Das LBK-Gräberfeld von Warburg Hohenwepel

Dear ladies and gentlemen, at this point I will report on the results of the evaluation of the line-strip ceramic tomb field from Hohenweppel, which is to be published in a monographic publication. The line-strip ceramics, LBK for short, was the first agricultural culture in Central Europe and lasted for almost 500 years in large parts of the continent, from the Paris Basin in the west to East Poland, Ukraine, in the east from the northern edge of the Middle Mountains to the, basically almost to the Oder, from the Alps edge to the Romanian Danube over Hungary and Austria. We know of thousands of finds from this culture and hundreds of seeding sites, but only a small number of tomb fields, although each settlement should actually have a tomb field. On this image you can see the distribution in the background of the distribution of the line-strip ceramics. So far, only around 90 tomb fields are known. Many of them can only be described as scratched, scratched by construction projects, gravel, sand pits, excavations or as old finds. The numerous seeding sites, which were created there for other purposes, are not included. than the regularly used tomb fields. If we look at the distribution of the line-strip ceramic tomb fields, we notice regional focal points, as well as at the Upper Rhine, the Bavarian Danube, Austria-Slovakia, then of course in the Rhineland and in Central Germany. And in this gap between Central Germany and the Rhineland is the tomb field of Warburg-Hohenwebel. It is also located on the northern edge of the line-strip ceramic settlement areas, namely also on the northern edge in relation to the Mesolithic cultural space. The Warburg Börde itself is a center of the line-strip ceramic settlement, ring-shaped with settlements, because the interior of the basin in the Neolithic was very moist, with cracks and probably also smaller lakes. The tomb field of Hohenwebel was discovered in 2011. Since 1993, on the other hand, the neighboring double settlement of Borgentreich, Großeneder, has been investigated. There are two settlement halves, one north of the Ederbach and one south of the Ederbach. Here we have the rare case that we can assign the tomb field to a settlement, because in the further environment, to the west, no line-strip ceramic settlement is known. From 2012 to 2018, about 4,000 square meters, i.e. 90% of the tomb field, were investigated. The remaining 10% contain a humose sediment base, in which the graves are deeper, so they were not endangered and should then be preserved for future examination. 134 graves were examined. They are all body graves. There are no cremation graves. 11 other finds could not be excavated. They are in the area of ​​the sediment base, but can be used as graves in their form. 7 pits and 7 post holes were further investigated. The preservation of the graves was not particularly bone-like. That's the best bone preservation there was. Otherwise, we only have the additives or, with a lot of luck, the remains of the teeth. The grave pits were up to one meter deep. The alignment could be determined from 128 graves due to the longitudinal shape. With 56 graves, due to the location, the body alignment. 52 graves, 39% contain additives in the form of vessels, lids, grindstones, arrowheads, or color stones, hematite, manganese. The 40 vessels are divided into 29 graves. In 22 graves there was a lid, in 6 graves arrowheads and in 5 graves up to 8 additives, which were then partly put together so that they could have been given in a bag. A special feature are 5 graves with hematite additives, including one that contained a lid-shaped hematite rod with grinding facets. And there are also arrowheads in it, which are from the Mesolithic environment or originated in the Mesolithic technique tradition. In addition, there are 7 graves with manganese ore, including 3 balls, conically drilled, they were probably held on a cord. Manganese powder can be found on a number of grating plates and, with high probability, also as a spread in the graves. The poor condition of the bones has largely made the anthropological determinations difficult, but there are tooth remains and the examination of the tooth remains has shown that both children and adults were buried in the grave field. A number of strontium isotope analyses were also carried out, according to which two people were likely to have emigrated from the Mesolithic environment. What is missing in total are organic additives. With the poor preservation conditions, no wonder, although it could also have been found in Spondylos, but in the northern area of ​​the band ceramics Spondyloschmuck is rarer. The addition of manganese ore as a dye stone is only found in the south of the band ceramics. In general, hematite is present everywhere. Manganese is particularly present in central Germany in the graves and also in the Rhineland, and the grave field of Hohenweppel can even be seen as very well equipped. In terms of the time order, the dating is primarily based on the ceramics. We have vessels in flamboyant style, but also in a younger form, that is, all age grades from the older line band ceramics to the younger band ceramics have been proven. And in this context the double settlement of Borgentreich-Großeneder comes into play again, which was processed and published as part of a dissertation by Fritz Jürgens. Then there is, so this is again an example of the preservation condition of the teeth that we have. In the settlement sequence there are three phases. In the older band ceramics only the northern area north of the Ederbach was settled, it is unsecured. In the middle phase it was settled on both sides of the stream. In the younger phase then only in the south. The settlement is fortified with a large and several smaller graves. And in the younger, youngest band ceramics there are still some descendants. That means that during the entire time there was only one grave field on which it was buried. Although there is a hollow burial in the northwest of the northern settlement, it is single and must have been laid there for another reason. The grave field includes 145 burials with the eleven unburied graves. It is the seventh largest in band ceramics and the first in Westphalia. If you add that about 15 graves are probably still present in the sediment base, we would come to about 160 graves. Unfortunately, there are no evidence for burial, but there must have been cremation. Because pieces of human cremation were scattered in the pit fillings. During the excavation, all artifacts in the grave pit filling were measured three-dimensionally. Interesting results emerged, as shown here, for example, at the Grabbefund 151. Small pieces of charcoal, ceramic, cremation, i.e. human bones and pieces of flint are distributed over the entire filling. You have to be included in the filling of the pit. That means you came there from the direct environment with the filling material. In terms of quantities, it is not enough to make a cremation. But that means there must have been a cremation site on the grave field, maybe even several, because this material is basically so small that it crumbled, that it was basically not considered as surface material and then simply went into the grave with the filling. Another question concerns the size of the cremation site. Some of it was destroyed in the course of time by mowing. As reading finds, 70 coffins were collected over the decades. There were 22 coffins in the 134 examined graves, i.e. one coffin in every sixth grave. That means, if you count it up, 420 graves would have had to be destroyed in the course of time by erosion, by mowing. Thus, the cremation site would have originally included 580 graves. Fritz Jürgens estimates that for the 400-year settlement, in the double settlement, an overall population of 2,000 to 3,000 people. This means that by far not all inhabitants have been buried in the cremation site. This has already been noticed and noticed in many other cremation sites. And to clarify this relationship is one of the future tasks in the research of ribbon ceramics. The fact that the ribbon ceramics in the large Eder-Hohen Wepel are closely connected to the Mesolithic cultural space shows not only the two strontium isotope analyses, but also a number of finds in the material. The most important raw material, the limestone, could only be taken from the northern or northwestern areas. And they are all in the Mesolithic cultural space. Therefore, in the work, a clarification or further research in relation to the Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups or in general to the Mesolithic cultural space is also worth doing. Here I could only present some of the results that will appear in the publication. Finally, a note. An exhibition in Warburg in the Museum zum Stern will inform you from July 10 to August 23 of this year about the research and about the finds in the excavation of the cremation site. Thank you for your attention.