Setting wedge
The setting wedge is a pierced, ground Neolithic large device made of stone, which was in use from the beginning of linear ceramic tape (5500 BC) to the period of the Epi- Rössen groups. Raising wedges are a common find in the area of distribution of these cultures alongside the shoe last wedge . Although they were also known as stone hatchets or stone axes, researchers agreed early on that such use should be ruled out. Noticeable is the perforation, which is often much too small in relation to the weight, and the asymmetrical shape.
Clemens Eibner first made the connection to the modern use of setting wedges. Such an explanation makes it clear how the boards and planks of the great houses could be made in the absence of saws . The oak work of the three fountains in Kückhoven , district of Erkelenz, provided an insight into the carpentry of the late linear ceramics .
Traces of wear and tear appear on setting wedges at those points that were hit and where the cracking pressure was effective. Since the cutting edge did not play a major role, it was often blunt. However, since damage to the front part impaired its function, the device was often re-sharpened and thus continuously shortened. Probably the different finds are just random stages of wear and tear. A 4.1 kg wedge, 44.8 cm long, nine centimeters wide and 5.9 cm thick, which was found at Welver in the Soest district , already shows signs of use or reworking, although it is one of the largest specimens ever found .
literature
- Clemens Eibner: On the nomenclature and ergological interpretation of the Neolithic setting wedge . In: Archaeologia Austriaca , Vol. 50 (1971), pp. 1-20, ISSN 1816-2959
- Westphalian Museum of Archeology : Annual report , year 2002.