a molar was still stuck. The skull was missing.

Additions could no longer be found. This also made the cultural classification more difficult. Höfer was only able to classify the grave as generally Stone Age and, with some caution, suspected that it belonged to the cord ceramic culture.

The Bronze Age stone box grave I

About 6 m east and 2.6 m south of the center, 1.2 m below the surface, there was a small stone box, consisting of a base plate, four wall plates and a cover plate, all made of sandstone. The box contained a double-conical urn made of very soft, brittle ceramic. It had a height of 25 cm, a maximum diameter of 31.5 cm and a mouth diameter of 25 cm. A band of three horizontal grooves ran over the fold. A lid had already broken when the vessel was found. The urn was filled with corpse burn to a height of 12 cm. It also contained a ceramic ring, two thirds of which was preserved, a bone tube and another, smaller urn. This was kettle-shaped and also filled with corpse burn. It had a height of 8.5 cm and a mouth diameter of 9 cm. It had two eyelets, at the height of which two horizontal grooves run around the vessel. From these five ribbons, each with three grooves, went straight down.

A fragment of a bronze needle and two loops of a ceramic vessel were found 0.5 m to the west . There may be a connection to the urn burial in the stone box. Another shard was found south of the box.

The Bronze Age stone box grave II

Another Bronze Age stone box was discovered 9 m east and 1.6 m south of the center, 1.8 m below the surface. It consisted of 4 cm thick sandstone slabs, which were reinforced from the outside by 14-15 cm thick oak planks, of which remains were still found. The box was oriented north-south. It had a length of 60 cm and a width of 40 cm. Corpse burns or bones were not found. To the south was a black, undecorated pot with a raised rim. It had a height of 35 cm and a maximum diameter of 22.5 cm. In the north there was a wide bowl with an S-shaped profile and a decoration of sloping fluting. It had a height of 10 cm and a diameter of 35 cm. The bowl contained two other vessels. The first is a bowl with a diameter of 11.8 cm and a decoration made of vertical channels. The second vessel is a slightly barrel-shaped jar with a lid. The jar is 16 cm high, has a maximum diameter of 13 cm and a mouth diameter of 10.7 cm. It has two eyelets. The decor consists of three horizontal lines and a zigzag pattern on the bottom, a zigzag pattern with a horizontal line below and three above in the middle, and three horizontal lines at the top. The lid has a height of 4.2 cm and is slightly curved.

The Bronze Age stone box grave III

Steinkiste III was 11 m east and 2 m south of the center at a depth of 1.1 m. It was oriented east-west and had an inner length of 1.0 m, a width of 0.6 m and a height of 0.6 m. Oak planks were also found here, but inside. As in Steinkiste II, neither corpse fire nor skeletal remains were discovered here, which stands in strange contradiction to the relatively rich furnishings of the grave.

This consisted of four ceramic vessels and three bronze lance tips . The largest of the vessels is a bulbous terrine with a sharp break and a sweeping rim that stood in the eastern half of the box. It had a height of 27 cm and a maximum diameter of 52 cm. As decor she has four humps with concentric semicircles and between the humps eight vertical belly fillets on. Inside the terrine was an undecorated, flat plate. To the west of the terrine was a bulbous amphora with a conical neck and two eyelets on the neck and shoulder break. It had a height of 26.5 cm, a maximum diameter of 35 cm and a mouth diameter of 16 cm. The decoration consists of eight horizontal fillets, which take up the entire shoulder of the vessel. The amphora also contained another vessel. This was a flat, two-part cup with a surrounding decoration of vertical fluting on the belly. The lance tips were not found inside the box as they probably originally had wooden shafts that were too long for them. They were found on the eastern outside of the box and were covered with stones. Their tips pointed south. All three tips were of a similar design but of different sizes. They had tapered spouts that reached almost to the tip and two rivet holes at the bottom. The largest lance tip was 15.2 cm in length, the middle one was 10.5 cm in length, and the smallest was 8.2 cm in length.

The bronze age sword grave

Another chamber was discovered just 20 cm below Steinkiste III. The space between the two graves was filled with earth and small, flat stones. The lower chamber had two cover plates, of which the southern one was 1.4 m long, 0.7 m wide and 21 cm thick. The northern one was only 8 cm thick and broke when taking off. The chamber was oriented north-south and had an inner length of 1.02 m and a width of 0.92 m in the north and 0.91 m in the south. The panels on the long sides had lengths of 1.34 m and 1.45 m and thicknesses of 19.5 cm and 15 cm. The transverse plates were 32 cm and 34 cm thick, respectively. The heights of the panels are very different: the southern one is between 42 and 50 cm high, the northern one between 36 and 42 cm, the western 46 cm, the eastern 81 cm. The joints between the panels were sealed with clay.

The interior of the chamber was filled with flat stones that were partly horizontally and partly vertically layered. In the southeast corner there was a brownish vessel that turned out to be quite unusual when the surrounding stones were completely cleared away. It was cylindrical and had a lid that had broken when it was found. The vessel was 51 cm high but only 17 cm wide. The lid was 10 cm high. The vessel was probably specially made to hold a bronze sword found in it. The sword had a length of 53 cm. It was a hilted sword with a blade that widened in the shape of a lancet. The tongue and handle were connected by three rivets. In addition to the sword, the vessel contained small bones and several other bronze objects. These were eight rings, six double buttons, a small button, broken tweezers, a spout chisel, and a needle. The rings were cast and usually had a diameter of 2.7 cm, only one was slightly larger at 3.4 cm. The double buttons consisted of two plates 1.6 cm and 1.2 cm in diameter, respectively, and their length was 1.3 cm. The small button was 0.8 cm in diameter. The forceps had a length of 6.5 cm and a width of 0.5 cm at the top and 1.7 cm at the bottom. The spout chisel was 9.0 cm long; its mouth was 2 cm and the cutting edge was 1.2 cm wide. The needle was 16 cm long. On one of the pieces of bone found an ornament of small circles was found. It might have been part of the sword hilt.

Höfer suspected that the stone box had already been built in the Neolithic and was only used secondarily in the Bronze Age. He justified this on the one hand with the fact that three of the four wall panels were significantly lower than the upright vessel. This had a height of 58 cm with the lid, the surrounding stone packing even extended to a depth of 65 cm. In contrast, Höfer assumed the original interior height of the chamber was only about 40 cm because of the wall panels. On the other hand, the chamber with a floor area of ​​about 1 m² was unusually large for the rather narrow container and no other use was found for the remaining space than to fill it completely with stones.

The Bronze Age stone box grave IV – V

The two urns in the stone box grave IV – V when they were found

13.5 m east and 2.6 m south of the center a large, east-west oriented and richly furnished stone box grave was found at a depth of 1.4 m. It consisted of 5 cm thick sandstone slabs, around which a layer of stones was heaped. The box had an internal length of 1.45 m, a width of 0.5 m and a height of 0.45 m.

The box contained two urns, the larger of which was on the west end. It had a height of 32 cm, a maximum diameter of 52 cm and a mouth diameter of 40 cm. The smaller urn was in the middle of the box. It had a height of 25 cm, a maximum diameter of 35 cm and a mouth diameter of 32 cm. Both urns were filled with corpse burn and contained two cups and two bowls as gifts. With the smaller urn, the bowl served as a lid, with the larger urn it was turned inside out because it was smaller than the mouth of the urn. The smaller urn contained a bronze wire ring as a further addition. To the east of the urns there were two other vessels. They were two black, undecorated, cylindrical pots with an offset neck. The western of the two pots was 26 cm high and had a mouth diameter of 16 cm; the eastern one was 21 cm high and also had a mouth diameter of 16 cm. Neither vessel contained any other finds.

literature

  • Hermann Behrens : The finds from the large burial mound "Pohlsberg" near Latdorf, Kr. Bernburg (= Inventaria archaeologica. Volume 13). 1964.
  • Hans-Jürgen Beier : The grave and burial customs of the Walternienburg and Bernburg culture. Halle (Saale) 1984, p. 51.
  • Hans-Jürgen Beier: The globe amphora culture in the Middle Elbe-Saale area and in the Altmark (= publications of the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle. Volume 41). Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1988, ISBN 978-3-326-00339-9 , p. 114.
  • Wilhelm Albert von Brunn : Knowledge and care of the ground monuments in Anhalt. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 41/42, 1958, pp. 28-71.
  • Wilhelm Alber von Brunn: The Bernburg burial mounds. Its history and its significance for the vertical stratigraphy of the late Neolithic. In: Prehistoric Journal. Volume 52, 1977, pp. 4-27.
  • Carl Engel : Pictures from prehistoric times on the middle Elbe. 1. Stone and Bronze Age. Hopfer, Burg 1930, pp. 119–120.
  • Ulrich Fischer : The Stone Age graves in the Saale region. Studies on Neolithic and Early Bronze Age grave and burial forms in Saxony-Thuringia (= prehistoric research. Volume 15). De Gruyter, Berlin 1956, pp. 48-54.
  • Fabian Gall : Stone Age Landscape Latdorf (= small booklets on archeology in Saxony-Anhalt. Volume 1). State Office for Archeology Saxony-Anhalt / State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale) 2003, ISBN 3-910010-70-9 , pp. 12-13.
  • Paul Grimm : The Baalberg culture in Central Germany. In: Mannus. Volume 19, 1937, pp. 155-187.
  • Paul Höfer : The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. In: Annual publication for the prehistory of the Saxon-Thuringian countries. Volume 4, 1905, pp. 63-101 ( online ).
  • Paul Kupka : The roots of Central German Stone Age pottery. In: Contributions to the history, regional and folklore of the Altmark. Volume 4, 1922, pp. 364-384.
  • Hans Lucas , edited by Ulrich Fischer: Catalogs on Central German Cord Ceramics. Volume 2. The mouth of the Saale (= publications by the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle. Volume 20). Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1965, pp. 29–31.
  • Gerhard Mildenberger : Studies on the Central German Neolithic (= publications of the State Museum for Prehistory Dresden. Volume 2). 1953, pp. 38, 59.
  • Nils Niklasson : The stratigraphic structure of the Baalberger hill near Bernburg, the Pohlsberg near Latdorf and the Derfflinger hill near Kalbsrieth: In: Mannus. Volume 16, 1924, p. 46ff.
  • Nils Niklasson: Studies on the Walternienburg-Bernburger culture 1 (= annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 13). Halle (Saale) 1925 ( online ).
  • Joachim Preuss : The Baalberger Group in Central Germany. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1966.
  • Waldtraut Schrickel : Catalog of the Central German graves with Western European elements of the gallery graves of Western Germany (= contributions to the prehistoric and early historical archeology of the Mediterranean cultural area. Volume 5). Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 1966, pp. 409-410.

Web links

Commons : Pohlsberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 64.
  2. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 64-65.
  3. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 92-93.
  4. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 87-89.
  5. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 89-90.
  6. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 90.
  7. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 66.
  8. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 66-67.
  9. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 67-68.
  10. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 68.
  11. ^ A b Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 70.
  12. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 70-72.
  13. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 78.
  14. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 81-82.
  15. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 69.
  16. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 69-70.
  17. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 68-69.
  18. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 69.
  19. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 77-78.
  20. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 82.
  21. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 83-84.
  22. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 82-83.
  23. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 84, 92.
  24. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 84-86.
  25. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 91-92.
  26. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, p. 72.
  27. ^ Paul Höfer: The Pohlsberg near Latdorf, district of Bernburg. 1905, pp. 72-74, 77.