Armchair grotto

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Armchair grotto

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Location: Essing , Altmuehltal , Germany
Geographic
location: 		48 ° 56 '8.2 "  N , 11 ° 47' 21.6"  E Coordinates: 48 ° 56 '8.2 "  N , 11 ° 47' 21.6"  E
Sesselfelsgrotte (Bavaria)
Armchair grotto
Cadastral number: H 68
Geology: dolomite
Type: Half-cave
Show cave since: No
Lighting: No

The chair rock grotto is a half cave near Neuessing in the Altmühltal in the Lower Bavarian district of Kelheim in Bavaria .

location

Both half caves ( Abri ) are located in a rock wall and are open to the southwest. They are about 25 m above the Altmühl , about 374 m above sea level and directly above the northern row of houses in Neuessing.

history

Both caves are an archaeological site and one of the most important Palaeolithic sites from the prehistory of Bavaria . During excavations in the Abri, a seven-meter-thick sequence of layers was documented, which, with the lower layers, goes back to the approximately 125,000-year-old Eem warm period. The overlying layer sequence contains 35 sedimentological units and 25 cultural horizons up to the end of the Würm Ice Age . By comparing the geological layers, it is possible to date other nearby sites of the Altmühltal. Because of its long stratigraphic sequence and fossil finds from several Neanderthals , the site is of supraregional importance.

Since Abri I (also Abri in the village ), located about ten meters to the south-east, was first examined in 1959 , the armchair rock grotto is also known as Abri II of Neuessing. The caves are listed in the Franconian Alb cave register (HFA) under H 68.

Research history

From 1959, follow-up examinations for stratigraphy were carried out in the lower Altmühltal, which is rich in paleolithic sites, at some excavated sites, such as in the Lower and Middle Klausen Caves (1960) and the Oberneder Caves (1960–1963). Because of the largely destroyed sediment sequences in these caves, however, the still untouched “ Great Abri in Pfaffenholz ”, which is not far from the Klausen caves on the same side of the valley, seemed more suitable . During this sondage (1963–1964) the Mesolithic, which had been missing in the lower Altmühltal up until then, could be detected, but the hoped-for meaningful stratigraphy was not found there either.

Already in the summer of 1959 a (limited) investigation of the "Abri Schmidt" or "Abri I", later called "Abri im Dorf" , was undertaken by Lothar Zotz and Otto Pruefer (Cleveland Museum, Ohio). Here, too, the stratigraphy was unproductive due to disturbances (originating from the Second World War, among others) and the shallow rock. However, a significant cultural layer of the Gravettian was excavated, in which an unusual 0.5 m long ivory shovel, related to the Moravian Pavlovian , was found. Five years later, this find, plus the other cultural remains and faunal remains, became the reason for the excavations in the smaller armchair grotto / Abri II located just a few meters to the northwest. Because of its smaller dimensions, it seemed less promising and because it was not accessible in 1959 was (as it was still privately owned at the time), it only came into the focus of excavators after the ineffective investigations of the larger Abri I.

Both demolitions and part of the sloping terrain were measured by M. Kirmaier on a scale of 1: 100 before the excavation began in 1964; he also set the zero point for the excavation grid, which the probe and the later campaigns were based on. Only ten days remained for the excavation itself this season. The excavators hoped, because of the same terrain as at Abri I, for a finding from the time of the Gravettian, but in a more favorable layer embedding and in undisturbed storage. The aim of the investigations was to take sediment samples suitable for analysis that could be used for comparison with those from Abri I from 1959. In retrospect, however, no one had expected that the sedimentation conditions and even more the amount of finds in the armchair rock grotto would be completely different from those in Abri I.

The first silices were already found at a depth of 35–40 cm. A little deeper they became more and more frequent. The hoped-for parallel to the Gravettien of Abri I had come about. Numerous Upper Paleolithic penknives were embedded at a depth of around 90 cm. A "Silexnest" with hundreds of pieces could be uncovered, this was the first indication that the devices were manufactured on site. This was followed by a debris zone interspersed with clay with significantly larger Upper Paleolithic artefacts. Then a powerful loess package that had been found free and interspersed with rubble lenses. The first Middle Paleolithic silices were found at a depth of 180 cm, this was followed again by an empty zone, and then at about 200 cm the horizon, initially referred to as the "lower Middle Paleolithic layer", was reached. This horizon, which descends towards the slope, is characterized by an extraordinarily large number of silices, bones and charcoal. The G-layer complex was reached and the first such surprising excavation campaign came to an end. Profile sketches of the side walls of the trench were made. Almost 3000 silices and a large number of bone fragments, including those from horses, reindeer and mammoths , were recovered in this short but eventful time. An important Late and Middle Paleolithic resting place, which was to become one of the most important Paleolithic sites in Central Europe in the following years, was discovered and with it the meaningful stratigraphy that had been sought for so long.

The excavations in the Sesselfelsgrotte, financed by the German Research Foundation, were then continued as a teaching excavation in 1965 under the direction of Lothar Zotz and Gisela Freund with employees and students from the Institute for Prehistory and Early History at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg . After the death of Lothar Zotz in 1967, Gisela Freund took over the sole management of the excavation until 1977 and during the last campaign in 1981. In total, there were 15 summer excavation campaigns.

In the spring of 1967 the fence surrounding the site was pulled down and parts of the stratigraphy were destroyed in a robbery excavation and a considerable amount of artifacts were stolen. The guilty party could be identified and punished (using a bag with personal items that were accidentally buried in the rush), but only some of the artifacts were returned and the impairment of the context of the find is irreparable. Gisela Freund called the incident (in her monograph on the armchair grotto) a "catastrophic" event. The area of ​​the excavation (square meter B7), in which mainly the skeletal remains (see below) were to be discovered later, was also affected.

The entire found material is now the property of the Prehistoric and Protohistoric Collection and the Sesselfelsgrotte itself could also be transferred to the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg after negotiations with the owner.

Stratigraphy and finds in the individual sections

In the chair rock grotto, a Pleistocene layer sequence up to 7 m thick can be seen, which belongs to the Würm glacial period . It is not complete. The lower five meters show a largely calm sedimentation with no noticeable gaps, but the upper and uppermost part shows profound erosion phenomena . In the area of ​​layer E2, these also mean a hiatus of two decades or even more.

Gisela Freund divided the total sediment package into IV sections / 4 time phases based on more or less common features with regard to the management of limestone rubble and binding material as well as with regard to strength and color. In addition, very clear changes in the sediment and changes in the remains of culture, fauna and / or flora were considered.

Section I.

Section I comprises all so-called lower layers, starting with layer 3-West in the west corner and with layer S in the south corner up to and including layer M1, with which the human inspection initially ends. From this 2.5 m thick sequence of culture layers, sedimentological observation and evaluation possibilities arise. This section represents the Moustérien , the older part of the Middle Paleolithic. The importance of the armchair rock grotto compared to other central European cave and abri sites is already evident here .

Section II

Section II consists of layers L to I and is up to one meter thick in places. The section stands for a time phase in which people avoided the Abri and is associated with the 1st cold maximum . It contains the unusually rich microfauna remains . "Rodent remains" are particularly concentrated in Layer I. Here, traces of human inspection can be detected again with the help of a few cultural remains, as well as signs of a probable climate change, which is why Layer I is still included in this section and marks the transition to the next younger section.

Section III

Section III contains the 1.5 m thick layers H to E3 / E2 with the most intensive use of the demolition during the Middle Paleolithic by humans in the culture layers G5-G1 and the end of the Middle Paleolithic in layer E3. The tool shapes of the G-layer complex (layers HF) are assigned to the Micoquien , but also show features that are reminiscent of the Moustérien. During the formation of layer E3, deep erosion channels dug into the sedimentation in the edge areas, in places down to layer H. The long period of the great hiatus with evacuation and relocation processes closes this section, with layer E2 taking a special position.

Section IV

Section IV begins with the approx. 50 cm thick sterile loess package of layer D, in which even fauna remains are missing; it should have arisen during the 2nd cold maximum . This is followed by layers of late glacial debris with the early and late palaeolithic cultural horizons C2 to B2.

In the area C2 / 1, erosion processes can again be determined. Striking in layer C2 is the extensive distribution of rubble or limestone with scorch marks. Andreas Dirian concluded from this that there was a hearth here; this consisted of an almost semicircular structure, which was composed of a compact layer of limestone and rubble. The point is a short distance from the rock wall of the demolition; it is the square meter X5-X7. The fireplace is comparable to others found, for example, in the Paris basin and dating back to the same time. The absence of ash in the area of ​​the fireplace suggests that it should be cleared (several times). The artifacts discovered in this layer consist mainly of tuberhorn stone and quartzite . Accordingly, it was a tool industry that obtained its raw material from the vicinity of the armchair cave. The amount of artifacts suggests that the demolition was occupied for a longer period of time; among the tools are back tips, back knives, burins , scrapers and drills.

The finds in the archaeological horizon C1 are similar, albeit less numerous (with regard to the artifacts). In 1969, a depot was discovered in square meter Z 3, which consisted of four slightly worked slabs on top of each other, plus several blades . Andreas Dirian concluded from this that the archaeological horizon C1 is to be addressed as a warehouse that was specially used for the production of material and equipment.

The B layers were absent or disturbed in many parts of the excavation area. The archaeological horizon B3 was deposited during the recent tundra period; it now definitely dates to the late Paleolithic, which can be seen above all in the tools (back tips, back knives, burins and scratches). The number of artifacts has decreased significantly, which suggests, on the one hand, a reduction in the number of migrating groups and, on the other hand, a reduction in the occupancy time of the demolition.

Layer A, which was disturbed in the modern era, brought about medieval finds (the installation of a cellar, presumably from the medieval city fortifications of Neuessing) and findings (remains of domestic animals and ceramic fragments of modern provenance were discovered). This loess and rubble package measures around 1.5 m.

Human fossil remains

The human remains found in the Abri "Armchair Rock Grotto" were scientifically published in 2006.

A total of 14 human fossils were found in the Armchair Rock Grotto. 12 of these remains come from the deposited skeleton of a fetus . Two more milk molars belong to two different juvenile Neanderthals . The fetal remains are very small, with only a single bone fragment exceeding five centimeters in length. None of the finds is so well preserved that new insights into the anatomy of the Neanderthal man could be gained. From the archaeological context, all fossil remains are assigned to the Neanderthals ( Homo neanderthalensis ). The exact affiliation of the remains was made by comparing them with a child's skeleton of a Homo sapiens individual, which is kept in the anthropological collection of the Institute for Natural History in Stuttgart.

The remains of the individual named "Sesselfelsgrotte 1" come from the Middle Paleolithic cultural horizon G5. They were discovered on August 9, 1968 and identified as fetal skeletal remains in 1995. To the obtained bone fragment includes a frontal (the left front leg), a fragment of a mandible (lower jaw left), a piece of a vertebra thoracic (right arch of the thoracic vertebrae), and five ribs fragments ( costae ). In addition, fragments of a right humerus dex , a right ulna ( ulna dex ), a right thigh bone ( femur dex ) and a right fibula ( fibula dex ) were found. The relics come from an 8-month-old fetus that was either stillborn or died shortly after birth.

"Armchair Grotto 2" refers to a milk molar of the upper jaw that was found in layer M2 (Section I). Finally, “Armchair Grotto 3” was brought to light in the lower layer G3 and is also a human milk molar.

Neanderthal children once lost their two milk molars from layers G3 and M2 when they changed their teeth, namely - based on today's children - at the age of around twelve. The bones of the fetus show that the Neanderthals buried the body in a grave, because if it had been stored on the surface, even the few hard parts would have completely disappeared today.

Rock face

The caves are located in an imposing mass limestone cliff with a reef dome structure. The vertical fracturing of the rock creates tower-shaped weathering forms. Coves and rock roofs at the foot of the rock face are due to the erosion of the Altmühldonau . The rock is designated as geotope 273R004 by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment . See also the list of geotopes in the Kelheim district .

literature

  • Gisela Freund: Sesselfelsgrotte I. Excavation process and stratigraphy . Saarbrücken 1998.
  • Wolfgang Weissmüller : Armchair rock grotto II. The flint artifacts of the lower layers of the armchair rock grotto. A contribution to the problem of the Moustérien . Saarbrücken 1995.
  • Jürgen Richter: Armchair Rock Grotto III. The G-layer complex of the armchair grotto . Saarbrücken 1997.
  • Jürgen Richter: The 14C data from the armchair grotto and the time of the Micoquien / MMO In: Germania, Volume 80 / I, 2002, pp. 1–22
  • Utz Böhner : Sesselfelsgrotte IV. Layer E3 of the Sesselfelsgrotte and the finds from Abri I at Schulerloch. Late Moustérien inventories and their relationship to the Micoquien . Stuttgart 2008. ISBN 978-3-515-09274-6 ( Online , pdf, 14.8 MB)
  • Andreas Dirian: Armchair rock grotto V. The late Upper Paleolithic and Late Paleolithic of the upper layers of the armchair rock grotto. Cultural sequence and cave use in the late glacial . Saarbrücken 2003.
  • Thomas Rathgeber: Fossil remains from the armchair rock grotto in the lower Altmuehl valley (Bavaria, Federal Republic of Germany). In: Quaternary 53/54 . 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rathgeber, 2006, p. 36
  2. ^ Gisela Freund : Sesselfelsgrotte I. Excavation process and stratigraphy. Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag (sdv), 1998, pp. 294–296
  3. ↑ Uta von Freeden et al. (Ed.): Traces of the millennia. Our ancestors from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages. Roman-Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute, Frankfurt am Main 2006, p. 74
  4. ↑ C. Sebastian Sommer et al .: Archeology in Bavaria. Window to the past. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2006, p. 36
  5. ↑ Freund 1998, p. 294
  6. ↑ Freund 1998, pp. 14-15
  7. ↑ Freund 1998, p. 16 f.
  8. ↑ Sommer et al. 2006, p. 37
  9. ↑ Freund 1998, pp. 29-38. P. 294.
  10. ↑ Freund 1998, pp. 38-40 and Fig. 23.
  11. ↑ Rathgeber 2006, p. 43 in: Quartär 53/54
  12. ↑ Freund 1998, p. 7. p. 38
  13. ↑ Freund 1998, p. 269
  14. ↑ Dirian 2003, pp. 41-43
  15. ↑ Dirian 2003, p. 48
  16. ↑ Dirian 2003, 96-139
  17. ↑ Dirian 2003, pp. 141, 158-159
  18. ↑ Freund 1998, p. 58 u. 91
  19. ↑ Rathgeber 2006, pp. 33–59
  20. ↑ Rathgeber 2006, p. 40 in: Quartär 53/54
  21. ↑ Rathgeber 2006, p. 44 in: Quartär 53/54
  22. ↑ Rathgeber 2006, pp. 46–49 in: Quartär 53/54
  23. ↑ Rathgeber 2006, pp. 51–53 in: Quartär 53/54
  24. ↑ Geotop: rock face above Neuesing (accessed on September 5, 2013; PDF; 175 kB)