Bestattungen der Altheimer Kultur in Nördlingen - die Fundstelle Nürnberger Straße 63, Nördlinger Ries, Bayern

The archaeological record for the Altheim culture (approx. 38th -35th century BC) in SW Germany is highly biased. While a small number of waterlogged sites have provided material for very detailed analyses of settlement activities and economy within this environmental setting, evidence for settlement activities outside these specific topographic situations is extremely sparse. The same applies to burial features that have been identified from eight sites which are predominantly isolated burials that have not revealed any clear modus concerning orientation, grave goods or spatial organization. Here we present results from a site situated in the Nördlinger Ries (Bavaria) that has yielded a total of eight burials of this culture together with a small number of contemporary settlement features including the rare example of a well. Our results corroborate the absence of any strict orientation or a defined set of grave goods in this culture and no spatial organization of the burials could be observed.Die archäologische Überlieferung der Altheim Kultur (ca. 38. -35. Jhd. v. Chr.) in SW Deutschland ist sehr uneinheitlich. Während eine kleine Anzahl an Fundstellen mit Feuchtbodenerhaltung Material für sehr detaillierte Analysen zur Siedlungs- und Wirtschaftsentwicklung in diesen Niederungen geliefert hat, ist der archäologische Quellenbestand zur Siedlungsgeschichte in anderen Naturräumen vergleichsweise spärlich. Dieses betrifft auch die Bestattungsbefunde, die bislang von acht Fundstellen bekannt gewesen sind und überwiegend isoliert liegende Einzelbestattungen ohne erkennbare Muster im Hinblick auf Ausrichtung, Beigabensitte oder räumliche Organisation umfassen. Nachfolgend werden die Auswertungen einer bodendenkmalpflegerischen Maßnahme im Nördlinger Ries (Bayern) vorgestellt, die insgesamt acht Bestattungen mit Zuweisung zu diesem Kulturhorizont erbracht hat. Diese Bestattungen sind mit einer kleinen Zahl zeitgleicher Siedlungsbefunde vergesellschaftet, darunter auch der seltene Befund einen Brunnens. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen, dass Bestattungen dieser Kulturgruppe keinem erkennbaren Muster hinsichtlich der Orientierung oder Beigabensitte folgen und auch eine räumliche Struktur des Bestattungsplatzes zu fehlen scheint

De la France vers la Saxe – Des galets peints du Mas d’Azil (Ariège, France) dans les collections archéologiques de la Saxe

Cette contribution est consacrée à une trentaine de galets peints du Mas d’Azil qui ont été dénichés récemment dans le Staatliches Museum für Archäologie à Chemnitz (Allemagne). L’étude retrace l’historique muséographique de ces pièces et rappelle qu’elles ont été directement offertes, en 1899, par le fouilleur Édouard Piette à la collection royale préhistorique du musée de Dresde. L’identification de la provenance rend peu probable le fait qu’il s’agisse de contrefaçons et offre un complément important à l’inventaire de ces pièces emblématiques de la préhistoire française.This contribution presents about 30 painted pebbles from Le Mas d’Azil which have been recently detected in the Staatliches Museum für Archäologie à Chemnitz (Germany). This study retraces the history of these pieces since their discovery at the site and demonstrates that they have been directly donated, in 1899, by the excavator Édouard Piette to the royal collection of prehistory at Dresden. The identification of their origin makes it unlikely that they represent forgeries and offer an important addendum to the existing inventory of these emblematic pieces of French prehistory

Environmental development and local human impact in the Jeetzel valley (N Germany) since 10 ka BP as detected by geoarchaeological analyses in a coupled aeolian and lacustrine sediment archive at Soven

While archaeological records indicate an intensive Mesolithic occupation of dune areas situated along river valleys, relatively little knowledge exists about environmental interactions in the form of land-use strategies and their possible local impacts. The combination of geoarchaeological, chronological, geochemical and palaeoecological research methods and their application both on a Mesoltihic site situated on top of a dune and the adjacent palaeochannel sediments allows for a detailed reconstruction of the local environmental development around the Soven site in the Jeetzel valley (Northern Germany) since ~10.5 ka cal BP. Based on the results, we identified four phases that may be related to local human impact twice during the Mesolithic, the Neolithic and the Iron Ages and are discussed on the backdrop of the regional settlement history. Although nearby Mesolithic occupation is evident on archaeological grounds, the identification of synchronous impacts on the vegetation in the local environmental records remains tentative even in respect of the broad methodical spectrum applied. Vice versa, human impact is strongly indicated by palaeoecological and geochemical proxies during the Neolithic period, but cannot be connected to archaeological records in the area so far. A younger phase of human impact – probably consisting of seasonal livestock farming in the wetlands – is ascribed to the Iron Age economy and comprises local soil erosion, raised concentrations of phosphates and urease, and the facilitation of grazing related taxa.researc

From France to Saxony – Painted pebbles from Le Mas d’Azil (Ariège) in the archaeological collections from Saxony

This contribution presents about 30 painted pebbles from Le Mas d’Azil which have been recently detected in the Staatliches Museum für Archäologie à Chemnitz (Germany). This study retraces the history of these pieces since their discovery at the site and demonstrates that they have been directly donated, in 1899, by the excavator Édouard Piette to the royal collection of prehistory at Dresden. The identification of their origin makes it unlikely that they represent forgeries and offer an important addendum to the existing inventory of these emblematic pieces of French prehistory

Aeolian sedimentation in the Rhine and Main area from the Late Glacial until the Mid-Holocene

Äolische Sedimente (sandiger Löss, Flugsand) wurden durch pedologische und geochronologische Methoden (OSL) mit dem Ziel untersucht, hieraus Aussagen zur stratigraphischen Abfolge und zum Ablagerungsalter zu gewinnen und diese Ergebnisse auf die Ergebnisse der archäologischen Ausgrabung zu beziehen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Ablagerung des Lösses im Spätglazial auf einer älteren Lage von Windkantern erfolgte und dieser am Ende des Pleistozäns von äolischem Sand überdeckt wurde. Untersuchungen der fundführenden Schichten ergaben eine mittelholozäne Datierung (6.9 ka), die mit einer lokalen Störung durch äolische Sedimentumlagerungen in Folge anthropogener Landschaftsveränderungen während des Neolithikums erklärt werden. Diese Untersuchungsergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund vergleichbarer äolischer Stratigraphien und Fundplätz im Rhein-Main-Gebiet diskutiert.researc

Water-management in Central Germany based on geoarchaeological and palaeobotanical analyses of wells from the mid to late 3rd millennium BC at Roitzschjora

Only very view well features dating to the late 3rd millenium BC have been discovered so far from Central Germany. Here we present the results of palaeobotanical, sedimentological and archaeological analyses performed on three small well features from the Roitzschjora site. Our results prove that these group of features could serve as valuable palaeoenvironmental on-site records in spite of their poor preservation and small extent. The may espacially contribute to our general understanding of water management in comparatively dry environments and a more realistic assessment of the vulnerablity of these societies to small-scaled hydrological changes

Fortification, mining, and charcoal production: landscape history at the abandoned medieval settlement of Hohenwalde at the Faule Pfütze (Saxony, Eastern Ore Mountains)

Geoarchaeological reconstructions of land-use changes may help to reveal driving cultural factors and incentives behind these processes and relate them to supra-regional economic and political developments. This is particularly true in the context of complete abandonment of a settlement. Here we present a case study from the site of Faule Pfütze, a small catchment in the Eastern Ore Mountains (Saxony). The historical record of this site is confined to the report of a settlement called Hohenwalde in 1404 CE and two later references to the then-abandoned settlement in 1492 and 1524 CE in this area. Combined geoarchaeological studies allowed for the reconstruction of several phases of land use. While a first phase of alluvial sedimentation occurred during the late 12th century, archaeological evidence for a permanent settlement is absent during this period. The onset of settlement activity is identified during the late 14th century and included a hitherto unknown massive stone building. Mining features are present nearby and are dated to the early 15th century. The local palynological record shows evidence for reforestation during the mid 15th century and thereby corroborates the time of abandonment indicated by written sources. These processes are discussed in the context of a local political conflict (Dohna Feud) leading to the redistribution of properties and the development of a mining economy during this time. Later land use from the mid 16th century onwards appears restricted to charcoal production, probably in the context of smelting works operating in nearby Schmiedeberg as indicated by rising lead concentrations in the alluvial record

Multiproxy analyses of stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the late Palaeolithic Grabow floodplain site, northern Germany

Changing river courses and fluctuations of the water table were some of the most fundamental environmental changes that humans faced during the Late Glacial, particularly as these changes affected areas intensively used for settlement and resource exploitation. Unfortunately, only a few stratigraphies have been documented in the North European plain that show the interaction between river development, vegetation history, and occupation by Late Palaeolithic humans. Here, we present the results of detailed stratigraphical studies (pedology, archaeology, chrono-, tephra-, and palynostratigraphy) at the Federmesser site Grabow 15 located in the broad Elbe River valley. The research aimed to produce a model of site formation based on a multiproxy approach, relating the local evidence to the palaeoenvironmental and settlement history of the wider region. After deposition of fluvial sands during the Late Pleniglacial in a braided setting, the river course developed locally toward a meandering system at the transition from the Older Dryas to the Allerød, while periodic flooding led to the deposition of floodplain sediments during the early Allerød. The floodplain was settled by people of the earliest “Federmessergruppen,” who are believed to have chosen this open floodplain area along the river for collecting and processing amber of local origin. Their artifacts became embedded in the aggrading floodplain sediments. In the late Allerød, floodplain sedimentation ceased and a Fluvisol-type soil developed, indicating a trend toward geomorphic stability. The Fluvisol was then covered by silty floodplain sediments due to a rising water level during the late Younger Dryas resulting in the cessation of human occupation in the area. Subsequent organic-rich Late Glacial/Holocene sediments preserved the settlement remains to the present