Where the Weser Valley flows into the North German Plain, archaeological treasures lie dormant in the ground: archaeologists have come across traces of settlements from the migration period as well as a 3000 year old grave in the area of Porta Westfalica. Previous finds include bronze brooches and grave goods such as ceramics and flint tools.
At the beginning of the history of the find there was the planning for the construction of a new industrial park in the Minden-Lübbecke district, which also included an archaeological report. When the experts from the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe took a look at the sources of information on the area around the planned industrial area, they immediately raised their index finger: The special location indicated that there might be monuments in the underground in the area.
The area is located near the prominent Weser breakthrough “Porta Westfalica”, in which the river in the cities of Porta Westfalica and Minden makes its way from the low mountain range to the North German lowlands. The Porta Westfalica is also known for the Kaiser Wilhelm monument, completed in 1896, from which visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the landscape in north-east Westphalia.
Finds in the area of a planned industrial park
“There is a real archaeological hotspot where the Weser breaks through the Wiehen and Weser Mountains,” explains Sven Spiong from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association. Because the Wesertal near Minden has been proven to have been inhabited for over 7000 years. And especially at the Porta Westfalica it comes across fertile soil, which was also plowed in the centuries before the birth of Christ. “Possible traces of the past must not be lost there,” says the archaeologist. So he and his colleagues obtained the condition that the 80,000 square meter area should first be archaeologically examined in long search cuts before the construction work.
And the experts should be right: The excavation team actually came across interesting finds: “On the one hand, we discovered a sixth-century settlement in the region at Porta Westfalica, and on the other, we came across a Bronze Age grave complex with a so-called Langbett, a long rectangular burial mound, ”reports excavation manager Jasmin Rüdiger. As the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe reports, the extensive evidence also enabled conclusions to be drawn about the behavior of the settler community during the migration period.
Traces of settlement and a Bronze Age grave
So far it has become clear that in the sixth century a community of at least three families lived on the site for about one or two generations. Afterwards a move might have been announced: “Back then, the wooden houses with the wooden posts in the floor didn’t last any longer. The following generations probably stayed in the region and built new farms in the wider area, ”explains Rüdiger. The finds in the excavation area include ceramics with typical decorations from the 6th century. Apparently the people on the site had also lost small treasures: Two bronze brooches are particularly beautiful finds – a small bird-shaped brooch and another with two animal figures depicted in the style of the time.
While these discoveries clearly date from the Migration Period, the grave complex is a find from the Bronze Age: According to the dating, it is over 3000 years old. Apparently someone was buried here whose family held a high position in the region at the time, say the experts. This is only evident from the effort involved in making the burial mound, which was surrounded by a small moat. But the objects found also illustrate the elevated status of the person buried here: the archaeologists discovered ceramics, remains of bows and arrows, as well as ocher for coloring the skin and clothing.
It seems amazing what the team was able to discover in the area of this planned industrial park alone. There may be other exciting traces of the past slumbering in the soil of the “archaeological hotspot” in the Weser Valley, as Spiong describes the area around Porta Westfalica.