In many construction projects, the site is searched for archaeological finds in advance – this is also the case in wind turbine projects near Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony. Archaeologists not only came across remains of Neolithic buildings, but also an exceptional find: a depot of Bronze Age jewelry, including decorated neck collars, arm spirals and decorative pins made of bronze, as well as a unique necklace made of more than 156 amber beads.
When construction companies reported the planned construction of two wind turbines near Ahlum and Dettum to the Lower Monument Protection Authority of the city of Wolfenbüttel, the authority checked, as usual, whether this could potentially damage archaeological relics. It was noticeable that although no archaeological sites were known in the immediate construction area, there was a high probability of previously unknown sites. Therefore, the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation commissioned an archaeological investigation, as part of which around 92,780 square meters of area were archaeologically examined.
Stone Age buildings and Bronze Age treasure
The archaeologists actually found what they were looking for: On the construction site, they identified a total of 412 artifacts and finds from various historical epochs – from the Neolithic Age to Late Antiquity. In the south of the study area, the team came across two well-preserved house floor plans of the Linear Pottery artists from the sixth millennium BC. This is the first farming culture in Lower Saxony. The remains of buildings and associated finds now provide insight into this early phase of settlement in this region, as the state office reports.
Even more important, however, is a discovery made by chance during the construction work: initial excavation work revealed objects made of bronze and amber lying close together in another area. The archaeologists from the state office then carried out a block recovery, in which they dug up the finds along with the surrounding soil and transported them to the laboratory. There they then began to extract the individual artifacts from the ground under controlled conditions. “Probably the most important find complex of the excavation” came to light, according to the state office.
Chokers, arm spirals and an amber necklace
The find consists of a depot of Bronze Age jewelry from around 1500 and 1300 BC. For the northern Harz foothills, this is the first Bronze Age deposit find since 1967 and the only one that was excavated according to modern scientific standards, as the archaeologists explain. The jewelry came from at least three high-ranking women and may have been buried as a religious offering. The jewelry includes decorated chokers, arm spirals and decorative plates made of bronze as well as at least two disc pins.
What is outstanding and so far unique is a necklace made of more than 156 amber beads. According to the state office, it is the largest single find of Bronze Age amber in Lower Saxony to date. Amber was collected in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, especially on the Baltic Sea coasts of Scandinavia and the Baltics. The organic material was highly sought after in many cultures because of its “sunny” color and transparency and was traded via long-distance trading networks to the Mediterranean and beyond. In most cases only members of the political and religious elite could afford jewelry made from imported amber. It still remains to be determined where exactly the amber beads in the necklace now discovered in the Harz foothills come from. The analysis of the fragile finds has only just begun, as the state office reports.
Finds also from late antiquity
On the areas of the planned wind turbines, the archaeologists also discovered some settlement remains and finds from ancient and late antiquity. Among these are some pits with apparently deliberately put together ensembles of buried dogs, turntable ceramics made based on the Roman model and metal objects. A special highlight is an almost completely preserved so-called three-layer comb from the fourth or fifth century, which is decorated with circular eyes and bronze rivets. Corresponding combs are known as grave goods from that time, but were rarely preserved intact because of the burning of the dead that was common at the time.
Source: Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation