Monumental knowledge - construction and use, spatial positioning and functions of Middle Neolithic roundels in Northern bavaria and Central Germany

该项目致力于通过勘探和挖掘对两个新石器时代中期的圆形围场Hopferstadt （WÜ，巴伐利亚州）和Quedlinburg I （HZ，萨克森-安哈尔特州）进行调查。目标是重建它们的建造和使用历史，并获得关于外壳功能的新证据（模块1和模块2）。在模块3中，它们在景观中的设置，堤道大门朝向地标和/或天文方位角的可能方向（夏至/春分时的日落/日出，升起/一组明亮的星星）通过地理信息系统进行分析，并将结果与同一时期的其他德国圆形围场进行比较。模块3（博士论文C. Michel）将于2016年底完成。在2015年的夏季活动中，Quedlinburg I的SW门被调查，这在2003年的磁勘探中几乎是不可见的。新石器时代和现代地面浮雕之间的巨大差异已经被发现。假设的大门可以定位，但显示部分被高达1.4米厚的崩塌层覆盖。这些崩塌层包含了许多坑和前罗马时代和罗马铁器时代的其他特征。由于南部部分只能通过小的地表探测来记录，因此Landesam fr Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt在我们自己的2016年夏季活动之前提供了一个挖掘活动，以移除西南门附近地区的铁器时代层。不幸的是，由于预算限制，这一提议未能实现。因此，我们不得不在内部重新分配资金，以便在今年夏天进行必要的更长时间的挖掘。在Hopferstadt的另一个封闭地点的挖掘工作已于2016年春季完成，对发现物的处理进行得相当顺利。然而，发现的数量超出了我们的预期。在不同背景的陶器中系统地寻找连接碎片被证明是非常成功的，并为分类过程提供了新的见解。与此同时，在废弃场地之前，建议采用一种相当深思熟虑的仪式沉积模式，而不是随意沉积定居点废物。在奎德林堡的最后两次发掘活动中，还需要对这些发现进行类似的整修尝试和地语学分析。但也有一些连接碎片被发现，它们的连接特征可以达到50米的距离。然而，要完成这些必要和有希望的分析工作并准备最终出版物，要到2017年3月才能实现。因此，我们申请第六年也是最后一年的资助，截止到2018年3月31日。

The project is devoted to the investigation of two Middle Neolithic circular enclosures Hopferstadt (WÜ, Bavaria) and Quedlinburg I (HZ, Saxony-Anhalt) by prospections and excavations. The objective ist o reconstruct their history of construction and use and to get new evidence as to the functions oft he enclosures (module 1 & 2). In module 3 their setting in the landscape, possible orientations of the causewayed gates towards landmarks and / or astronomical azimuths (sunset/sunrise at solstices / equinoxes, rise / set of bright stars) is analysed by a Geographical Information System and the results are compared to other German circular enclosures of the same epoch. Module 3 (PhD thesis C. Michel) will be accomplished until the end of 2016.In the summer campaign 2015 the SW gate of Quedlinburg I was investigated, which had been hardly visible in the magnetic prospection of 2003. A massive discrepancy betweeen the neolithic and modern surface relief has been discovered. The assume gate could be located, but showed to be partially covered by colluvial layers amounting to as much as 1.4 m thickness. These colluvial layers contained many pits and other features oft he pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age. Since the southern part could only be documented in small surface soundings, the Landesam für Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt offered an excavation campaign ahead of our own summer campaign 2016 to remove the Iron Age layers in the area oft he SW gate. Unfortunately, due to budget restrictions, this offer could not be realised. So that we had to redirect funds internally to perform the necessary longer excavation this summer.The excavavionts at the other enclosure site at Hopferstadt have been finished in spring 2016, the processing of finds has proceeded sufficiently well. The amount of finds, however, turned out to surpass our expectations. The systematic search for joining fragments among the pottery from different contexts proved to be very successful and gave new insights into the taphonomic processes. Meanwhile, instead of random deposition of settlement waste, a rather deliberate pattern of ritual deposition practices is suggested before the abandonment of the site.Comparable refitting attempts and taphonomic analyses of the finds still remain to be made for the last two excavation campaigns at Quedlinburg. But also there joining sherds have been dicovered which link features at up to 50 m distance. To be able to perform these necessary and promising analytical work and to prepare the final publication will, however, not be feasible until March 2017. Therefore we apply for a sixth and final year of funding, ending 31.03.2018.