![Goseck-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Goseck-2.jpg)
Approximately 120–150
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
earthworks
Earthworks may refer to:
Construction
*Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour
* Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil
*Earthworks (military), m ...
enclosures
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
are known in
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
.
They are called ''Kreisgrabenanlagen'' ("circular ditched enclosures") in German, or alternatively as roundels (or "rondels"; German ''Rondelle''; sometimes also "rondeloid", since many are not even approximately circular). They are mostly confined to the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
and
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
basins, in modern-day
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, as well as the adjacent parts of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, in a stretch of
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
an land some 800 km (500 mi) across.
They date to the first half of the 5th millennium BC; they are associated with the late
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Inci ...
and its local successors, the
Stroke-ornamented ware (Middle Danubian) and
Lengyel (Moravian Painted Ware) cultures. The best known and oldest of these Circular Enclosures is the
Goseck circle, constructed c. 4900 BC.
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 Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
,
Lower Bavaria
Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state.
Geography
Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...
) along the Danube and to the northwest (
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
,
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
,
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
) following the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
.
They precede the comparable circular
earthwork or
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
enclosures known from
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, constructed much later during c. 3000 to 1000 BC (late Neolithic to Bronze Age).
But, by contrast to the long lifetime of the "Megalithic" culture, the time window during which the
neolithic ''Roundels'' were in use is surprisingly narrow, lasting only for about 200–300 years (roughly 49th to 47th centuries BC).
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 palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade.
Etymology
''Palisade' ...
.
* a single
ring ditch
In archaeology, a ring ditch is a trench of circular or penannular plan, cut into bedrock. They are usually identified through aerial photography either as soil marks or cropmarks. When excavated, ring ditches are usually found to be the ploughed ...
.
The structures are mostly interpreted as having served a
cultic purpose.
Most of them are aligned and seem to have served the function of a
calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
(''Kalenderbau''), in the context of
archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy (also spelled archeoastronomy) is the interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultur ...
sometimes dubbed "observatory", with openings aligned with the points sunrise and/or sunset at the
solstice
A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...
s. This is the case with the "gates" or openings of the roundels of Quenstedt, Goseck and Quedlinburg.
The observational determination of the time of solstice would not have served a practical (agricultural) purpose, but could have been used to maintain a
lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Ea ...
(i.e. knowledge of the date of solstice allows an accurate handling of
intercalary months).
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: 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, Vedrovice
* in Austria (Doneus et al. 2004): 47 known sites with diameters between 40 and 180 m. Lower Austria: Asparn an der Zaya, Altruppersdorf, Altruppersdorf, Au am Leithagebirge, Friebritz (2 sites), Gauderndorf, Glaubendorf (2 sites), Gnadendorf, Göllersdorf, Herzogbirbaum, Hornsburg, Immendorf, Kamegg, Karnabrunn, Kleedorf, Kleinrötz, Michelstetten, Moosbierbaum, Mühlbach am Manhartsberg, Oberthern, Perchtoldsdorf, Plank am Kamp, Porrau, Pottenbrunn, Pranhartsberg, Puch, Rosenburg, Schletz, Simonsfeld, Statzendorf, Steinabrunn, Stiefern, Straß im Straßertale, Strögen, Velm, Wetzleinsdorf, Wilhelmsdorf, Winden, Würnitz. Upper Austria:
Ölkam.
*in Poland by region:
**
Biskupin
Biskupin is an archaeological site and a life-size model of a late Bronze Age fortified settlement in north-central Poland that also serves as an archaeological open-air museum. When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of a W ...
(
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...
)
** Bodzów, Rąpic
http://www.iaepan.edu.pl/~zbikob/lotnicza/page27.html]
**
Pietrowice Wielkie (
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
)
**
Nowe Objezierze (
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
)
** near
Łysomice (
Kuyavian-Pomeranian)
** near
Tylice (
Kuyavian-Pomeranian)
**
Drzemlikowice (
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...
)
** Vinoř roundel near Prague
*in Germany
**
Saxony Anhalt (Ralf Schwarz 2004):
Quenstedt,
Goseck
Goseck is a municipality lying on the river Saale, in the Burgenlandkreis district of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Geography
Goseck is located on the north bank of the Saale, about halfway between Naumburg and Weißenfels.
The municipali ...
,
Kötschlitz
Kötschlitz is a village and a former municipality in the district Saalekreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 31 December 2009, it is part of the town Leuna
Leuna is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle, on ...
,
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...
, 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 Wallerfing-Ramsdorf, Zeholfing-Kothingeichendorf; Upper Bavaria: Penzberg
**Nordrhein-Westfalen: Borchum-Harpen, Warburg-Daseburg
**Niedersachsen: Müsleringen
**Franconia: Hopferstadt,
[Stefan Hecht, Jörg Faßbinder]
Der Blick in den Untergrund: Magnetometrie und Geoelektrische Tomographie in der Geoarchäologie
, 2006 Ippesheim
**Brandenburg: Bochow, Quappendorf
**Rheinland-Pfalz: Goloring
See also
*
Goseck circle
*
Astronomical complex An astronomical complex or commemorative astronomical complex is a series of man-made structures with an astronomical purpose. It has been used when referring to a group of Megalithic structures that it is claimed show high precision astronomical a ...
*
Earthwork (archaeology)
*
Henge
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ...
*
Stroke-ornamented ware culture
The Stroke-ornamented ware (culture) or (German) Stichbandkeramik (abbr. STK or STbK), Stroked Pottery culture, Danubian Ib culture of V. Gordon Childe, or Middle Danubian culture is the successor of the Linear Pottery culture, a major archae ...
*
Lengyel culture
__NOTOC__
The Lengyel culture is an archaeological culture of the European Neolithic, centered on the Middle Danube in Central Europe. It flourished from 5000 to 4000 BC, ending with phase IV, e.g., in Bohemia represented by the ' Jordanow/Jorda ...
References
*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, .
*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,
229-243
*Thomas Plath, ''Zur Problematik der Nutzungsinterpretation mittelneolithischer Kreisgrabenanlagen'', diss. Hamburg University, 201
*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.
{{Neolithic Europe, state=expanded
Types of monuments and memorials
Neolithic Europe
Buildings and structures completed in the 5th millennium BC
Archaeoastronomy
Linear Pottery culture
Lengyel culture