Was that a water goddess? Archaeologists have unearthed a strangely designed clay figure in Lower Franconia. It apparently comes from the Hallstatt culture era – around 3000 years ago. However, there are no other finds from this time and region that match the style of the statuette. For this reason, the experts have so far only been able to speculate about their significance. Indirect evidence suggests that it could have been a cult figure that served as an offering at a sacred source.
The planned construction of a bypass was at the beginning of the history of the find: During excavations in advance of the construction work near the town of Mönchstockheim in the district of Schweinfurt, a team of archaeologists from the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (BlfD) came across relics from prehistoric times: in addition to numerous shards, pottery tools made of bone and an unusual one Clay stamps also brought to light a clay figure. She is 19 centimeters high. However, since the legs are only partially present, it can be assumed that it was probably about ten centimeters longer in its original condition. After gentle cleaning using the airbrush water technique in the BLfD laboratory, all the details of the statuette finally became clear.
So far unprecedented for the region and time
The finely modeled face is striking: the eye sockets, nose, lips and chin are clearly visible, as are small holes on the sides of the head. The statuette apparently comes from the Hallstatt period, because the accompanying finds could be clearly assigned to this epoch. They therefore date to the 8th to 6th centuries BC. But the characteristics of the figure are now puzzling the experts, because there are no comparable finds from the region and time. “Figures of this type made of clay are known from the western Black Sea region. However, they date to the 5th millennium BC. However, the other finds point to a much younger dating of the statuette. All of this leaves a lot of room for interpretation,” says Stefanie Berg from BlfD.
As far as the meaning of the figure is concerned, there are at least a few clues: the body shape of the statuette does not actually provide any information about the gender. But there is an indirect clue: the sides of the head, each pierced with five holes, could have represented a hood decorated with metal rings. Such a headdress is attributed to women. It is therefore possible that it was a depiction of a female character.
An offering related to water?
Further indications of the significance are given by the connection between the find site and water: According to the archaeologists, they discovered the objects in a depression that the settlers of a nearby Hallstatt-period settlement may have used to draw water. The fact that the finds were not rounded off by water erosion suggests that they were not washed up at their place of discovery, but were deliberately placed in the former ditch. In addition, lime deposits testify to a former spring in the immediate vicinity, reports the BlfD.
It is now becoming apparent that people may have worshiped the small statuette as a water deity almost 3000 years ago. “It is conceivable that people at that time regarded this special scenic location as a sacred place and the small statuette served them as a ritual offering or even ascribed magical powers to it,” says Mathias Pfeil from the BlfD.
Source: Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments