







Göhrisch ski jump
Place: | Göhrisch (Diera-Zehren, Meissen) |
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Type: | probably settlement | fortified complex |
Dating: | Early Bronze Age | Later Bronze Age | Lusatian Culture | Early Middle Ages | 2200 - 1600 B.C. | 1200 - 1000 B.C. | 800 - 1100 A.D. |
Description
The "Göhrisch“ rises as a spur of land approx. 45 m over the Elbe, directly at the Rauhen Furt. On it is a Bronze Age castle complex, the "Göhrisch Schanze“which occupies the entire high plateau that rises to a hilltop. With its still impressive ramparts, it is one of the best-preserved prehistoric fortifications in Saxony. The name "Göhrisch“ is derived from the Sorbian "Gora“ which means castle or mountain.
Annemarie ReckSize of the castle
The original dimensions of the castle complex are estimated at approx. 250 m x 250 m. Quarrying work on the Elbe side in the 1920s and 1930s visibly reduced the size of the plateau. Despite repeated interventions by the state caretaker and the Saxon Heritage Association, work on the monument, which had been under protection since 1937, continued until the late 1930s with the support of the district administration. The gravel extracted was mainly used for road construction. Today, it still measures up to 200 m x 250 m at its widest points.
Annemarie ReckImage Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2008.
Link smac 360°
Location of the plateau
The high plateau of the redoubt rises significantly towards the hilltop, where it was probably already protected on the river side by a steep slope. The surrounding sides were protected by a rampart up to 12 m high in places.
Annemarie ReckImage Source W. Radig, Foto ©LfA 1928.
The Wall
Unfortunately, the rampart was breached in the course of the 19th century to create a modern entrance. However, this also made it possible to reconstruct the structure of the rampart: It consists of an earthen wall with a wooden frame interspersed with stones. Over the millennia, the wall must have been polished into an earth rampart.
Annemarie ReckImage Source M. Strobel, Foto ©LfA 2003.
The castle gate
The old entrance to the Göhrisch redoubt is still visible on the site. It is located in the north-east of the complex - easily recognizable by the offset gate cheeks. The castle path led up to the gate from the inside. Attackers approaching the entrance were therefore forced to expose their unprotected right side, as the sword hand was on the right and shields were usually carried on the left.
Annemarie ReckImage Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2008.
Finds from the Göhrisch
Several finds were made on the Göhrisch plateau as early as the mid-19th century, which became part of Karl Benjamin Preusker's collection. These included a bronze spearhead and a disc-headed pin with a head hump. During inspections and a small archaeological investigation in 1967, in connection with the construction of the television tower, numerous ceramic finds and stone tools were collected.
Annemarie ReckImage Source U. Wohmann, Foto ©LfA 2010.
Dating
There must have been a small open settlement on the Göhrisch as early as the Early Bronze Age, which probably did not last long. It was not until the later Bronze Age that the plateau was revisited and fortified. Most of the pottery found dates from this period and shows the typical range of forms of the Lusatian culture. In the 1970s, a small urn cemetery with three cremation burials was also discovered in the northern outskirts of the castle. Their inventory also indicates a date from the Late Bronze Age.
Annemarie ReckImage Source W. Coblenz 1988, 141, Abb.3, nach A. Dietzel/W. Coblenz 1975, Abb. 3.
Earlier and later settlement of the Göhrisch
After a long gap in settlement, the castle appears to have been visited again by Slavs in the early Middle Ages. However, only a few shards from this period have been found. A renewed fortification of the castle hill has also not yet been found. The oldest human traces on the Göhrisch, on the other hand, date back to the late Palaeolithic period around 15000-12000 B.C. Flint tools found on the neighboring "Kleiner Göhrisch" and in the cut between the two mountains are evidence of the resting place of Stone Age hunting groups, who probably kept an eye out from there for passing reindeer herds in the Elbe valley.
Annemarie ReckImage Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2019.
Research chronicle
Image Source Foto ©LfA 2024.
Literature
Werner Coblenz, Die Schanze auf dem Göhrisch bei Niederlommatzsch, Kr. Meissen. In: Heinz-Joachim Vogt (Hrsg.), Archäologische Feldforschungen in Sachsen. Arbeits- und Forschungsberichte zur sächsischen Bodendenkmalpflege, Beih. 18 (Berlin 1988) 139–143.
Reinhard Spehr, Gana – Paltzschen – Zehren. Eine archäologisch-historische Wanderung durch das Lommatzscher Land (Dresden 2011) 163–175.
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/gohrisch-ski-jump/
Citation
Annemarie Reck, Göhrisch ski jump. In: Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen, Website archaeo | SN (11.04.2024). https://archaeo-sn.de/en/ort/gohrisch-ski-jump/ (Stand: 09.02.2025)