Rondelle needle type Franzhausen
The Franzhausen type circular needle is a special form of bronze jewelry that was previously found in two women's graves from the late Early Bronze Age in Austria.
description
The two previously known specimens are very similar. The complete needle is 126 mm long. A horizontal disk with a diameter of 52 mm, which is decorated with bosses and incised lines, serves as the needle head. There is a hole between two humps for fixing. The square needle shaft with a cross section of 3.8 mm has a twist . The needles are exhibited in the prehistoric museum in Nussdorf ob der Traisen and in the school and local history museum in Neumarkt an der Ybbs .
Finding situation
The needles were found in burial grounds of the Böheimkirchen group of the Věteřov culture in Lower Austria. In the Franzhausen Swietelsky I grave field, about 3,500 years ago, a woman was buried in grave 47, facing north-south, in a crouching position. According to the anthropological examination, the buried person was a 20-30 year old woman. The skeleton was uncovered in its anatomically correct position as part of the archaeological excavation of the Federal Monuments Office , although secondary burial interventions were common for this region in the Early Bronze Age . Apart from the skeleton, only the Franzhausen circular needle was discovered in the grave. It lay vertically on the forehead of the dead, with the disk facing up. In the grave field of Neumarkt an der Ybbs , the needle was in grave 78. The north-south oriented grave had the deepest grave pit of the grave field. Inside was a very delicate woman between 30 and 40 years of age, crouching with her head in the south. This location corresponds to the usual burial tradition of this time in this region. From the clothing of the dead only the fastening remained, two bronze needles. According to their shape, they are called "diagonally perforated ball-headed needles". This needle shape is a leading type of the late Early Bronze Age, which dates back to around 1600/1500 BC. Lasts. The ball-headed needles were found near the shoulders, where they were fixed by a thread and closed the death's dress. Across the forearms was the circular needle with the disc pointing to the chest of the dead.
function
The size and shape of the needle, especially the large disc at right angles to the shaft, suggest that it is not an ordinary cloth needle. The location on the forehead and forearm suggest that they served as a closure for a shroud. The depth of the grave pit of the grave of Neumarkt an der Ybbs is an indication of the high social status of the dead, who were given a special burial method by being wrapped in a shroud. Also noteworthy is the regional shape of the needles, which contrasts with the otherwise spacious bronze jewelry. Evidence of regional bronze processing is known from the simultaneous settlement in Böheimkirchen about 50 km away from clay nozzles and stone molds .
literature
- Christoph Blesl, Alois Gattringer: Franzhausen. In: Find reports from Austria. 43, 2004, ISSN 0429-8926 , pp. 15-16.
- Christoph Blesl, Violetta Reiter: The circular needles type Franzhausen from Lower Austria. In: Archeologické Rozhledy. Vol. 66, No. 4, 2014, ISSN 0323-1267 , pp. 695-703.
- Johannes-Wolfgang Neugebauer (Ed.): Bronze Age in Eastern Austria (= Scientific Series Lower Austria. 98/101). Verlag Niederösterreichisches Pressehaus, St. Pölten u. a. 1994, ISBN 3-85326-004-7 , p. 132.
- Franz Sauer, Jaroslav Czubak: Neumarkt on the Ybbs. In: Find reports from Austria. 36, 1997, pp. 24-25.
- Franz Sauer, Jaroslav Czubak: Neumarkt on the Ybbs. In: Find reports from Austria. 39, 2000, p. 25.