Rattle (archeology)

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Clay bird rattle with graphite coating, 1000–600 BC Chr.
Vandal rattle 2nd century A.D.

Ancient, clay rattles are among the shaking idiophones , ( idiophon , German "self-tinker"), as the tones are generated by the vibrating body of the vessel. There are egg-shaped, spherical-grip, cushion-shaped and drop-shaped rattles , rattles with a stepped foot, with dents or knobs, or those in the form of double-conical or bottle-shaped vessels. Many rattles are provided with sound holes that serve to amplify the sounds acoustically.

Ornitomorphic (bird-shaped) rattles make up about 25% of the rattle finds in Saxony-Anhalt . Some have decorations that correspond to late Bronze Age vessel ornaments . They often have grooved decorations, which evidently indicate the plumage. Ornitomorphic vessel ceramics are already found under the Neolithic Balkan-Danubian ceramics, where they indicate the cultic character of such shapes.

The find circumstances are different. Some rattles were recovered from regular excavations, others were readings . Many rattles from Saxony-Anhalt probably belong to the Late Bronze Age Lusatian culture and come from graves. Rattles are particularly common during the Late Bronze Age and the Slavic Period (9th / 10th centuries).

Bird rattles

Buckau

The small bird rattle from Buckau , Elbe-Elster district, was found in 1829 in a grave with several vessels and several urns, some on top of one another. The groove decoration can in turn be interpreted as the plumage or wings of the bird.

Ichstedt

The bird-shaped rattle from Ichstedt, Kyffhäuserkreis in Thuringia comes from a burial during the Roman Empire . It was found in grave 36 during the excavation of an extensive burial ground in 1988. In addition to corpse burn , a Terrasigillata plate, the rest of a larger bronze vessel , bronze jewelry and two light blue glass beads , the bird-shaped rattle was discovered. The piece resembles late Bronze Age specimens in such a way that it is unusual in this context, and one must speak of an antique that served as a grave object around a thousand years after it was made. In the neck area, the rattle shows traces of a repair to fix the broken head. An X-ray revealed the contents of the rattle, which consisted of four clay balls.

Rahnsdorf

The smallest rattle in the shape of a bird with a stand comes from Rahnsdorf, Wittenberg district. The local pastor reported in 1925 about finds from a shallow grave field. The head is broken off, the decoration on the back made up of bundles of slashes is damaged. The piece is only 3.2 cm high.

Rattles from the Schweinert

For the rattles from the " Schweinert " forest between Kleinrössen and Uebigau-Wahrenbrück in the Brandenburg Elbe-Elster district, however, no circumstances are known. The excavation of the shallow and barrow field was carried out in 1828 and is one of the earliest archaeological investigations in Central Germany. At that time, the salvage was mostly only done by collecting the finds without documentation. These are two closed miniature vessels with a sound hole and a perforation for a cord, as well as a ball rattle with a standing base, which is decorated with finger dots , concentric semicircular grooves and zone humps.

Geometric rattles

Annaburg

A double-conical rattle with a handle was recovered in 1940 by WA von Brunn during an excavation in Annaburg, Jessen district, from severely damaged graves in a flat burial ground. It basically consists of two small cups that are connected to one another at the mouth of the vessel and have indented bases on the other sides.

Arzberg

The bottle-shaped rattle with a long, narrow neck from Arzberg, Torgau district is one of the few that were excavated in 1901 during the regular uncovering of several urn graves. Bronze rings, clay amulets, clay spoons, clay beads and clay disks are also mentioned among the additions from the graves.

Beiersdorf

The two uniform rattles in the form of closed miniature vessels from Beiersdorf, Elbe-Elster district, come with the note after "from Urnenplatz" from the prehistoric collection of the late teacher Richter from Bad Liebenwerda. In view of the similarity in shape and decoration, it can also be assumed here that both rattles could be grave goods from the same grave.

Halle (Saale)

Late Bronze Age finds from the area around Giebichenstein Castle are known in Halle. This includes a vase-shaped clay rattle, which was found in the Advokatenweg, decorated with small punctures. It was transferred from a collection in 1883 by the then "Historical Commission of the Province of Saxony". The red color may have been caused by the effects of heat during the cremation of the body, when the rattle may have been nearby.

The damaged pear-shaped rattle from Leibnitzstrasse was apparently recovered from a Late Bronze or Early Iron Age settlement pit during an emergency recovery in 1962. Their contents are made up of small pebbles that create a lighter sound.

Wittenberg district

There is no information about the discovery of the ornate pillow-shaped piece from Bülzig and the double-conical rattle from Senst, both in the Wittenberg district.

Due to the damage to the spherical specimen with a separate base from Möhlau, OT Golpa, Wittenberg district, the inner workings of the rattle can also be seen here. Small clay balls cause the noise. The piece was found in urn graves in a gravel pit and was added to the collection of the State Museum as a gift in 1900.

Elbe-Elster district

The same applies to the handle-shaped clay rattle from Grassau and the rattle decorated with knobs and the spherical rattle with a dented bottom from neighboring Lönnewitz, both in the Elbe-Elster district.

The bird-shaped rattle is said to come from Lönnewitz. It has a high base and an irregular decoration made up of rows of lines and groups of dots. The head is broken. On the flanks, the wings and on the rear part of the rump are formed by clay extensions.

The round piece with two indented standing surfaces and a lateral swell with holes in it from Cosilenzien, Elbe-Elster district, came to Halle in the 19th century.

Rhineland

During investigations of metal age settlement remains in a gravel pit apron in Aldenhoven , Düren district , a small late Bronze Age burial ground was discovered in 2019. In a largely destroyed cremation grave, a clay rattle, more unique in the Rhineland, came to light. It was broken up in small pieces, but almost completely preserved. The double-conical piece has a diameter of 5.5 cm. On the fold there are small wart-like knobs, the rattle body shows line group decorations. Although rattles often come from children's graves, it does not necessarily have to be a toy. A function in the general funeral rite or as part of a defense spell is just as conceivable. The rattles hitherto unknown in the Lower Rhine occur sporadically in the Middle Rhine area.

context

From the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age (approx. 1300–800 BC), the Lusatian culture is widespread mainly in Poland, the north of the Czech Republic and in Brandenburg and Saxony (especially in Lower Lusatia). Large grave fields with urn burials, some of which have been laid out over several generations, are typical. The corpse burn is often spread over several urns, which are grouped with other vessels of different shapes and belong to a grave ensemble. Ceramic is by far the main component of the grave goods. It was probably made especially for the burials. In addition, there are often shattered vessels that are occasionally used as paving of the grave floor. Often the ensemble of vessels is framed and / or covered by stones.

The western foothills of the Lusatian culture can be found in the tri-border region of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. Lusatian finds have been proven especially along the Elbe in the Wittenberg area. Many rattles come from this area or from the regions in the Elbe-Elster area that belong to Brandenburg.

In some large burial grounds, it has been observed that rattles are often associated with child burials. In the graves with rattles, a child's corpse burn was often spread over several miniature vessels or smaller editions of normal urns. The rattles were found next to the cremation containers. Archaeological research, however, assumes that rattles and bird rattles cannot be dismissed as children's toys. They probably played a role in the funeral rite as symbols.

literature

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