Benzingerode's hut of the dead

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Floor plan of the death hut in Benzingerode
Benzingerode's death hut is located in room 6 of the permanent exhibition of the State Museum for Prehistory in Halle (Saale)

The totenhütte of Benzingerode is a community grave discovered during archaeological investigations in the north-east of Benzingerode in the northern Harz Mountains , which can be assigned to the Neolithic Bernburg culture (3100–2700 BC) based on the recovered finds .

The shed for the dead was discovered in 2001 during excavations as part of the construction of the federal highway 6n and consisted of a stone slab foundation in a 50-60 cm deep pit on which a 17 m 2 wooden burial chamber was built. The archaeologists assume a large, two-part, walk-in grave room. This was probably provided with a flat roof and was ultimately covered with stones and covered with earth. The exact structure of the wooden hut is purely speculative, as no wood remains have been preserved.

The burial space was intended for several subsequent burials. Anthropological examinations of the skeletons found showed a minimum of 46 both female and male individuals of different ages. Genetic studies of 21 individuals indicate a close biological relationship between the buried subjects.

Location

Benzingerode is located in the northern Harz ( Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt ) near the federal highway 6 and is a district of the city of Wernigerode, about five kilometers to the west .

Location of the site

The site is located in the northeast of Benzingerode, about 50 meters west of the Hellbach at an altitude of 187  m above sea level. NN . The dead hut itself is located on a Weichselian gravel deposition of Hell creek. In some areas there is a thin layer of loess on the gravel . The entire area is covered with 30 to 40 cm thick humus , which is strongly mixed with stones when placed directly on the gravel.

Research history for the site

In the years 1975 to 1983, after deep plowing, numerous fragments of the linear ceramics (LBK), Late Bronze / Early Iron Age (SBZ / EZ) and the Middle Ages were found. Information on these finds can be found in the local files of the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology in Saxony-Anhalt . Even aerial photographs of recently left due recognizable crop marks archaeological findings suggest. There are also two large menhirs , which are visible from the site, in the districts of Benzingerode and Derenburg . According to the local files, there were a total of five menhirs in the vicinity (between Benzingerode and Heimburg ), but their exact location is no longer known. Due to the uncertain dating of these menhirs, however, a connection to the hut of the dead remains unclear.

Discovery and Finding

The shed for the dead was discovered in 2001 during archaeological emergency excavations as part of the major construction project for federal highway 6n .
The excavations on the route near Benzingerode and Heimburg in the Harz district began in March 2001 and covered an area of ​​around two and a half kilometers in length and 30 meters in width (60 meters in width for a planned parking area). Due to its size, the excavation area was divided into three sections and excavation teams, whereby numerous findings from different cultures came to light in all areas.

Finding circumstances and documentation

The remains of the death hut came to light in the late autumn of 2001, shortly before the planned end of the excavation, in the area of ​​the last cuts near the container storage area. In the subsequent investigation, which lasted until the end of July 2002, the digital documentation technology was used to precisely record the complex findings with the numerous well-preserved burials. On the basis of numerous measurement data and the more than two hundred recorded images, plans and redrawings could finally be created and the exact location of all skeletons and finds documented in a permanently traceable manner.

Findings: hut of the dead

At the beginning, the long, rectangular findings ( planum 1), around nine meters long and four meters wide, appeared to be untouched, they were very well preserved and initially showed no defects or findings on the surface. Only in the third subgrade, after removing two layers of stone and around 30 cm of earth, were numerous skeletons visible. In addition, the architectural structure of the shack was revealed. A trapezoidal entrance was found in the east of the facility and a circumferential stone slab foundation 50–70 cm below the surface of the ground in the lowest subgrade. A wooden burial chamber is being reconstructed by the archaeologists on the basis of the stones placed vertically in the area of ​​the flagstone foundation. In addition, other areas with laid stone slabs were found. The rock used in the construction of the hut comes from the immediate vicinity of the site or from quarries in the Harz , as has been shown by petrological examinations of the stones recovered (around 4.5  t ). Furthermore, two construction phases or phases could be documented in the course of the exposure.

Attempted reconstruction

Since the archaeological findings cannot reproduce all the details, an exact, true-to-original reproduction of the Benzingerode tomb is impossible. Nevertheless, the excavator Birgitt Berthold tried to reconstruct the hut for the dead on the basis of the findings plans :
A stone slab foundation was laid in a 50–60 cm deep pit, on which the 17 m² wooden burial chamber was placed. The chamber was reinforced in some areas with additional stone slabs.
The two construction phases or parts are viewed as roughly simultaneous, so that one can assume a large, two-part grave room. The exact structure of the wooden hut is purely speculative, as no wood remains have been preserved. Only guesses can also be made about the height of the hut. The excavator points out that the chamber was at least accessible and that there must have been enough space for the buried to be “stacked”.
The entrance was on the eastern narrow side and was accessible via a ramp-like recess. Due to the lack of deep post pits in the findings, which would have been necessary to support a gable roof , a flat roof is assumed. The whole building was ultimately covered with stones and covered with earth.

Finds: burials and grave goods

Burials

The burial rite of the Bernburg burial huts is part of that of the collective burial practice of the megalithic culture . There was also a grave room in Benzingerode for several subsequent burials, with the skeletons mainly in the western part of the hut.
The anthropological investigations of the skeletons that followed the excavations revealed a minimum of 46 both female and male individuals of different ages (except senile ). Since skeletal parts or entire skeletons may have been removed during (subsequent) burials, it could possibly also have been more individuals. The reason for this consideration are two larger partial bone associations that could be recovered in the east of the hut of the dead and not assigned to any other individual (individual 47 and 48). Isolated burn marks on both human and animal bones also indicate follow-up treatments or ritual acts.

DEATH AGE AND GENDER
(without considering the two sub-associations Ind. 47 and 48)
Age group male presumably
male		 Female presumably
female		 indifferent not determined
(nb)		 Σ
Infans - - - - - 16 16
juvenile 1 - 2 - - 3 6th
adult 8th 1 3 - 1 2 15th
matur 1 2 3 1 - - 7th
nb - - - - - 2 2
Σ 10 3 8th 1 1 23 46
Σ gender 13 9 24
Conclusion: slightly more men than women / predominantly women of childbearing age /
around 50% children and adolescents (common because of high child mortality)
ALIGNMENT AND LOCATION
(taking into account the two sub-associations Ind. 47 and 48)
Orientation /
location		 left
stool		 right
stool		 Prone position Supine position kneeling No statement Σ
North South 8th 1 - - 1 6th 16
South-north - 2 1 2 - 2 7th
East West 3 3 3 - - 2 11
West East 2 - - - - 1 3
No statement - - - - - 11 11
Σ 13 6th 4th 2 1 22nd 48
Conclusion: mainly left-sided stool burials with different orientations.

The dead were placed in eight recognizable, not completely delimited areas, called "quarters" by B. Berthold. The burials, if still in situ , were to be found in up to three superimposed layers, mostly with the same orientation. The reason for the move to these different areas remains unclear. A breakdown by gender or age is not discernible. In the genetic examination of 21 individuals, however, four pairs of individuals with the same female lineage could be identified. Thus a close biological relationship is very likely in these individuals. What is striking here is that three of the four couples were buried in direct contact, i.e. next to or on top of each other.

14 C-dating of individual burials

14 C-examinations of the physical institute of the University of Erlangen on five skeletons and a partial association resulted in a dating to the early Bernburg culture.

individual Sample no. BP / error cal BC Quarter
3 5554 4423 ± 62 3101-2919 E (in the east of the western area)
6th 5555 4410 ± 60 3101-2919 B (in the west of the western area)
18th 5556 4418 ± 65 3101-2919 B (in the west of the western area)
14th 5557 4438 ± 60 3104-2919 G (in the east of the western area)
20th 5558 4593 ± 65 3251-3098 G (in the east of the western area)
43 5559 4500 ± 63 3343-2928 H (in the middle of the north of the hut)
BP: uncalibrated carbon years Before Present , i.e. before 1950
cal BC: calibrated calendar years Before Christ (BC)

Due to the high standard deviation of around sixty years, no precise occupancy sequence can be determined. Only a rough chronological sequence within the individual quarters and between the areas of the western and eastern sub-areas themselves can thereby be determined. Overall, it can be concluded that it is used in several phases, which is difficult to reproduce in detail. In general, the excavator assumes that the hut will be occupied for around fifty years.

Additions

Ceramic finds from the death hut in Benzingerode
Arrowhead and needle finds from the shed of the dead

A total of twelve, partly undamaged, vessels and 18 ceramic shards were found between the dead, which cannot be assigned to any individual but only to different quarters and burial levels. Due to the small number of finds, the excavator suspects that the pottery was also moved or cleared out. With the exception of an early Bronze Age Aunjetitz cup, the vessels are exclusively from Bernburg-era ceramic inventory, such as decorated cups, barrel vessels (including a miniature vessel ) and fragments of a clay drum . The clay has a fine lean appearance and was hard-fired; the surfaces have been smoothed. Remains of white incrustation could be found on one vessel . The ceramic dates back to the classical Bernburg culture of level 2/3.

In addition, four small flint chips or fragments, a quartzite knife and two arrowheads were found , one of which was on the sternum of one of the individuals and is to be understood as an addition or bullet.

Other finds include more than two hundred pierced animal teeth, some of which were found as chains lying close together, some individually on or next to the skeletons. Furthermore, three fragments of the fox's jaw and two needles made from bone and antler were found. Some of these finds could be assigned to individual individuals as possible costume inventory. Another 56 unprocessed animal bones were scattered over the entire finding.

literature

  • Birgitt Berthold: The Totenhütte - a Middle Neolithic burial place. In: Archeology in Saxony-Anhalt. Special volume 2, 2005, pp. 55–72.
  • Birgitt Berthold: Research: Bernburg culture. The hut of the dead in Benzingerode. In: Archeology in Germany. Issue 3, 2006, pp. 6-11.
  • Birgitt Berthold: Stone by stone: The building material of the Bernburger Totenhütte from Benzingerode, Ldkr. Wernigerode. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Vol. 90, 2006, pp. 173-199.
  • Birgitt Berthold and others: The Totenhütte von Benzingerode: Archeology and Anthropology (= archeology in Saxony-Anhalt. Special volume 7). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, 1st edition, Halle (Saale) 2008, ISBN 978-3-939414-12-4 .
  • Harald Meller (Ed.): Lifestyle. Early and Middle Neolithic (booklets accompanying the permanent exhibition in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle; Vol. 3). State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt and State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale) 2008, pp. 213–218, ISBN 978-3-939414-16-2 .
  • Marcel Torres-Blanco: Bernburg culture. In: Hans-Jürgen Beier , Ralph Einicke (Hrsg.): The Neolithic in the Middle Elbe-Saale area and in the Altmark. An overview and an outline of the state of research (contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe; Vol. 4). Verlag Beier & Beran, Wilkau-Hasslau 1994, pp. 159–177, ISBN 978-3-930036-05-9 .

Web links

Commons : Totenhütte von Benzingerode  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 19.
  2. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 20-22.
  3. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 22-24.
  4. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 17-18.
  5. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 24-26, 28-30.
  6. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 24.
  7. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 30-33, 57-66.
  8. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 52.
  9. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 33.
  10. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 34-36.
  11. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 34-39.
  12. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 111-112.
  13. ↑ a b c Birgitt Berthold and others: The Totenhütte of Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 43.
  14. ↑ Harald Meller (ed.): Lifestyle. Early and Middle Neolithic 2008. p. 213.
  15. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 13 Tab. 1.
  16. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 56 tab. 1.
  17. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 39-43.
  18. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 120-125.
  19. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 51-52.
  20. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, p. 39.
  21. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 43-46.
  22. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 46-47.
  23. ↑ Birgitt Berthold et al.: Die Totenhütte von Benzingerode. Archeology and anthropology. 2008, pp. 47-50.

Coordinates: 51 ° 50 ′ 19.8 ″  N , 10 ° 53 ′ 23.6 ″  E

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on July 25, 2012 .