Stemshorn prehistoric wells

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The Stemshorn Prehistoric Wells are the relics of five wells that were discovered in 2017 during the construction of a natural gas pipeline near Stemshorn . The prehistoric wells were created during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages . Below is a tree trunk well from around 3500 BC. BC, which is the oldest well that has so far been found in Lower Saxony .

prehistory

In the district of Diepholz , the 27 km long north-west connection line (Nowal) for long-distance gas from the natural gas storage facility in Rehden to Drone in North Rhine-Westphalia was built in 2017 . Since experience has shown that a larger number of ground monuments was to be expected, archaeological investigations were carried out in advance . During the prospecting and excavations , 58 previously unknown archaeological sites were discovered. These included 8,000-year-old Mesolithic fireplaces, a Neolithic stone ax and remains of settlements from the Roman Empire .

Reference

The five wells were found about 900 meters northwest of the center of Stemshorn. It is located in a former depression directly on the edge of the Geest , which drops here to the former bank of the Dümmers . At this point there is a persistently high water level to this day, which apparently was recognized earlier as a favorable location for wells. A settlement site associated with the wells has not yet been found.

Discovery and Description

In the summer of 2017, archaeologists from an excavation company were digging a search cut in an agricultural area and found an area with a dark brown layer of culture. There were flint stones on the surface, fragments of stone axes as well as parts of knocking and grinding stones and individual ceramic shards. During a deep excavation, relics of wells were found 1.5 meters below the surface. Some of the fountains, which were built at different times, were placed so close to one another that they overlapped one another.

The exposed wells were two log wells made from hollowed-out tree trunks and three wickerwork wells, in which the well walls were made of a wreath of branches and wood. A tree trunk well had a diameter of 70 cm and was preserved at a height of 40 cm. A wattle well was 1.3 × 1.1 meters in size and was preserved up to a height of 30 cm. The two tree trunk wells were punched out of the ground as a block salvage and brought to the Lohne Industrial Museum for conservation .

Dating of the remains of the fountain using the C14 method resulted in a date of about 3200 and 3500 BC for the tree trunk fountain . You can be attributed to the funnel cup culture; as well as two wattle fountains that were built around 2500 BC. Were created. A wattle fountain with a small wooden box dates from around 1400 BC. And is to be assigned to the Middle Bronze Age .

meaning

According to the Lower Saxony state archaeologist Henning Haßmann , the fountains, of which the 5000 year old system was built “using perfect wood construction technology”, open up a new perspective on the Neolithic Age. Accordingly, there were settlements in places that were not near a watercourse. At that time, farmers were able to water their cattle from wells. Another finding gained during the excavation is that people have built wells in the same place for millennia without knowing each other.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Julia Kreykenbohm: Construction of the natural gas pipeline brings secrets to light in the district newspaper of April 13, 2017
  2. ↑ Justus Randt: Archaeologists find a 5000 year old well in Weser-Kurier from August 24, 2017

Coordinates: 52 ° 27 '29.1 "  N , 8 ° 20' 54.3"  E