Stader bronze wheels
The Stader bronze wheels , four in Stade found wheels of bronze , from the late Bronze Age come from and are about 3,000 years old.
discovery
The bronze wheels were discovered in 1919 while the road was being built on Goebenstrasse in Stade, about 40 to 60 cm below the surface. The site is elevated on a geest knoll above the valley of the swing . Unaware of the significance of the find, the construction workers hid them with a crowbar and broke three of the four wheels. The construction company reported a find to the Stader Museum, which carried out a subsequent excavation. Some fragments and two bronze nails were found that had broken off during the recovery.
description
The four wheels have a diameter of 58 cm and weigh approx. 11.5 kg each. They were made as a bronze cast in a lost form , but only succeeded with one wheel. The first attempt failed with the other three wheels and reworking through further casting processes was necessary. The techniques of overlay casting and composite casting that were used show that the bronze craftsmen had a high level of technical ability and creativity. Remains of oak were found in the hollow rims with a U-shaped profile . Originally, the rims had wooden treads two centimeters thick, which were attached to the rim with 24 rivets . Since the hubs show no abrasion marks, the wheels were obviously not used. Frequent use was probably not intended, because the bronze used was porous and did not allow for heavy loads.
Investigations and presentation
After their discovery, the bikes were brought to the Hannover Provincial Museum , where Karl Hermann Jacob-Friesen examined them. The state material testing institute Berlin-Dahlem carried out further scientific investigations . In 1927, Karl Hermann Jacob-Friesen published the find.
In 1958, the casting process of the wheels was examined in more detail by the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz . A restoration took place in the 1970s. One wheel was left unrestored as a reserve for future research. In 1972 the remains of wood from a wheel were examined using the C14 method and the wood was found to be 870 BC. Dated ± 80 years. In 2015 the bike, which had not yet been reconstructed and was available in individual parts, was brought to the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz. There it was put together as a copy based on impressions. Further scientific investigations focused on the origin of the raw materials.
The bikes are part of the permanent exhibition at the Schwedenspeicher Museum in Stade. From September 21, 2018 to January 6, 2019, a wheel was displayed in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin in the exhibition Moving Times. Archeology shown in Germany , which took place on the occasion of the European Cultural Heritage Year 2018.
Comparative finds
The Stader bronze wheels date from the urn field culture . Typologically, they are assigned to the Coulon group, which is named after the western French site of Coulon in the Deux-Sèvres department . So far (as of 2004) there have been nine comparative finds of bronze wheels from the Coulon Group, which were found in a strip from the mouth of the Elbe to the Golfe du Lion . The sites are in the valleys of the Rhone , Loire and Saône as well as at the foot of the Pyrenees , with Stade being the furthest north. Locations include Nîmes , La Côte-Saint-André , Cortaillod , Langres and, in Germany, Haßloch . The wheels represent the greatest achievement of bronze casting in the Urnfield Period and the Early Iron Age .
interpretation
It is likely that the wheels belonged to a wagon. However, it is unclear whether it was a two-wheeled or four-wheeled car. In the previous comparative finds, the wagons were two-wheeled. Since there are no signs of wear and tear, everyday use of the car is excluded. It is believed to be used as a cult car in a ritual context, for example in processions or as a means of transport to the final resting place of high-ranking personalities. Although there are a number of comparative finds, a place of manufacture for the wheels is not known. They probably came to Stade as a finished product. The reason for laying down the wheels, which with 45 kg of bronze represent a large hoard , is not known.
literature
- Bernd Habermann: Not a Volkswagen - the bronze wheels from Stade, Ldkr. Stade. In: Archeology in Lower Saxony 7, 2004, pp. 27–28
- Betty Arndt, Bernd Habermann: Trade. Exchange and transportation. In: Archeology in Lower Saxony 14, 2011
- Sebastian Möllers: Sensational find during construction work. In: Daniel Nösler, Andreas Schäfer (Hrsg.): FundSache - Archeology between Oste and Elbe. Drochtersen 2013, pp. 64–65
- Christopher Pare: The ceremonial wagon of the Bronze and Urnfield Ages: its origin, form and distribution ( online at academia.edu )
