Leubingen

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Leubingen tumulus
Fürstengrab von Leubingen
Grabhuegel Leubingen.jpg
The Leubingen tumulus
Germany adm location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Location in Germany
LocationLeubingen, Sömmerda
Region Thuringia, Germany
Coordinates 51°11′25″N11°10′11″E / 51.19028°N 11.16972°E / 51.19028; 11.16972 Coordinates: 51°11′25″N11°10′11″E / 51.19028°N 11.16972°E / 51.19028; 11.16972
Type tumulus
History
Foundedc. 2000 BC
Periods Early Bronze Age
Cultures Unetice culture
Site notes
Discovered1877
Archaeologists Friedrich Klopfleisch  [ de ]

The Leubingen tumulus (German: Fürstengrab von Leubingen) is an early bronze age "princely" grave of the Leubingen culture, (which, after further finds at Auntjetitz became known as Auntjetitz or Unetice culture), dating to about 1940 BC. It is located near the hills of Kyffhäuser in Leubingen, an Ortsteil of Sömmerda in the eastern German state of Thuringia.

Tumulus Mound of earth and stones raised over graves

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or kurgans, and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus.

Unetice culture archaeological culture

The Únětice culture is an archaeological culture at the start of the Central European Bronze Age, dated roughly to about 2300–1600 BC. The eponymous site for this culture, the village of Únětice, is located in the central Czech Republic, northwest of Prague. Today, the Únětice culture is known from about 1,400 sites in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 550 sites in Poland, and, in Germany, about 500 sites and loose finds locations. The Únětice culture is also known from north-eastern Austria, and from western Ukraine.

Kyffhäuser mountain range

The Kyffhäuser, sometimes also referred to as Kyffhäusergebirge, is a hill range in Central Germany, located on the border of the state of Thuringia with Saxony-Anhalt, southeast of the Harz mountains. It reaches its highest point at the Kulpenberg with an elevation of 473.4 metres (1,553 ft). The range is the site of medieval Kyffhausen Castle and the 19th century Kyffhäuser Monument; it has significance in German traditional mythology as the legendary resting place of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Contents

Excavations

The site was first unearthed in 1877 by Jena art professor and archaeologist Friedrich Klopfleisch  [ de ] (1831–1898). He was working at the behest of the Historische Kommission der Provinz Sachsen. Klopfleisch kept a diary during his work and latter submitted an official report on the findings. Unfortunately, there are important differences between his original notes and the final report. Both the location of the burial chamber and of the grave goods within the chamber vary. During the excavations no second body is mentioned (see Description below), only a few bone remains. Today, the diary is deemed the more reliable source. [1] :183

Jena Place in Thuringia, Germany

Jena is a German university city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a population of about 110,000. Jena is a centre of education and research; the Friedrich Schiller University was founded in 1558 and had 18,000 students in 2017 and the Ernst-Abbe-Fachhochschule Jena counts another 5,000 students. Furthermore, there are many institutes of the leading German research societies.

After the excavations were finished, the mound was filled in again. In 1912, the local Königlicher Landrat ordered the Leubingen authorities to prevent its agricultural use. [1] :183

During road construction in 2011 excavations on the site nearby have also revealed the remains of one of the largest buildings in prehistoric Germany, a longhouse 44 m x 10.50 m, or 470 square meters (5,057 square feet) of floor space, a trove of bronze objects, and a cemetery of 44 farmers. [2]

Dating and evaluation

Dendrochronologic testing of the oaken beams has placed the grave at circa 1942 BC. [1] :180

Dendrochronology method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree rings

Dendrochronology is the scientific method of dating tree rings to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmospheric conditions during different periods in history from wood.

The tomb is considered one of the most opulent elite grave of the Early Bronze Age in Western Europe. Due to the effort required for its construction and the quality of the grave goods, the buried person must have been of great importance. [1] :180

Description

Illustration 1 from Klopfleisch's hand-drawn/-written report Skizze 1 im Grabungstagebuch.jpg
Illustration 1 from Klopfleisch's hand-drawn/-written report
Illustration 2 from Klopfleisch's hand-drawn/-written report Skizze 2 im Grabungstagebuch.jpg
Illustration 2 from Klopfleisch's hand-drawn/-written report
Golden bracelet Goldener Armring.jpg
Golden bracelet
Golden rings and spiral Zwei goldene Ringe und ein Spiralrollchen.jpg
Golden rings and spiral

Mound and chamber

The earthen mound is 7 metres (23 ft) high and contains a burial chamber of 3.90 by 2.10 metres (12.8 by 6.9 ft) with a maximum height of 1.70 metres (5.6 ft).

The original height of the mound was around 8.5 metres (28 ft) and its diameter was 34 metres (112 ft). Around 210 cubic-meters of stones and 3,600 cubic-meters of earth were moved in its construction. [1] :180

Inside the earthen mound is the burial Chamber, which has roughly the form of a hut/house of the time. It has a saddle-shaped roof made out of heavy oak beams covered with stones. [1] :180

Contents of the grave

In a central position lay the body of a man about 50 years old.

According to Klopfleisch's final report, draped over the man's loins at an angle of ca. 40° was the body of a young man. This was not mentioned in his earlier notes, however. [1] :183

The findings are now part of the permanent exhibition of the Halle State Museum of Prehistory.

Surroundings

Between the 8th and 11th century AD, the local (at the time Slavic) community established a cemetery of about 70 graves in and around this manmade hill.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Meller (ed.), Harald (2011). Bronzerausch - Spätneolithikum und Frühbronzezeit, Begleithefte zur Dauerausstellung im Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle (German). Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt. ISBN   978-3-939414-58-2.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
  2. Schulz, Matthias (1 July 2011). "Archaeologists Puzzle Over Opulent Prehistoric Burial Find". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 5 July 2011.