Grave of Nadelwitz

Discovery

The site is located in the Upper Lusatian loess region, in the area of the Schafberg, an approx. 1 km long elevation in the east of the town of Bautzen. The up to 200 m high, loess-covered sand and gravel hilltop of the Schafberg has been used as a gravel pit since the 1920s and parts of it are still in use. In 1930, while searching the edge of the pit, the archaeologist Erich Schmidt (pictured) noticed a patch of fine, reddish gravel and lighter-colored sand containing several archaeological finds.

Image Source G. Bierbaum, Foto ©LfA 1931.

The burial pit

As one edge of the pit had already been excavated, Schmidt excavated the finds and documented the find situation in detail, allowing the feature to be recognized as a burial pit decades later. Due to the discoloration of the sand, the original extent of the pit could still be easily traced. The round pit had a diameter of 2.85 m and was 1.65 m deep. The cross-section shows a steep funnel shape with a flat bottom. The red chalk layer above the floor was up to 0.19 m thick. The overlying fill layer stood out only slightly from the surrounding sand layers and, according to the excavator, was empty.

Image Source V. Geupel 1988, 48.

Finds

All the finds were embedded in this layer of gravel and sand with a high reddish content. The recovered finds consisted of 33 flint implements, including 22 blades and blade fragments, three blade implements with oblique end retouch, a short blade with retouch, six flakes and a core stone. Of the three blade implements, one piece has a notch in the area of the tip, which could have been used as a thread cutter.

Image Source V. Geupel 1988, 49.

Neolithic axe

Furthermore, a perforated rock axe, a so-called transverse axe, came to light. It was made from a long oval boulder that had been almost completely ground over. The underside of the tool is flat, the upper side slightly curved. The perforation of the axe is slightly conical. As the find ensemble was recovered in a closed formation, it can be considered to belong together, but it is unclear whether any finds were lost during the excavation of the sand pit.

Image Source J. Lösel, Foto ©LfA 2012.

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Reinterpretation as a grave

Schmidt published his finds report in 1956. In it, he placed the finds at the transition between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. However, as there was no bone preservation in the sandy soil, he did not assume that it was a grave, despite the conspicuous red chalk. It was not until 1977, when the finds came to the then State Museum of Prehistory in Dresden, that they could be reinterpreted as a grave from the late Mesolithic period thanks to the good documentation by archaeologist Volkmar Geupel. The dimensions of the pit and the reddish layer are comparable with other burial pits from the late Mesolithic period. Red chalk or red pigments have been used by people in various ways since the Palaeolithic period. Research assumes that the red color was associated with a certain symbolism for Stone Age people, perhaps even a religious one.

Image Source Foto ©LfA 2014.

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Transition to a new era

The flint inventory shows shapes such as obliquely retouched blades, which were common in the Mesolithic period. According to Geupel, however, the cross-cut axe is a special feature. Although pointed axes, cylindrical axes and scree clubs were also found in Middle Stone Age contexts, the conical bore and grinding of the cross-cut axe can be traced back to a Neolithic influence. This indicates contact between the Neolithic people migrating from the south-east, who practiced agriculture and animal husbandry, and the indigenous Middle Stone Age people, who lived in an appropriating economy. The Nadelwitz grave is therefore an important testimony to the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic.

Image Source J. Lösel, Foto ©LfA 2012.

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