The long-lost royal palace of Helfta in Saxony-Anhalt has revealed more secrets: After rediscovering the Radegundis Church last year, archaeologists have now come across the remains of the main building of the medieval complex. The East Frankish king and Roman emperor Otto I and his successor, Emperor Otto II, apparently resided in this so-called Palatium from the 10th century on their travels through the empire, experts report.
The buildings had completely disappeared and even the location had been forgotten: For a long time, it was only known from historical writings that there was once an important historical site in the area of today's Helfta near Lutherstadt Eisleben. It reports on the "Helphideburg", which eventually became a royal palace in the 10th century. These were the bases of the medieval rulers who did not rule from a capital, but rather moved around their empire – from Palatinate to Palatinate. Particularly prominent rulers resided in Helfta: Otto the Great (912 to 973) - the king of the East Frankish Empire and from 962 Roman-German Emperor - and his son Otto II (955 to 983) stayed there.
Underground traces of former glory
In later times, however, the place lost its importance and so all building elements visible above ground were recycled - the Palatinate, the castle and the settlement completely disappeared from the picture and from people's memories. However, traces of the plant remained underground. Archaeologists from the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archeology (LDA) came across them a few years ago through geophysical investigations. It became apparent that there was once an extensive settlement and fortification complex on an area whose center was the hill "Kleine Klaus" near today's town of Hefta. The LDA has been conducting excavations there since the beginning of May 2021. The archaeologists already came across traces of a 30 meter long sacred building. It was obviously the Radegundis Church built by Otto the Great, which was previously only known from historical sources.
The LDA is now reporting on the latest discovery at the mysterious site: over the past few months, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of the palatium, which formed the actual center of the Ottonian palace complex. The rulers lived in this building and received guests while they stopped in Helfta on their journey through their empire. The stone building, impressive for the time, was enthroned on a hill not far from the Radegundiskirche. According to the results of the investigation, it was a building made of sandstone walls with mortar and at least 20 meters long and seven to twelve meters wide.
Where emperors held court
According to the findings, the Palatium had two floors, a number of rooms with plastered walls and several entrances - including a staircase leading to a basement. The archaeologists report that around 1050 years ago a heating system, which was expensive for the time, ensured the living comfort of the noble guests. "At a time when residential buildings were commonly built of wood and mud and post and small pit houses dominated the image of the settlements, the Palatium with its dimensions and stone walls must have made a great impression," writes the LDA. The experts therefore now assume that the discovered building formed the center of that imperial court (curtis imperialis) to "Helpidi", which was mentioned on June 6, 969 in a document issued by Otto the Great in Azzano in Umbria (Italy).
As the LDA further reports, the current excavation campaign also provided several insights into the buildings, fortifications, economic and settlement structures of the Ottonian Palatinate. The importance of the power base is also underlined by finds of jewellery, coins and ceramics. Interestingly, the archaeologists also found traces that go back further into the settlement history of the place: the remains of a wood-earth wall and a fortification ditch almost six meters deep and a good 15 meters wide come from the fortifications of the early medieval Helphideburg. Traces of the pre-Roman Iron Age from about 750 BC also appeared. on. Other individual finds prove even older activities since the Neolithic Age. "This gives us impressive information about how the hill was settled for thousands of years," writes the LDA.
Source: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archeology in Saxony-Anhalt