Character stone
In archeology , the term character stone describes all stones that, apart from shells, have certain and suspected artificial processing and whose dating is uncertain. In northern Germany, the term picture stone is used synonymously with the term character stone. The term shell stones denotes all shell-like depressions on rock ridges or erratic stone blocks: according to the archaeologist Urs Schwegler, the exact chronological classification of the shells is rarely possible, whereas the drawing or picture stones can be placed in an archaeological context.
Drawing stones are also called picture stones , they include worked stones with a plastic shape. On the surface there are ideograms and inscriptions, often also crosses, geometric drawings, dates, initials, engravings, mill games, bowls and pans, as well as ornaments or characters that cannot be assigned to a specific time.
Stones on which whole words or texts are engraved are also called inscription stones: they are often found at sites with an archaeological background and can therefore be easily classified in their environment. Sign stones are often related to menhirs , steles or megalithic buildings .
The buried patterns or representations are called petroglyphs and come e.g. B. also in the forest of Fontainebleau , especially at Larchant, where they are called "Triples enceintes rupestres".
See also
literature
- Urs Schwegler: Bowl and drawing stones of Switzerland. Verlag Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Basel 1992, glossary pp. 99–100, ISBN 3-908006-14-7 .
