Hilltop settlement on the Schafberg near Löbau

Research chronicle

Image Source Foto ©LfA 2024.

First finds from the Schafberg

The irregular pentagonal fortification on the Schafberg has been known to researchers since the 18th century. Around 1802, Karl Benjamin Preusker (1786-1871), who was born in Löbau and is still often referred to today as the father of Saxon prehistoric research, discovered a 16 cm long, medium-sized flap axe inside the rampart. He later produced the first description of the fortifications and their "slag ramparts" for his 1841 work "Blicke in die vaterländische Vorzeit".

Image Source OA 57400, 59 ©LfA 1926.

Exploration of the "slag walls"

It was precisely the so-called "slag ramparts", such as those at Strohmberg near Weißenberg, that attracted the attention of 19th century prehistoric researchers. For example, Oscar Schuster in 1869, Robert Behla in 1888 and Ludwig Feyerabend in 1893 also wrote about the ring wall near Löbau. At the time, the "cinder ramparts" were thought to have been created deliberately and were associated with "pagan places of sacrifice and assembly". Since around the beginning of the 20th century, however, their function as fortifications for mostly Bronze Age hilltop settlements has been considered certain. The ramparts, some of which were supported by wooden structures, often fell victim to fires, which may have led to the often observed slagged stones on the inside.

Image Source N. Döhlert-Albani, Foto Schafberg ©LfA 2016.

First excavations

During the years 1899 to 1906, the Löbau local historian Hermann Schmidt undertook the first excavation on the hill. He carried out four excavations in the south-western part of the rampart. A further exploratory cut was made in the north-east. His aim was to clarify the structure and age of the rampart. However, these questions could only be answered in 1964 when the Dresden State Museum of Prehistory, under the direction of Werner Coblenz, excavated a further 23 m long section on the north-western flank.

Image Source W. Coblenz, Foto ©LfA 1964.

Structure of the wall

The remains of a wall 6 m wide at the base were uncovered. The rear face consisted of stone blocks and slabs stacked on top of each other. The front of the wall, on the other hand, appeared to have slipped away completely. The rampart was filled with a mixture of earth, clay and stones. Recesses in the construction indicate horizontal and vertical timbers that supported the structure. Slagged rock was found in these areas in particular. The area in front of the wall had been artificially reinforced over a width of 5 m with a layer of clay, stone gravel and a covering of stone slabs. Beneath the wall filling there was a layer of fire up to 0.7 m thick with annealed stones in places, which came from a 2 m wide, two-shell, temporary wooden structure. Presumably after a damaging fire, the ruinous fortification was replaced by a more massive, 7 m wide and also double-shell defensive wall. It was faced with stone on the inside and outside. And reinforced with horizontal wooden beams.

Image Source W. Coblenz 1966, 128, Abb. 23 (nach A. Pietzsch), Rekonstruktion des Löbauer Walles.

Access to the hilltop castle

An additional survey of the complex in 1965 showed that the outline of the fortification was strongly adapted to the terrain and also deliberately included bastion-like rock sections and steep slopes, but also deliberately ignored others, such as at the "Geldkeller" in the north-east. A narrow recess in the rampart indicates a gateway here. The actual main gate was probably located in the west of the complex, approximately where a footpath still leads up from the saddle. The remains of the rampart are also highest in this area at 2 m. Another gate may have been located at the southern corner. Apart from the north-western edge, the plateau slopes slightly to the south-east with its highest point at 449 m near the northern section of the rampart.

Image Source T. Gerlach 2010, 184.

Destruction by radio operating station

Unfortunately, no attention was paid to the inner area during the first excavation campaign. Just one year later, a radio station with an access road was built there. In the process, around 0.5 ha of the settlement area and, in favor of the access road, the former gate area were destroyed without prior archaeological investigation. It was only when the radio station was extended in 1985 that archaeologists finally had the opportunity to investigate part of the inner area of the "Schafberg" in more detail.

Image Source T. Gerlach, Übersichtsfoto Planum 2 ©LfA 1985.

Excavation 1985/1986

The excavation section from 1985 covered an area of 556 m² in the center of the plateau. The findings initially revealed seemingly disordered scatterings of stones of different sizes. On closer inspection, they were recognizable as row-shaped settlements and stratifications. Interspersed post pits and discolorations indicate house walls and terraced landings of small residential podiums. Inside the buildings, there were densely packed, almost rectangular stone packs, which probably served to underpin the clay floors at ground level. Down the slope, slabs weighing tens of tons were used in places. In between were small, trough-shaped post pits, often with stone wedges. They marked ground plans measuring around 6.5 x 5 meters. In 1986, small soundings were opened in other parts of the inner surface, which showed a similar picture.

Image Source K. Simon 1988, 131, Abb. 3.

Finds and dating

The pottery sherds and millstone fragments discovered during the excavations or as finds from the excavations indicate a large-scale settlement and confirm the dating of the site as a hilltop settlement of the Late Bronze Age. Several bronze finds, such as two arm spirals, a sickle or the clay imitation of a bronze cup, mark the "Schafberg" as a probably important center on the southern border of the Bronze Age settlement area between the Lusatian regions and the highlands. It may have served to control an old transportation route that led from the Bautzen loess hills across the Zittau Mountains to Bohemia. However, the economic basis for such a large settlement still seems to be lacking in the surrounding area: The Löbau Basin itself has so far yielded little evidence of settlement in the Bronze Age, despite numerous investigations during construction. A few finds of Slavic pottery probably go back to sporadic use of the hill in the early Middle Ages.

Image Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2004.