Two-part trench system Mehltheuer
| Place: | Mehltheuer (Hirschstein, Meissen) |
|---|---|
| Type: | Round trench work 2-fold |
| Dating: | Middle Neolithic | Baalberg culture | 3800 - 3400 BC. |
Description
As early as 1992, Otto Braasch discovered the double moat of Mehltheuer during one of the first aerial surveys in Saxony. The site is located north of the Mehltheuerbach stream on a gravelly-sandy hilltop 135 m above sea level. NHN about 10 m above the surrounding terrain. The oval ditch encloses an inner area of 8 ha. The few pottery sherds found in the area of the earthworks suggest that the site is of Middle Neolithic age. A single decorated rim sherd could be assigned to the Baalberg culture.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckLocation of the earthworks
The ditches of Mehltheuer are mainly visible in the northwest and west of the hill. In the south, the ditches are partially covered by earth masses washed down from the hilltop, which is why the course of the ditches in this area is only visible in places and under good observation conditions. In the east, the ditches are overlaid by two field paths. In the Riesa area, six such ditches are known to date, which were built at approximately equal distances of around 5 kilometers from each other. In addition to Mehltheuer, at least the ditches at Riesa and Prausitz date back to the 4th millennium BC.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckImage Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2012.
Structure and findings
There are several interruptions in the trenches of the Mehltheuer earthworks that served as entrances. The openings in the inner and outer trenches mostly coincide or are only slightly offset. In the inner surface, numerous postholes and pits are clearly visible in the aerial photograph. Based on their overgrowth, it was even possible to measure them with the GPS in summer 2012. However, their function remains unclear. Behind the double ditches, a narrow palisade ditch can be seen at a distance of around 3 m, which also encloses the inner area. It was first observed in the winter barley in 2012.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckImage Source J. Frase u. a., Archæo 10, 2013, 17, Abb. 3. J. Frase u. a., Archæo 10, 2013, 17, Abb. 3.
Excavation 2013
In summer 2013, a 35 m long and 5 m wide sondage section was opened in one of the gate areas in cooperation between the State Office for Archaeology of Saxony and the University of Leipzig. This revealed that the trenches were each 5 m wide and were still up to 3 m deep. There was no evidence of a rampart construction behind the ditches, which would have been expected due to the presumably rich excavated material. In the area of ditch interruptions, the excavation team came across two diagonally arranged palisade ditches that were still preserved up to 0.65 m deep in the ground. It can be assumed that they were part of a gate construction. However, it remains unclear what this might have looked like. As far as could be observed in the slightly diagonal excavation section, the gate installation ran towards a barrier bar.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckImage Source J. Frase u. a., Archæo 10, 2013, 18, Abb. 5.
Finds and dating
The backfilling of the trenches in Mehltheuer is strongly reminiscent of the situation of the trenches in Riesa and Prausitz. Equally striking for the excavation team was the paucity of finds, which is another parallel to the two earthworks mentioned. The features excavated in 2013 contained a total of only 59 wall sherds, five floor sherds and five rim sherds, only one of which was decorated and therefore more closely identifiable. This was a pottery sherd with a folded rim and a rim decorated with finger impressions, which can be assigned to the Middle Neolithic Baalberg culture.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckImage Source J. Frase, Foto ©LfA 2013.
Literature
Jörg Frase/Ronald Heynowski/Matthias Jörke/Gunar Seifert/Michael Strobel/Ulrich Veit/Richard Vogt, Mehltheuer. Ein trichterbecherzeitliches Grabenwerk mit Toreinbauten. Archæo 10, 2013, 16–19.
Dana Mikschofsky, Ein zweifaches Grabenwerk mit Palisade. In: Regina Smolnik/Ronny Zienert (Hrsg.), Höhenflüge. Luftbilder und Archäologie in Sachsen (Dresden 2024) 58–59.
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/two-part-trench-system-mehltheuer/
Citation
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie Reck, Two-part trench system Mehltheuer. In: Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen, Website archaeo | SN (23.04.2024). https://archaeo-sn.de/en/ort/two-part-trench-system-mehltheuer/ (Stand: 16.07.2026)
