Desert Schmeessen
Schmeessen , also Schmeeßen or Smedersen or Smitheredeshusun is a deserted area in the district of Northeim in the state of Lower Saxony . The former village is remote from settlement in the community-free area of the Solling . The foundations of the medieval church uncovered today have been preserved as structural evidence.
location
The place is in the forest-used southwest Solling east of Lauenförde not far from the upper Weser valley . The B241 runs nearby . The location is about 3 kilometers southwest of the Winnefeld desert . The deserted village is freely accessible from a street and developed for tourist use.
history
The place is on an old high path north of the royal camp Herstelle . Settlement has been archaeologically proven since the 8th century, when the Weser-Leinebergland was opened up during the Carolingian era .
As part of a transfer of goods to the Corvey Monastery , to which Deisel also belonged, the place was first mentioned in 1004 as Smitheredeshusun . For this time, however, the finds go back again.
It was not until around 1200 that there was evidence of increased settlement and the construction of a stone church, the fortified tower of which also served as a protective castle. At that time the place, which was mentioned in 1303 as the widow's estate of Countess Sophie von Dassel and Nienover Smedersen , was part of the County of Dassel . The area around the village was used for agriculture, traces of which have been preserved by vaulters north of the village .
Since the expansion of surrounding cities, such as Uslar , the location has proven to be unfavorable and the place was abandoned around 1450 and fell desolate, possibly in connection with the destruction during the Soest feud in the summer of 1447.
Excavations
In 2005 and in the following years, seven annual excavation campaigns with the techniques of medieval archeology took place under the direction of Hans-Georg Stephan from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg . At least five pit houses were discovered. In 2012, the excavations were stopped at short notice due to financing difficulties, among other things. A team led by SPD politician Gabriele Lösekrug-Möller was one of the helpers of the excavations .
In 2006, a cemetery with more than a dozen graves was found southeast of the church. There was a blue glass button with an iron eyelet on the clothes of a toddler buried in the church choir, which is considered unusual, since this technology was only widespread in the early modern period. In addition, traces from the time of the tumulus culture were found on the high path. Ceramic remnants from the early Middle Ages were interpreted as traces of settlement from this time. In 2011 there were indications that refugees from Hammaburg temporarily settled here.
Village church
Earthenware finds suggest that the church is an early 13th century structure. It is a geosteten rectangular building in the style of similar buildings in the region as Malliehagen , Nienhagen or Oldenrode . The maximum external dimension is 15.9 × 8.4 meters. The small size and simpler processing compared to the village church in Winnefeld is attributed to the lower economic possibilities of the villagers. Since there was evidence of a post pit under one of the foundations , it is assumed that a previous church was made of wood. From traces of soot in the area of the choir side and the rest of a lance, it is concluded that the village was attacked in the course of the Soest feud with subsequent desertification.
The stone church was demolished in the 19th century, but a 70 centimeter high wall remains under rubble. It is a very rare example of a wall made of small blocks of sandstone , laid dry in clay. The floor plan was partially reconstructed in 2012 on the initiative of the Kultur-Naturhistorischer Dreiländerbund Weserbergland association . The chairman of the association, Jürgen Koch, was awarded the Lower Saxony Order of Merit in 2013 for his commitment to the scientific exploration of the medieval cultural landscape in the Weser Uplands, including the Schmeessen desert .
See also
literature
- Hans-Georg Stephan, Ralf Mahytka, Radoslav Myszka, Matthias Zirm, Hans-Rudolf Bork , Arno Beyer: Archaeological-ecological research on the landscape, settlement and economic history in Solling in 2006 . In: Göttinger Jahrbuch 55, 2007, p. 239 ff.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Smitheredeshusun in the early Middle Ages
- ↑ Journal for Archeology of the Middle Ages , Volume 35, 2007, p. 160
- ↑ Schmeeßen desert
- ↑ Did Viking raid refugees settle in Schmeessen? in: Beverunger Rundschau
- ↑ # x5D; = 226983 Excavation in Schmeessen is stopped for a short time in: Daily Anzeiger from August 21, 2012 ( Memento of the original from October 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ # x5D; = 227130 “ End of excavation in Schmeessen? No, it will continue in 2013! ” In: Daily Anzeiger dated August 22, 2012 ( Memento of the original dated October 17, 2013 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.
- ↑ # x5D; = 228057 Schmeessen disappears into the ground again in: Daily Anzeiger from August 29, 2012 ( Memento of the original from October 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Politician searches for traces of history
- ↑ Excavations in Schmeessen solve the riddle of the first Hamburgers. ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ History made tangible at deutschland.today on October 2, 2013
Coordinates: 51 ° 39 ′ 50.5 ″ N , 9 ° 26 ′ 32.1 ″ E