Circular ditch complex of Hof-Salbitz
| Place: | Hof (Naundorf, North Saxony) |
|---|---|
| Type: | Circular ditch |
| Dating: | Early Neolithic | Linear Pottery | Linear Pottery | 5500 - 4500 BC. |
Description
The circular ditch complex at Hof-Salbitz is located on a flat plateau and on a slope above a small valley near Salbitz. It was only discovered in 2019 during an aerial archaeological survey. As moisture and nutrients accumulate in the former ditches, the grain was still green in these areas, while the field around it was already showing clear signs of drying out. This made the structures of the Neolithic building visible for the first time. The remains of a contemporary settlement and another ditch can be found in its vicinity.
Ronald Heynowski/Annemarie ReckThe circular ditch
The earthwork consists of two circular trenches. The outer trench has a diameter of 60 m, the inner one measures 40 m. The narrow trenches are around 2 m wide and are set at an almost even distance from each other. There are entrances to the complex in the north and south-east, where the ditches are interrupted for 3-4 m each. A further entrance can be assumed in the west.
Ronald Heynowski/Annemarie ReckImage Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2019.
Nearby traces of settlement
Not far to the east of the earthwork, another three-row ditch system can be seen from the air, which can be traced over a distance of 400 m. In the northwest, there are post and settlement pits of a Neolithic village. Geomagnetic measurements and a sounding excavation were carried out here in 2009. This revealed several house foundations. Some of them show the typical structure of the Oldest Linear Pottery, the first immigrant culture in Central Europe to practise agriculture and animal husbandry. The finds include pottery sherds and stone axes, which prove that the site was continuously inhabited from the Linear Pottery culture to the subsequent Linear Pottery culture.
Ronald Heynowski/Annemarie ReckImage Source A. Kinne et al. 2014, 37, Abb. 3.
What function?
The ditches were built by the people of these early Neolithic cultures. However, the function of circular ditches is not entirely clear. While it is known from some, mostly simple Linear Pottery earthworks that they surrounded burial sites, the function of the circular and often multiple enclosures of the early to middle Neolithic period has not yet been fully clarified in research. While astronomical references have been suggested for some sites, others may have served a cultic, religious or purely social purpose, for example as meeting places.
Ronald Heynowski/Annemarie ReckImage Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2019.
Literature
Ronald Heynowski, Siedlungsplatz mit Kreisgrabenanlage. In: Regina Smolnik/Ronny Zienert (Hrsg.), Höhenflüge. Luftbilderund Archäologie in Sachsen (Dresden 2024) 48–49.
Andreas Kinne/Christoph Herbig/Susann Müller/Martin Posselt/Birgit Schneider/Harald Stäuble/Christian Tinapp/Sabine Wolfram, Eine Siedlung mit Ältester Bandkeramik in Salbitz. In: Regina Smolnik (Hrsg.), Ausgrabungen in Sachsen 4. Arbeits- und Forschungsberichte zur sächsischen Bodendenkmalpflege, Beih. 27 (Dresden 2014) 34–42.
Dana Mikschofsky/Ronald Heynowski, Neu entdeckte Kreisgrabenanlage im Mittelsächsischen Lösshügelland. In: Regina Smolnik (Hrsg.), Ausgrabungen in Sachsen 8. Arbeits- und Forschungsberichte zur sächsischen Bodendenkmalpflege, Beih. 36 (Dresden 2022) 289–296.
Note on monument protection
Archaeological monuments are protected by the Saxon Monument Protection Act. A permit under monument law is required for ground interventions or construction measures.
Permalink
https://archaeo-sn.de/en/ort/circular-ditch-complex-of-hof-salbitz/
Citation
Ronald Heynowski/Annemarie Reck, Circular ditch complex of Hof-Salbitz. In: Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen, Website archaeo | SN (13.02.2024). https://archaeo-sn.de/en/ort/circular-ditch-complex-of-hof-salbitz/ (Stand: 14.08.2026)
