Cup stone

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As bowl stones , cup stones or bowl stones , popularly often called sacrificial stones and the like, unmoved and otherwise unworked stones are called, which have supposedly artificial cup-shaped depressions. Cup stones are widespread. The indentations can be created naturally or have been incorporated by humans. Their often popular interpretation is often controversial.

A stone from Hornborga in the Ekornavallen burial ground with a bowl

Emergence

Shells incorporated by humans are round or oval depressions, usually several centimeters in diameter; individual stones also show traces of abrasion . Experiments show that bulges carved into the rock with sharp pieces of rock can be rubbed out into smooth shells in a short time.

Shells can also arise naturally, in the course of weathering through gravel formation , weathering of inhomogeneous areas such as inclusions or concretions , or soluble as bowl carts (Kamenitza) or Tafoni : The large stones that are partially embedded in the ground have a different temperature than the air, so that Moisture and water can accumulate in natural depressions, and a depression is created by weathering or excretion of algae and moss. In places there are even bowls in which there is residual water even in dry periods, which has contributed to the formation of myths about the bowl stones. Stones with mechanically created depressions, such as scour or glacier mills , as they often occur in the mountain area, can also belong to this group ( shell stone near Eisgarn in Lower Austria , Schonacher Schalensteinweg in the Black Forest), but this shape is limited to very special occurrences and the origin mostly easily recognizable.

A combination of both types of origin also appears possible, provided that natural and therefore interesting indentations for hierograms (“sacred symbols”) have been deliberately reworked or have expanded through use.

Names

In German vernacular they are called blood, druid, fairy, sacrificial, devil or witch stones .

  • In French, the recesses are called Pierres aux écuelles or pierre à cupules .
  • In Sweden they are called skål as a group skålgrop , popularly älvkvarnar (' elf mills'),
  • In Denmark they are called Skåltegn (' bowl sign ') and popularly Æbleskivestenen (also 'elf mills'),
  • In Norway gjettegryter ,
  • In Holland napjes ('cup')
  • on ( English cups or cup markings ), ( Portuguese Cazoleta (petroglifo) ),
  • slovenian kamica ,
  • Slovak / Czech Kamenice (from which the karst scientific term Kamenitza comes).

Time position

The bowls themselves are difficult to date. The approximately 50,000-year-old stone under the Abri of La Ferrassie , Dordogne , which covered the skull of a Neanderthal child, has four bowls on the underside. According to Peter Vilhelm Glob , small bowls come into use at the end of the Stone Age, where they appear in the large burial boxes and, together with other elements, mark the threshold of the Bronze Age. Apparently the oldest stones show a scattered distribution of the bowls, which in the younger Bronze Age joined together to form a dense pattern, where the individual pits are connected by means of grooves , also in the manner of cup-and-ring markings . Less than 5% of all Danish dolmens (approx. 4,700) and passage graves (approx. 700) from the Stone Age have bowls, but more than 30% of the Mecklenburg systems, where up to 167 bowls occur, but on average about 26. Shell pits can also sometimes be found on the capstones of stone boxes, for example in Hundhoved (Jutland).

The oldest Swiss shell stones are unsecuredly ascribed to the Mesolithic (8000 to 4500 BC) and only to a limited extent to the Neolithic (4500 to 1500 BC). Scandinavian researchers believe that they originated throughout the Bronze Age.

The cairn field in the Ramm near Marnitz, Parchim district, offers a clue for a chronological classification . There are still almost 200 flat stone mounds in which pottery from the pre-Roman Iron Age was found. There are eight large cup stones within the cairn. The number of bowls fluctuated between four and 30. A smaller stone with six bowls was used as the cover plate of a Young Bronze Age urn burial from Groß Raden, Kr. Sternberg, and J. Ritter reports on a stone with seven bowls in the Bronze Age tumulus of Vietlübbe, Kr. Lübz.

classification

At the end of the 19th century, Salomon Reinach classified small bowl stones among the megalithic monuments. However, since they have appeared since the Paleolithic through the Neolithic to the Iron Age and were created up to the modern age, they cannot be assigned to a single cultural tradition if they are of human origin.

interpretation

Common interpretations of the human production and use of the bowls can be broken down into:

The most common interpretation in the specialist literature is as sacrificial vessels . The German-Norwegian archaeologist D. Stramm pointed out that there are small bowl stones in Norway (Kvikne in Hedmark), which were created by mining stone material for vessels and everyday objects. According to D. Stramm's interpretation, the primary use of the small bowls is to be addressed as material removal, although it does not contradict subsequent use as a sacrificial bowl by later cultures. The Swiss geologist W. A. ​​Mohler witnessed how sacrificial water was poured into such bowls in a dilapidated Hindu temple, in which flowers and leaves were strewn. According to other reports, bowl stones were natural altars on which various deities associated with fertility cults were presented with food, flowers or incense plants. Occasionally, bowl stones are associated with sliding stones (examples in South Tyrol), for which a connection with fertility rituals is handed down. Rocks in exposed locations could be used as a calendar for the exact division of the seasons. After the position of the sun has been measured with the help of a shadow-casting stick, solstices could be calculated and predicted using the bowls attached to the rock. A study by the Swiss archaeologist Urs Schwegler denies the astronomical interpretation of the shell and drawing stones, especially in the Alpine region, and contradicts the widespread opinion of a sun cult or alleged places of power.

Distribution and regional differences

Germany

Mecklenburg

Cup stones are found relatively often on the cover stones, edging stones or supporting stones of megalithic systems . A third of all Mecklenburg megalithic systems have (at least) one stone with bowls; 17 have more than 30. On the bearing stones, they are usually on the upper surfaces next to the cap stones. The systems in Mankmoos (167 bowls), Qualitz (127) and Serrahn (107) have by far the most bowls in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . In addition, guard stones preferably ( stone grave Stuer 3 , Robel circuit (49) Great Dolmen of Dwasieden (40 trays)). Most of the bowls must have been created during drilling. On some, the track of the boring stick was just as easy to see as on rock axes with unfinished full drilling. In no case were there any reliable indications of pecked bowls. The largest and deepest bowls are found in the soft rock (limestone cover plate in the Urdolmen of Basedow, Malchin district). The bowls on the blocks of the Mecklenburg megalithic tombs cannot be associated with the builders of the facilities, the people of the funnel beaker culture . Dish inside megalithic are rare (snacking village) and originating from bronze time subsequent uses .

Schleswig-Holstein

The documentation “Cup stones in Schleswig-Holsteiner” from the State Archaeological Office records around 500 cup stones. Boulders with bowls were found in Schleswig-Holstein mainly in the eastern hill country and in the Duchy of Lauenburg district with the Sachsenwald, which has been used for forestry for a long time. In the Geest and the Hohe Geest there are also shell stones, while none are known in the Marsch and the Wadden Sea.

Austria and Northern Italy

Holy stone of Mitterretzbach

Weinviertel

On the calendar stone by Leodagger there are 16 pans in a slightly serpentine row. With a high degree of probability, the pans served as markings for a cult site. The rock formation also consists of a boulder with a standing menhir .

Waldviertel

Ice Age erratic boulders, also called remnants in Austria, with 3–20 cm large and 2–5 cm deep pits can be found in many parts of Europe. In the Waldviertel ( Lower Austria ) there are granite stones ( holy stone ). Academic and amateur researchers have put forward diverse theories about how they came about. The dictionary of German folklore calls it "Evidence of a primordial culture" and suspects u. a. Mortars for grinding grain, Stone Age maps and star maps, megalithic sacrificial sites, religious and sexual symbolic meaning. The "Waldviertler Heimatbuch" refers to the large number of 1500 bowls in the sparsely populated Waldviertel alone.

Mühlviertel

In the Mühlviertel (Austria) there are numerous bowl-shaped indentations with a diameter of 40 to 100 centimeters and a depth of up to 70 centimeters in granite blocks in the forest. The best known is on the Berglitzl , where several excavations were carried out and fire sacrifices in the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age are considered proven.

South-Tirol

The South Tyrolean cup stones in the area of Merano and around Latsch in Vinschgau are well documented . The "Wasserstoan" of Feldthurns -Drumbühel (Velturno) with more than 700 bowls is north of the castle Drumbühel.

Switzerland and France

Since the description of the “Pierre-aux-écuelles of Mont-la-Ville” in 1854, more than a thousand new bowl stones ( French Pierre à cupules ) have been discovered in Switzerland , including a. at the southern foot of the Jura, in Graubünden , Ticino and Valais . The bowl stones with geometric shapes by Evolène , Mesocco , Tarasp and Zermatt are particularly impressive . The largest is the Pierre des Sauvages from Saint-Luc in Val d'Annivers, in Valais with over 300 bowls. There are around 60 cup stones in France. The densest concentration is with eight stones on the Île d'Yeu . The bowl stones by Billième are in Savoia .

Sweden, Finland

Skålgropar in Sweden, Uhrikivi in Finland, are groups of bowls that are considered rock carvings in Sweden. They are very common in the southwest of Uppland ; around 27,000 are registered. In the Veckholm region they are accompanied by a large number of depictions of ships. Their function is unclear. The stones on which they are found are considered to be sacrificial stones from the Bronze Age . Some researchers explain it as part of a fertility cult, others associate it with the cult of the dead. The round depressions are usually 4 to 8 cm in diameter and 1 to 2 cm deep. They are popularly known in the area as "älvkvarnar" ('elf mills') because it was believed that the fairies ground their grain in them. Much larger depressions are glacial mills . They are related to the Ice Age ; According to legend, giants cooked their food in them. Even in the 1940s, old people in Veckholm knew the superstition associated with the bowls. Wise women and men allegedly secretly moved out to fill them with fat at certain times. One author reports that he observed this himself in the 1920s. About two thirds of all the corresponding rocks in Uppland only have bowls; but these can be found on outcrops with images.

Denmark

The Marstal Maritime Museum on the Danish island of Ærø houses a small collection of bowl stones from the Bronze Age . The largest is the size of a fist. There are also several of these unique objects in private collections on Ærø.

The west of Denmark is hardly rocky. A particularly small type of cup stone ( Skåltegnsten in Danish ) seems to have developed here. It is not known whether these form a parallel to those on monoliths or rock outcrops , but it is obvious. The species is particularly common in southwest Denmark and on Ærø, Alsen , Langeland and Lolland . The Sømarkedyssen megalithic complex on Møn has over 450 bowls. The bowl stone from Gammel Hestehave on Fyn to Flemming Kaul, over 100. Øster Hornum in North Jutland is also an area where bowl stones are common; three were found at Abildgård.

Point drilling in Malta

Point holes, incrusted in color with ocher or other materials, are a geometrical decoration made with drill bits on stone surfaces of the Maltese temple culture . Execution of the drill holes:

  • a) widely distributed;
  • b) in rows;
  • c) as a close-meshed, large-area covering in shimmering patterns;
  • d) as a primer for various bas-reliefs with abstract decorations. -
  • e) Less common is a variant in which honeycomb depressions are notched into the stone surface.

The trilith gate at the south temple of Mnajdra in Malta is completely covered with point holes.

List of cup stones

f1Georeferencing Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Drawing of the Bunsoh Cup Stone (1911)
Cup stone from Heerstedt

See also

literature

  • Torsten Capelle : Imagery of the Bronze Age. Rock paintings in Northern Germany and Scandinavia. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 978-3-8053-3833-2 , pp. 30-37.
  • Augusto Gansser : Cup stones: prehistoric cult objects. Publishing house Dr. Christian Müller-Straten, Munich 1999, ISBN 978-3-932704-66-6 .
  • Edvard Hammarstedt : Swedish sacrificial stones (Älvkvarnar) . Contributions to religious studies 2/1, 2015. Stockholm, A. Bonnier / Leipzig, Hinrichs.
  • Barbara and Jens Meyer: Bowl stones in Schleswig-Holstein Archaeological State Office Schleswig-Holstein 2015 ISBN 978-3-00-051298-8
  • Urs Schwegler: What are cup stones? Swiss Stone Monuments Inventory 2016 (PDF; 31.67 MB)
  • K.-H. Dittmann: Investigation of a cup stone in the Sachsenwald . - Offa 4, 1939, pp. 169-177.
  • S. Hesse: About the so-called shell stones in the Rotenburg district (Wümme) . - Archaeological reports of the Rotenburg district (Wümme) 10, 2003, pp. 93–116.
  • PB Richter: The "sacrificial stone" of Melzingen, Ldkr. Uelzen . - The customer, new series 47, 1996, pp. 409-434.
  • S. Schacht: wheel crosses and bowls on three megalithic graves in the Rerik area, district of Bad Doberan . - Ausgrabungen und Funde 40, 1995, pp. 140-144.
  • J.-P. Schmidt: Cookshops in the open? - Fireplaces along the route of OPAL and NEL , In: D. Jantzen, L. Saalow and J.-P. Schmidt (Ed.), Pipeline: Archeology, excavations on the large long-distance gas routes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Schwerin 2014, pp. 145–156.
  • G. Wegner: Evidence for religion and cult . In: G. Wegner (Hrsg.), Life - Faith - Dying 3000 years ago: Bronze Age in Lower Saxony. - Supplements to exhibitions in the Prehistory Department of the Lower Saxony State Museum Hanover 7. Oldenburg 1996, pp. 195–218.

Special:

Web links

Commons : Cup stones  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ z. B. Vester Tørslev
  2. ^ Franz Neururer: Seasons calculation with cup stones. 2008, p. 5 ff. Link
  3. ↑ Otto Milfait: Forgotten witnesses of the past. Strange stones from the Mühlviertel. 3rd expanded edition, Freistadt, 2001
  4. ^ Salomon Reinach: Terminologie des monuments mégalithiques. In: Revue archéologique . Troisième Série 22, 1893, p. 41, JSTOR 41729742
  5. ^ Salomon Reinach: Terminologie des monuments mégalithiques. In: Revue Archéologique. Third episode, No. 22, 1893, p. 40 ( JSTOR 41729742 )
  6. ^ Robert G. Bednarik : Estimating the age of cupules. In: Roy Querejazu Lewis, Robert G. Bednarik (Ed.): Mysterious cup marks , Proceedings of the First International Cupule Conference, Cochabamba, Bolivia 2007, p. 5
  7. ^ Robert G. Bednarik: Estimating the age of cupules. In: Roy Querejazu Lewis, Robert G. Bednarik (Eds.): Mysterious cup marks , Proceedings of the First International Cupule Conference, Cochabamba, Bolivia 2007, p. 9
  8. ^ Franz Neururer: Seasons calculation with cup stones. 2008, p. 7 ff. Link
  9. ↑ Urs Schwegler: Bowl and drawing stones of Switzerland. Verlag Swiss Society for Prehistory and Early History. Basel 1992, p. 34
  10. ↑ Urs Schwegler: What are cup stones? SSDI - Swiss inventory of stone monuments, 2016, p. 10.
  11. ↑ Wasserstoan Drumbichl , photo, accessed on March 31, 2020
  12. ↑ Mats Åmark, “När de sista älvkvarnarna smordes” (“When the last elf stones were anointed”), Rig 1956, Link
  13. ↑ [1]
  14. ^ Peter Vilhelm Glob : Bowl pits and rock drawings In: Vorzeitdenkmäler Denmark. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1968 pages 127–142
  15. ↑ https://archive.is/20120729050840/http://www.bornholmsmuseer.dk/helleristninger/Datering/datering5.html