Neolithic circular enclosures in Central Europe
Approximately 120–150
Only a few examples approximate a circular form; the majority are only very approximately circular or elliptic. One example at Meisternthal is an exact ellipse with identifiable focal points. The distribution of these structures seems to suggest a spread from the middle Danube (southern Slovakia and western Hungary) towards the west (Lower Austria, Lower Bavaria) along the Danube and to the northwest (Moravia, Bohemia, Saxony-Anhalt) following the Elbe. They precede the comparable circular
The earliest roundel to be described was the one at Krpy (Kropáčova Vrutice), Bohemia, by Woldřich 1886, but it was only with systematic aerial survey in the 1980s and the 1990s that their ubiquity in the region became apparent. Three types have been distinguished:
- two semicircular ditches forming a circle and separated by causeways at opposing entrances.
- multiple circuits of ditches interrupted with entrances at cardinal or astronomically-oriented points and also having an internal single or double timber palisade.
- a single ring ditch.
The structures are mostly interpreted as having served a
Known Circular Enclosures:
- in Slovakia (Ivan Kuzma 2004): about 50 candidate sites from aerial surveys, not all of which are expected to date to the Neolithic. There are 15 known neolithic (Lengyel) sites. The largest of these are (with outer diameters of more than 100 m): Svodín 2 (140 m), Demandice (120 m), Bajtava (175 m), Horné Otrokovce (150 m), Podhorany-Mechenice (120 m), Cífer (127 m), Golianovo (210 m), Žitavce (145 m), Hosťovce (250–300 m), Prašník (175 m). Others include: Borovce, Bučany, Golianovo, Kľačany, Milanovce, Nitrianský Hrádok, Ružindol-Borová.
- in Hungary: Aszód, Polgár-Csőszhalom, Sé, Vokány, Szemely-Hegyes.
- in the Czech Republic (Jaroslav Ridky 2004): 15 known sites, all dated to the late Stroked pottery (Stk IVA). Běhařovice, Borkovany, Bulhary, Krpy, Křepice, Mašovice, Němčičky, Rašovice, Těšetice,[5] Vedrovice, Vinoř roundel near Prague[6]
- in Austria (Doneus et al. 2004): 47 known sites with diameters between 40 and 180 m. Lower Austria:Ölkam.
- in Poland by region:
- Biskupin (Greater Poland)
- Bodzów, Rąpice [2][3]
- Pietrowice Wielkie (Upper Silesia)
- Nowe Objezierze (Pomerania)
- near Kuyavian-Pomeranian)
- near Kuyavian-Pomeranian)
- Drzemlikowice (Lower Silesia)[8]
- in Germany
- Goseck, Kötschlitz, Quedlinburg, outer diameters between 72 and 110 m.
- Saxony: Dresden-Nickern (3 sites), Eythra (2 sites), Neukyhna (3 sites)
- Bavaria: Lower Bavaria: Eching-Viecht, Künzing-Unternberg, Meisternthal, Moosburg an der Isar-Kirchamper, Oberpöring-Gneiding, Osterhofen-Schmiedorf (2 sites), Stephansposching[9] Wallerfing-Ramsdorf, Zeholfing-Kothingeichendorf; Upper Bavaria: Penzberg [10]
- Nordrhein-Westfalen: Borchum-Harpen, Warburg-Daseburg
- Niedersachsen: Müsleringen
- Franconia: Hopferstadt,[11] Ippesheim
- Brandenburg: Bochow, Quappendorf
- Rheinland-Pfalz: Goloring
See also
- Goseck circle
- Schalkenburg
- Astronomical complex
- Earthwork (archaeology)
- Henge
- Stroke-ornamented ware culture
- Lengyel culture
References
- ^ based on Biel 2010, p. 233, fig. 18.6.
- ^ map in Daim and Neubauer 2005, p. 14; reprinted in Plath 2011, p. 24. Main distribution is between the Danube Bend and the middle Elbe, say between Budapest and Brunswick (800 km). Including outliers, the area is somewhat larger, encompassing most of Central Europe, stretching over some 1100 km from the Danube-Drava confluence to the lower Rhine (Ruhr area).
- ^ Holger Dambeck, Wirbel um angebliche Archäologie-Sensation, Spiegel Online, 13 June 2005.
- ^ Ralf Schwarz, Kreisgrabenanlagen der Stichbandkeramikkultur in Sachsen-Anhalt, Neolithic Circular Enclosures in Europe, International Workshop in Goseck (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) 7.-9. Mai 2004 (abstract).
- ^ Podborský, V.: Těšetice-Kyjovice 4. Rondel osady lidu s moravskou malovanou keramikou. Brno, 1988
- ^ Killgrove K., [7,000-year-old structure near Prague https://www.livescience.com/neolithic-roundel-structure-prague], Livescience, Sept. 2022
- ^ "Liste unbeweglicher und archäologischer Denkmale in Niederösterreich, Stand 2010" (PDF).
- ^ "Ślady potężnej konstrukcji sprzed 7 tys. lat odkryto pod Oławą" (in Polish). Nauka w Polsce. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- ^ Florian Eibl et al.: Die mittelneolithische Kreisgrabenanlage von Stephansposching, Lkr. Deggendorf zum Kenntnisstand nach den archäologischen und naturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen der Jahre 2008 und 2009. In: K. Schmotz (ed.): Vorträge des 28. Niederbayerischen Archäologentages. Rahden/Westf. 2010, 165-201
- ^ Bayern-Viewer Denkmal des Landesamtes für Denkmalschutz des Freistaates Bayern [1]
- ^ Stefan Hecht, Jörg Faßbinder, Der Blick in den Untergrund: Magnetometrie und Geoelektrische Tomographie in der Geoarchäologie Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine, 2006
- Neolithic Circular Enclosures in Europe, International Workshop in Goseck (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) 7.-9. Mai 2004 (abstracts).
- Gillian Varndell, Peter Topping (eds.), Enclosures in Neolithic Europe, Oxbow, 2002, ISBN 9781842170687.
- Peter F. Biel, "Measuring time in the European Neolithic? The function and meaning of Central European circular enclosures" in: Iain Morley, Colin Renfrew (eds.), The Archaeology of Measurement: Comprehending Heaven, Earth and Time in Ancient Societies, Cambridge University Press, 2010, ISBN 9780521119900, 229-243.
- Thomas Plath, Zur Problematik der Nutzungsinterpretation mittelneolithischer Kreisgrabenanlagen, diss. Hamburg University, 2011.[4]
- Falko Daim, Wolfgang Neubauer, Zeitreise Heldenberg – Geheimnisvolle Kreisgräben. Horn, Wien : Berger, 2005 (Katalog des Niederösterreichischen Landesmuseums, N. F. 459).
- André Spatzier, Systematische Untersuchungen der Kreisgrabenanlage von Pömmelte-Zackmünde, Salzlandkreis. Zum Abschluss der Grabungen an mitteldeutschen Rondellen im Rahmen der Forschergruppe FOR:550. In: H. Meller (Hrsg.), Zusammengegraben - Kooperationsprojekte in Sachsen-Anhalt. Tagung vom 17. bis 20. Mai 2009 im Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle (Saale). Arch. Sachsen-Anhalt Sonderbd. 13 (Halle/Saale 2012), 89-98.