Villa Arnesburg

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Excavation on the former settlement area of ​​Villa Arnesburg, 2014

The Villa Arnesburg is a desolate settlement in Lich in Hesse , which was located north of the Lich district of Muschenheim on what is now arable land. The settlement on the banks of the Wetter , consisting of only one or two farmsteads, existed from around the 8th to the 12th century and, according to written sources, was probably called Arnsburg. It was about 250 meters south of Arnsburg Castle .

Research history

The settlement was recognized as a medieval site during field inspections through plowed up ceramic shards around 1990. The first excavation was carried out in 1993 by the Commission for State Archaeological Research . Only a small section of the settlement area was exposed. Since 2014 there have been more recent excavations by the State Office for Monument Preservation in Hesse in order to gain more detailed information. Further excavation campaigns took place in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2016, archaeologists from Stockholm University and the Dutch Saxion Hogescholen in Deventer were involved.

Finds and Findings

The archaeological findings established by excavations include numerous building structures, including around 20 pit houses . Discovered whorls put a use of pit houses near for craft purposes. In 2015, the stone foundations of a building from the 11th to 12th centuries were uncovered, which was only recognized by geophysical prospecting before the start of the excavation. The archaeologists see the 6 × 8 meter building as an earlier residential tower , which, due to its wide foundations and reinforced corners, could have supported up to three upper floors made of timber framing. In the immediate vicinity, posts of a larger, timber-framed building were discovered.

Although the former settlement area has been used for agriculture for centuries, the medieval horizon has been preserved. Stoves were found on it, which may have been used for crafts. Slag found suggests iron production. Medieval pottery is one of the most common finds. Among the recovered metal objects is an iron wolf tang from the 8th century. Other finds are lance tips and riding accessories.

rating

Archaeologists believe it is possible that as early as the Carolingian times in the 8th or 9th century, a manor house existed at the site as a forerunner of the settlement. Because of its location near Arnsburg Castle , a relationship between the settlement and the seat of the Lords of Munzenberg is assumed. The presumed residential tower from the 11th to 12th centuries and the presence of metal objects in this rural area indicate the presence of socially superior people or of nobles. Around the tower there were pit houses that were used for the production of textiles, iron smelting or non-ferrous metal processing .

literature

  • Michael Gottwald, Christoph Röder: Seven new pit houses and a stone building from the "villa Arnesburg". hessenARCHÄOLOGIE, Theiss, Stuttgart 2015 (2016), pp. 121–124.
  • Michael Gottwald: After 21 years: new research in the villa Arnesburg. Investigation of an early medieval settlement in Lich-Kloster Arnsburg, district of Gießen. hessenARCHÄOLOGIE, Theiss, Stuttgart 2014 (2015), pp. 129-133.
  • Mathias Austermann: excavations in a Latène period and medieval settlement near Arnsburg, district of Gießen. In: Reports of the Commission for State Archaeological Research in Hesse. 3, 1994/1995, pp. 113-143.
  • Mathias Austermann: settlement research, archeology - history - geography. Volume 17, Verlag settlement research Bonn, 1999, pp 54-56, 61, ISSN  0175 to 0046 , ( kulturlandschaft.org PDF).
  • Muschenheim: amazing archaeological finds. In: Gießener Anzeiger . July 12, 2016.

Web links

Commons : Villa Arnesburg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eveline Grönke: On the trail of the Villa Arnesburg. A medieval settlement near Lich-Muschenheim (district of Gießen) In: Preservation of monuments in Hessen. 4/2014, p. 34.
  2. ↑ News from the Villa Arnesburg from 2015
  3. ↑ Excavation 2016 "villa Arnesburg"
  4. ↑ New findings on the "Villa Arnesburg" ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at archäologie.online on July 21, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.archaeologie-online.de

Coordinates: 50 ° 29 ′ 16 ″  N , 8 ° 47 ′ 22 ″  E