Pommelte circular moat

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Reconstruction of Pommelte's circular moat

The circular moat of Pömmelte in Zackmünde , a district of the city of Barby in the Salzlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt , is a place used for rites that dates back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Is dated. Like the Schönebeck district moat (in the Salzland district), it was discovered by aerial prospecting . In 2005/2006 geomagnetic investigations were carried out which confirmed the aerial image structures and produced further ring systems, a smaller circular trench system overlaid by the large one, and a number of pits. The Pommelte-Zackmünde circular moat is a complex ritual site where a variety of religious acts were carried out. Since December 2015, the complex has been called the “Ringheiligtum Pömmelte”.

Together with the place where the Nebra sky disc was found , the Goseck district ditch , the Langeneichstädt large stone grave and the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, it is a stop on the tourist route “ Himmelswege ”.

description

The entire system has a diameter of about 115 m, the inner circular ditch a diameter of about 80 m. The circular moat was a cult site from the end of the 3rd millennium BC. BC, which is already referred to as "Little Stonehenge". The seven-part system is composed as follows:

Circular ditch near the Zackmünde airfield (to Pommelte)
  • an outer post ring (1), partially surrounded by trenches
  • a ring trench (2), which consisted of individual pits
  • inside followed the actual circular ditch (4)
  • with an interior palisade (5).
  • In front of this ditch there was an outer wall (3) that could only be detected by trickling into the ditch.
  • inside the circular moat there were two wreaths of posts (6 + 7).

The circular trench has four passages at regular intervals. The adjacent row of palisades reduces these passages considerably, so that both need not have existed at the same time, just as the system as a whole is multi-phase.

Shaft pits

In the circular moat, so-called shaft pits were found irregularly distributed, which presumably had a tubular or cylindrical interior construction, which possibly consisted of wickerwork. As a rule, the shaft pits were backfilled soon after they were excavated, after objects had been deposited in them as part of ritual activities. At the bottom of the pits there were mainly ceramic vessels from the transition period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age that were apparently completely placed in the pits . Objects found include stone axes and animal bones, as well as human bones. Two human skulls were discovered in a pit. Subsequent deposits at the level of the circular trench speak in favor of longer or multiple use of the shaft pits. Over a long period of time, rituals took place in the circular ditch of Pömmelte-Zackmünde, which included the dumping of human body parts, especially skulls, but also food and tools. Various documented layers of fire suggest that fire played a role in the rituals. A number of burials are closely related in time and space to the circular moat, which, in addition to the ritual dumping, apparently also served the cult of the dead .

Time position

The chronological sequence could be reconstructed as follows: After the circular trench had been excavated, the first shaft pits were dug and dumped in them. After that, partly due to natural causes, soil was introduced into the trench structure. At a later date, new shaft pits were dug and used for landfilling. Finally the circular trench was backfilled. The ring structure visible above ground was leveled, partly by deliberate firing. Four stone axes were found in a post pit, which were deposited here as an offering after the post had been removed and the system had been abandoned . However, individual pits were also excavated and filled later.

context

Similar to the Nebra and Goseck Sky Disc, an astronomical component has also been documented for Pömmelte-Zackmünde . Here two of the entrances correspond to the rising and setting of the sun at traditional annual festivals. The structure with wall and segment ditch assigns the circular moat to the " Henge Monuments". These are between the middle of the 3rd millennium and the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Widespread in parts of Europe. Pommelte is basically comparable with the English henge monuments, Woodhenge and Durrington Walls , which partly belong to the same period. Such facilities bear witness to cross-cultural cultural practices and beliefs at the end of the Neolithic and the early Bronze Age. Pömmelte-Zackmünde represents a key to understanding the phenomenon due to the exceptionally documented religious practice, especially in the shaft pits. The shaft pits of Pommelte are so far unique and will not find their closest parallels on the European continent until much later in the so-called cult shafts of the late Bronze and early Iron Ages.

The finds show that Pommelte was a central location for various archaeological cultures for centuries. The pottery from Pömmelte-Zackmünde belongs to the cord ceramic culture (2800–2100 BC), to the bell beaker culture (2500–2200 BC) of the late Neolithic and to the Aunjetitz culture (2200–1600 BC) of the early Bronze Age . The proportion of corded ceramics is low, but the facility was definitely used by the bearers of the Bell Beaker and Aunjetitz cultures. In some cases, typical vessel shapes of both cultures appear together in the same pits. In addition, vessels were found that can be attributed to the end of the bell beaker culture as well as the beginning Aunjetitz culture. The so-called protoaunjetitz horizon describes the afterlife of late Neolithic elements in the orientation phase of the early Bronze Age in Central Germany . Absolute dates limit the chronological classification to 2335–2050 BC. A, whereby a targeted dismantling of the plant between 2135 and 1985 BC. Took place, as evidenced by calibrated 14C data .

The ritual interaction of different cultures confirms a theory that all arable farmers have common religious roots. For the first time, the Pommelte-Zackmünde complex is a ritual-religious building of the corded ceramics and bell-cup cultures and the Aunjetitz culture in Central Europe, which allows conclusions to be drawn about the worldview and beliefs of this epoch, which was so crucial for the further development of Europe. The circular moat of Schönebeck has the same dimensions and follows Pömmelte-Zackmünde directly in time, that is, it belongs to the developed Aunjetitz culture of the early Bronze Age, in which the Nebra Sky Disc was created.

In Schoenebeck south of Magdeburg an Early Bronze Age grave county plant was discovered. The prehistoric sanctuary is within sight of the Pommelte complex. The archaeologists assume that it is the direct successor to the cult site of Pommelte.

exhibition

The cult place is surrounded by a wildflower meadow.

Some of the finds have been on view in the Salzland Museum since the beginning of September 2016 . There, the story of the ring sanctuary is told from the first finds around Pommelte to the excavation and reconstruction.

In addition, the entire complex will be rebuilt true to the original as a tourist destination, using robinia wood.

literature

  • François Bertemes : The sun and its meaning in the religious-mythological context of the prehistory of Central Europe. In: Andrea Bärnreuther (Ed.): The sun. Focal point of the world's cultures. Minerva, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-938832-49-3 , pp. 94-126.
  • François Bertemes, Andreas Northe : Neolithic sanctuary in a prehistoric cultural landscape - the final examinations in the Goseck circular moat and further excavations in the vicinity. In: Archeology in Saxony-Anhalt. NF Volume 4, No. 2, 2006, ISSN  1610-6148 , pp. 269-281.
  • Dovydas Jurkènas , André Spatzier : Settlements from the end of the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age near the roundels of Pommelte and Schönebeck, Salzlandkreis. Insights into the settlement of a sacred landscape of the 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC Chr. In: Harald Meller et al. (Ed.): Settlement Archeology of the End Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age. 11th Central German Archaeological Day from October 18 to 20, 2018 in Halle (Saale) - Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlement Archeology. 11th Archaeological Conference of Central Germany, October 18-20, 2018 in Halle (Saale) (= conferences of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle. Volume 20 / I). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2019, ISBN 978-3-944507-94-1 , pp. 289-317 ( online ).
  • Harald Meller, Matthias Zirm : Latest results at the ring sanctuary of Pömmelte, Salzlandkreis (excavation campaign 2019). In: Harald Meller et al. (Ed.): Settlement Archeology of the End Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age. 11th Central German Archaeological Day from October 18 to 20, 2018 in Halle (Saale) - Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlement Archeology. 11th Archaeological Conference of Central Germany, October 18-20, 2018 in Halle (Saale) (= conferences of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle. Volume 20 / I). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2019, ISBN 978-3-944507-94-1 , pp. 319-324 ( online ).
  • André Spatzier: The Henge-type circular moat from Pömmelte-Zackmünde, Salzlandkreis - preliminary report on the 2005/2006 excavations. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 91, 2007, pp. 31-66 ( online ).
  • André Spatzier: Pommelte - a Central German henge monument made of wood. In: Archeology in Germany. Volume 6/2008, pp. 6-11 ( online ).
  • André Spatzier: After Bandkeramik and Lengyel - circular moats in Saxony-Anhalt and Central Europe from the early Neolithic to the early Iron Age. In: François Bertemes, Harald Meller (ed.): Neolithic circular moats in Europe. International workshop in Goseck (Saxony-Anhalt) 7. – 9. May 2004 (= conferences of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle. Volume 8) State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt - State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale) 2012, ISBN 978-3-939414-33-9 , pp. 363–388 ( Online ).
  • André Spatzier: Systematic investigations of the circular moat of Pömmelte-Zackmünde, Salzlandkreis. At the end of the excavations on central German roundabouts as part of the research group FOR: 550. In: Harald Meller (ed.): Dug up - cooperation projects in Saxony-Anhalt. Conference from May 17th to 20th, 2009 in the State Museum of Prehistory Halle (Saale) (= Archeology in Saxony-Anhalt. Special Volume 13). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt - State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale) 2012, pp. 89–98 ( online ).
  • André Spatzier: Pömmelte-Zackmünde - A henge-like sanctuary of the late end of the Neolithic and the earliest Early Bronze Age. In: Jutta Kneisel, Hans Joachim Behnke, Franz Schopper (eds.): Early Bronze Age - Middle Bronze Age. New findings on the settlement between the Elbe and Warthe and neighboring regions (2000–1400 BC). Symposium from 24.-25. September 2011 in Welzow / Brandenburg. Habelt, Bonn 2013, ISBN 978-3-7749-3849-6 , pp. 187-195.
  • André Spatzier: Pömmelte-Zackmünde - polycultural sacred place or constancy of location in the sanctuary during a cultural transformation? A contribution to the cultural development of the late 3rd millennium. v. In Central Germany. In: Harald Meller et al .: 2200 BC - A climatic crash as the cause of the decay of the Old World? 7th Central German Archaeological Day from October 23 to 26, 2014 in Halle (Saale) (= conferences of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle. Volume 12 / II). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2015, ISBN 978-3-944507-29-3 , pp. 793-800 ( online ).
  • André Spatzier: The end-Neolithic-Early Bronze Age roundabout of Pömmelte-Zackmünde, Salzlandkreis, and the roundabout phenomenon of the 4th-1st centuries. Jt. B.C. in Central Europe (= research reports from the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle. Volume 10 / I – II). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt - State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale) 2017, ISBN 978-3-944507-46-0 .
  • André Spatzier: The ring sanctuary of Pömmelte, Germany: A monumental, multi-layered metaphor of the late third millennium BC. In: Antiquity. Volume 92, 2017, pp. 655-673 ( online ).
  • André Spatzier: The honored and the sacrificed? Gender and violence at a sanctuary of the late 3rd millennium BC in Central Germany. In: Uroš Matić, Bo Jensen (Ed.): Archaeologies of gender and violence. Oxbow Books, Oxford / Philadelphia 2017, ISBN 978-1-78570-689-9 , pp. 45-76.
  • André Spatzier: Detecting deliberate fragmentation at a circular enclosure from the late 3rd millenium BC. Calculating fragmentation and refitting analysis of ceramic finds from Pömmelte-Zackmünde, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In: Praehistorische Zeitschrift. Volume 92/2, 2018.
  • André Satzier: Pömmelte and Schönebeck - tradition and new beginnings. In: Archeology in Germany. Volume 4/2019, pp. 30-31 ( online ).
  • André Spatzier: Pömmelte-Zackmünde - A Circular Sanctuary of the Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. An Overview of the Research Results. In: Harald Meller, François Bertemes (ed.): The departure to new horizons. New perspectives on the European Early Bronze Age. Final conference of the research group FOR550 from November 26th to 29th 2010 in Halle (Saale) (= conference of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle. Volume 19). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2020, ISBN 978-3-948618-03-2 , pp. 405-420.
  • André Spatzier: The enclosure complex Pommelte – Schönebeck: The dialectic of two circular monuments of the late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BC in Central Germany. In: Harald Meller, François Bertemes (ed.): The departure to new horizons. New perspectives on the European Early Bronze Age. Final conference of the research group FOR550 from November 26th to 29th 2010 in Halle (Saale) (= conference of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle. Volume 19). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2020, ISBN 978-3-948618-03-2 , pp. 421–444.
  • Marcus Stecher , Kurt W. Alt et al .: Man and the environment in the ring sanctuary of Pömmelte-Zackmünde, Salzlandkreis (= research reports of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle. Volume 10 / III). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt - State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale) 2019, ISBN 978-3-944507-89-7 .

Web links

Commons : Kreisgrabenanlage Pömmelte  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Millennia-old circular moat is called the ring sanctuary . In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung , December 8, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. 
  2. ↑ himmelswege.de
  3. ↑ Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 , chap. 3 Faith in man pp. 25–43.
  4. ↑ Thomas Schöne: Wood instead of stones: A small Stonehenge near Magdeburg . In: Lausitzer Rundschau , Kultur, April 8, 2015, accessed on June 27, 2018
  5. ↑ Thomas Schöne: Archaeologists show first results . In: Lausitzer Rundschau , Länder p. 4, June 27, 2018, accessed on June 27, 2018

Coordinates: 51 ° 59 ′ 49.4 "  N , 11 ° 47 ′ 58.9"  E