Altheimer Kultur

Dieser Aufsatz ist die überarbeitete Fassung einer im Jahr 2003 in Frankfurt am Main eingereichten Dissertation. Er stellt eine Interpretation von Silexinventaren dar, die aus jungneolithischen Talbodensiedlungen im Landkreis Landsberg am Lech, Oberbayern, stammen. Diese Interpretation wird durch Vergleiche mit publizierten Silexinventaren Süddeutschlands und der Schweiz erweitert.

In 2012, fieldwork recommenced at the Altheim earthwork, discovered more than a century ago. The investigation in its immediate environs revealed a second ditched enclosure from the Altheim period, south-east of the previously-known structure. The two enclosures are spatially related to one another. It was found that several decimetres of soil have been eroded during the last hundred years in the area of the north earthwork; the very substance of both monuments is acutely threatened. The first radiocarbon datings – carried out on samples of domestic animal bone – allow both enclosures to be dated to the 37th/36th century BC and suggest a temporal sequence of the ditches. Certain earlier observations were confirmed by the new excavation, namely the high proportion of arrowheads among the flaked stone tools and the very low proportion of bones from wild animals. The northwest-southeast orientation of the structures’ long axes permits an archaeoastronomical interpretation: knowledge obtained from the observation of natural phenomena was transferred to architecture. The new investigation sheds further doubt on the interpretation of the enclosures as fortifications.

Excavation photos of the earthwork of Altheim from 1914 show a fully-developed Luvisol (para-brown earth). In 2012, fieldwork recommenced at the site and revealed a second ditched enclosure as well as the serious impact of soil erosion: In the course of a century about 0.4 m of the ditch feature has been lost. In comparison with the total amount of erosion since the creation of the earthwork in the 37th/36th century BC the loss of soil material has dramatically accelerated during the past century.

During excavations in the town of Vilsbiburg, district Landshut, a fenced settlement of the Altheim culture was found. The settlement is situated in the area of the flood-proof terrace, about 1.5–2 m above the current river level of the Vils. Unfortunately, due to existing buildings in the immediate vicinity, the settlement could not be fully excavated. Within the settlement at least two houses can be reconstructed. The dating of these houses in the Altheim culture is secured by ceramic finds from two postholes. Two more houses could only be reconstructed speculatively due to missing postholes. Overlying houses as well as the location of various pits indicate a multi-phased character of the settlement. About 25 m outside of this settlement, already in the alluvial area of the Vils, another building was found for which a dating to the Altheim culture seems likely.

Open Access: https://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/16868

Altheim – an extraordinary earthwork discovered a century ago. – The Altheim earthwork described by P. Reinecke as an oval ditched defensive enclosure, was discovered about one hundred years ago. It is one of the classic Neolithic sites in Central Europe. Plans sketched during the excavations of 1914 show remarkable details with regards to the distribution of finds in the investigated trenches and are published for the first time. These important features have received little attention in the extensive discussion of the purpose of the earthwork so far. In August 2012 a magnetic survey of the causewayed camp and its surroundings was started. Early in the survey a small, so far unknown, rectangular enclosure was detected about 60 m south-east of the main earthwork. It is most probably related to the monument that has been known for so long.

In 2010 the already known ditched enclosure of Irlbach-„Am Auwald“ was excavated further. An additional 20 m of the inner ditch could be unearthed. Beside a third entrance remains of two palisades were excavated. Furthermore, it was possible to retrieve a large amount of pottery from the inner ditch, which will be presented in this article. Until recently, the site was attributed to the Altheim culture. The new findings do question this dating, since there are some objects that can hardly be found at other sites of the Altheim group. It might be possible to correlate some finds with the Bell-Beaker culture, although this is not a safe dating.

The Earthworks at Altheim: Built by Many for Many. – In 2012, fieldwork recommenced at the Altheim earthwork, discovered more than a century ago. The investigation in its immediate environs revealed a second ditched enclosure from the Altheim period, south-east of the previously known structure. The two enclosures are spatially related to one another. The first radiocarbon datings, carried out on samples of domestic animal bone, allow both enclosures to be dated to the 37th–36th centuries BC and suggest a temporal sequence of the ditches from inner to external ones. Certain earlier observations, namely the high proportion of arrowheads among the flaked stone tools and the very low proportion of bones from wild animals, were confirmed by the new excavation. The southwest-northeast orientation of the structures’ long axes permits an archaeoastronomical interpretation: knowledge obtained from the observation of natural phenomena was transferred to architecture. The new investigation sheds further doubt on the interpretation of the enclosures as fortifications. Also, it was found that several decimeters of soil have been eroded during the last hundred years in the area of the north earthwork; the very substance of both monuments is acutely threatened.

A Fight for Altheim? The Fuzziness of Prehistoric Life Images. – Earthworks belong to the most impressive features of the fourth millennium BC in Europe. Since its discovery in the beginning of the last century, the earthwork of Altheim, located northeast of Landshut, is a classic site of the Central European Neolithic. Its archaeological material was eponymous for the Altheim complex of the late phase of the Late Neolithic. Although its extent has become evident through excavations, aerial photos and magnetograms, the interpretation of the site, which is enclosed by palisades, is under discussion until today. Especially interpretations connecting the site with dramatic events in prehistoric times must be examined in detail. Has there been a fierce conflict in which bows and arrows were in use, as well as sling stones and which resulted in the destruction of parts of the complex by fire? These questions will be considered by taking into account documentations of old excavations and results of recent fieldwork. Documentation of the first excavation shows prominent details in the distribution of finds in some sections of the trenches, which have been scarcely taken into account in the discourse concerning the initial function of the site. Statements on amounts of finds in certain parts of the earthwork can be drawn as well as on concentrations of objects of specific materials and the depth of finds. This evidence gives reason to a re-assessment of the interpretation of enclosed space in the Neolithic.

Thirty-nine Neolithic and Early Bronze Age copper objects (primarily axe blades and daggers) from Central, southern and eastern Switzerland or eastern France were analysed typochronologically, chemically and with regard to their lead isotope ratios. This combination of methods allows for more differentiated and reliable conclusions about the provenances of the copper ores and metallurgies than the individual methods could provide in isolation. The primacy of the typochronological classification is paramount for assessing the scientific results appropriately. For the period between c. 4300 and c. 1800 BCE, there is evidence of at least seven different metallurgical traditions found in the Prealps, some of them stemming from far-away innovation hotspots. These metallurgies do not form part of a continuous tradition; instead, they emerge unexpectedly and disappear again just as abruptly. This could hint at the fragility and volatility of these strands of tradition and the groups who keep them. Between 4300 and 3500 BCE, there was a multitude of types, groups of copper compositions and isotope ratios. Arsenic plays an essential role in the composition of copper during this time. Such arsenic-enriched copper is generally referred to as ‘arsenic copper’. It is likely that a considerable share of the raw material used in arsenic copper from this first heyday of copper metallurgy originates from the Slovak or Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains. Nevertheless, it seems likely that arsenic copper was at least partially cast locally in the pile dwelling of the Prealps and forged into the shapes known from these areas. According to our analyses, the raw material of some of the objects found in the Swiss Prealps, whether they are arsenic copper or not, could also stem from the eastern Alpine region. Concentrations of crucible and axe blade finds are not necessarily evidence for ore deposits in close proximity, as was assumed in the case of Mondsee and Attersee; these finds could also be indicative of local salt sources, with the salt being exchanged for copper from other areas. The copper of the flanged axe blades from the last quarter of the 4th millennium BCE found mainly south of the Alps—in isolation also north of the Alps—is very similar to the early arsenic copper mentioned above. The axe blades’ distribution patterns and the ‘fingerprint’ of their lead isotope ratios suggest that this later arsenic copper has its origin in the metallurgical centres in South Tuscany. These innovations from the West Mediterranean inspired the metallurgical traditions in the South of France (e.g. Cabrières, Montagne Noire) and the south-western Alps (Massifs des Grandes Rousses, Saint Véran).

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 Nordlinger 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...

This paper, in German, summarises the author’s contributions to the annual meetings in 2015 and 2016 of the Pestenacker working group of the Bavarian State archaeological service (BLfD).  It is intended as a complement to the author’s previous larger-scale study of the flint assemblages in Pestenacker, Pestenacker Nord and Unfriedshausen in the context of late Neolithic flint material from the Alpine foreland. The present article focusses solely on Pestenacker and the spatial and stratigraphic distribution of the flint artefacts discussed in that previous work, which is now possible because of progress made with the stratigraphic and structural interpretation of the site. Artefacts are divided into three basic categories: modified pieces over 2 cm (tools), unmodified pieces over 2 cm (debitage), and pieces under 2 cm (microdebitage). All are plotted by their frequency in 50x50 cm squares across the excavated area, as are certain specific categories of tool. All the excavated sediment was wet-sieved through a 3 mm mesh, ensuring a consistent standard of data recovery across the site. Two heavy concentrations of microdebitage are identified. It is suggested that these represent discard areas for this sharp, dangerous material away from living areas. This is in line with the dendrochronological evidence, which indicates that, of the structures exposed by excavation, only House 1 was rebuilt after a catastrophic fire in 3491 BC. Houses 3 and 6, where the microdebitage concentrations were found, would have been abandoned by that time. Differences are also noted between the main settlement area and an outer area west of the main settlement’s fence. In the latter there was very little microdebitage but a slightly higher frequency of larger unmodified pieces. It is suggested are considered to have been discarded after rejection as tool blanks. Taken together, the distributions of microdebitage and debitage suggest that different stages of flint processing took place in the outer and main settlement areas. The distribution of tools shows little consistent patterning other than that bifacially retouched tabular flint tools are confined to the main settlement area while laterally retouched flakes and blades occur across the whole site, hinting at a functional difference between the edge forms. The availability of a very detailed stratigraphy for House 1 permits the plotting of flint artefacts through the house’s history. In the earliest layers very little flint is present; above an apparent fill layer (K4 6.53) there is considerably more flint including microdebitage. The structure and internal fittings of the house remain similar throughout, indicating very fine-grained changes in flint-using behaviour within the house. An attempt to plot flint occurrence by context type (living floor, refuse etc) is inconclusive. Reference is made to the very few available comparative studies. Suggestions for future research, depending on progress with the stratigraphical interpretation of the site, are put forward.