Archaeological Excavation in Baden-Wurttemberg

Mesolithic open air sites in Rottenburg

For a long time the area around the small town of ROTTENBURG, rural district of Tübingen (Baden-Württemberg, Southwest Germany) has been famous for its rich archeological remains. The oldest finds belong to the Middle Paleolithic Mousterian period. Settlements from the early and middle Neolithic and of the Iron age (Hallstatt, Latène) are known as well as grave yards from early Bronze and Iron age. Also the roman town Sumelocenna and the medieval townSülchen are objects of excavations.

The great amount of archeological remains around Rottenburg results from its optimal ecological conditions. Near Rottenburg the river Neckar leaves a region of shell-lime (Muschelkalk) formations, where the valley narrows and the slopes become very steep. As the river enters a region with sandstone (Keuper) formations, the valley changes to a smooth and shallow depression more than 1 km wide. Here the ground is covered with fertile flood loams. These conditions seem to have attracted prehistoric people for thousands of years.

Since 1990 three mesolithic open air sites with six archeological layers were discovered and excavated in this area. They were named as SIEBENLINDEN 1, 2 and 3. The excavations were conducted by the Tübingen Department of the Historical Monuments Administration Office of Baden-Württemberg (Landesdenkmalamt) in cooperation with the Institute of Prehistory, University of Tübingen.

SIEBENLINDEN 1

(53 sqms. excavated 1990)

Layer Io:

Dating: Probably late Boreal, late Early Mesolithic (Beuronian C).

Finds: Concentration of burnt limestone fragments with only few associated artifacts and bones.

Layer I:

Dating: Early Boreal, 14C-Dates between 8 500 and 9 000 BP; middle Early Mesolithic (Beuronian B).

Fauna: Red deer, Roe deer, Wild boar, Aurochs, Red fox, Beaver, Squirrel, Reindeer (!), various birds. Gnawing marks of House dog.

Floral remains: Wild apple, Raspberry, Wild cabbage; thousands of Hazelnut shells, charcoal

Finds: 2 000 stone artifacts with typical microliths, micropoints, endscrapers, burins and truncations.
Grinding stones, hammerstones.
Antler adzes, bone awls.

Seasonal dating: Early fall

Structures: 2 surface fireplaces with drop and toss zones.

Characterization: Intensive occupation with a lot of different activities. At least 30 chert nodules were brought to the site, some of them from the vicinity, but most from a distance of about 30 kilometers. The operational chain shows differences between the nodules. The refittings of the artifacts and the bone fragments demonstrate that the two fireplaces were contemporary.

SIEBENLINDEN 2

(46 sqms. excavated 1990-91)

Dating: Late Boreal, 14C-Dates at 8 000 BP, late Early Mesolithic (Beuronian C).
Fauna: Roe deer, Red deer, Wild boar, Aurochs, Red fox, Beaver, Wild cat, Marten, House dog, various birds.
Floral remains: Only few Hazelnut shells identified, charcoal
Finds: 1 700 stone artifacts with typical microliths, micropoints, endscrapers and truncations. 1 bone awl.
Seasonal dating: Spring.
Structures: 1 surface fireplace, 1 hearth with a lot of burnt limestone cobbles, 1 pit; drop and toss zones.
Characterization: Slightly less intensive occupation than in SIEBENLINDEN 1. At least 20 chert nodules were brought to the site, half from the vicinity, half from a distance of about 30 kilometers. The operational chain shows differences between the nodules. The refittings of the artifacts demonstrate that the two fireplaces and the pit were contemporary.

SIEBENLINDEN 3

(110 sqms. excavated 1993-95)

Layer II:

Dating: Atlantic period, 14C-Dates between 6 800 and 7 000 BP, Late Mesolithic.
Fauna: Red deer, Roe deer, Wild boar, Aurochs recognized to date.
Floral remains: Charcoal.
Finds: 500 Stone artifacts with typical trapezoid microliths, endscrapers and truncations.
Seasonal dating: Yet unknown, probably spring or summer.
Structures: 3 surface fireplaces with clear drop and toss zones.
Characterization: Short occupation. 8 chert nodules were brought to the site, 5 from the vicinity, 3 from a distance of about 30 kilometers. The operational chain shows differences between the nodules. A remarkable part of the produced artifacts were exported from the site. The refittings of the artifacts demonstrate that the three fireplaces were contemporary.

Layer III:

Dating: Late boreal, 14C-Dates at 8 000 BP, late Early Mesolithic (Beuronian C).
Fauna: Red deer, Roe deer, Wild boar recognized to date.
Floral remains: Charcoal.
Finds: 250 stone artifacts with typical microliths and micropoints.
Seasonal dating: yet unknown.
Structures: 1 Fireplace with large sandstone boulders, 1 hearth with a lot of burnt limestone cobbles.
Characterization: Probably peripheral area of an intensive occupation. The 250 stone artifacts belong to at least 20 chert nodules, each represented by only a few objects. The fireplaces demonstrate that there were remarkable activities outside the zone of intensive artifact production.

Layer IV:

Dating: Early Boreal, 14C-Dates at 8 700 BP, middle Early Mesolithic (Beuronian B).
Fauna: Red deer, Roe deer, Wild boar, Aurochs, Beaver, House dog recognized to date.
Floral remains: Shells of Hazelnut, charcoal.
Finds: 150 stone artifacts with typical microliths and micropoints.
1 skull fragment from Red deer with cut antler branches.
Seasonal dating: Early fall.
Structures: Concentration of bones.
Characterization: Peripheral area of an intensive occupation. The 150 stone artifacts belong to at least 15 chert nodules, each represented by only a few objects.

SIEBENLINDEN 1, 2 and 3 belong to the few Mesolithic open air sites in Germany with optimal conditions for the preservation of bones and structures. They were situated within the natural flood plains in the lateral portions of the yearly floods of the river Neckar which caused a quick sedimentation of the objects under nearly undisturbed conditions. There were no marks of hydraulic movement of the finds, even concentrations of small debris were found in situ. Although the analysis is still under work there are a lot of remarkable information yet. They concern the internal organization of Mesolithic open air sites, the strategies of Mesolithic land use and nutrition, the strategies of raw material supply, the operational chains of artifact production as well as the ecological conditions in the pastures of the river Neckar. A special aspect is the comparison of all these topics between the Early and the Late Mesolithic layers. It is possible to recognize that there seemed to be no change in the organizational and ecological conditions. There is not a single hint for the acceptance that the late Mesolithic people had adapted the change from generalized to complex hunter/gatherers. So the surprising evidence of Holocene reindeers in southwest Germany (one bone is AMS-dated) is only one of numerous results.

Text: Claus-Joachim Kind

Further readings:

Hahn, J. und Kind, C.-J.: Sondierungen im Bereich der Fundstelle Rottenburg-Siebenlinden III, Kreis Tübingen. Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg 1991 (1992) 38-40.

Hahn, J., Kind, C.-J. und Steppan, K.: Mesolithische Rentierjäger in Südwestdeutschland? Der mittelsteinzeitliche Freilandfundplatz Rottenburg »Siebenlinden I« (Vorbericht). Fundberichte aus Baden-Württemberg, 18, 1993, 29-52.

Kieselbach, R.:Die Artefakte der mesolithischen Freilandstation Rottenburg-Siebenlinden II (Ungedruckte Magisterarbeit Tübingen, 1993).

Kieselbach, P und Richter, D.: Die mesolithische Freilandstation Rottenburg-Siebenlinden II. Kreis Tübingen. Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg 1991 (1992) 35-37.

Kind, C.-J.: Die letzten Wildbeuter. Henauhof Nord II und das Endmesolithikum in Baden-Württemberg. Materialhefte zur Archäologie in Baden-Württemberg 39 (Stuttgart 1996).

Kind, C.-J.: Die mesolithische Freiland-Stratigraphie von Rottenburg »Siebenlinden 3«.Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 27, 1997, 13-32

Kokabi, M.: Osteologische Untersuchung der Knochenfunde aus der Freilandstation von Rottenburg-Siebenlinden I. In: Kokabi, M. und Wahl, J. (Hrsg.): Beiträge zur Archäozoologie und prähistorischen Anthropologie. Forschungen und Berichte zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Baden-Württemberg 53 (Stuttgart 1994) 197-211.

Miller, A. M.: Die Tierknochenfunde aus der mesolithischen Station Rottenburg-Siebenlinden 2 (Rost 2) und das Problem der holozänen Größenveränderung beim Reh (Capreolus capreolus). (Ungedruckte Magisterarbeit Tübingen 1996).

Reim H.: Eine Siedlung der ältesten Bandkeramik im Baugebiet »Lindele-Ost« in Rottenburg a.N., Kreis Tübingen. Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg 1990 (1991) 29-31.

Reim, H.: Eine Siedlung der Hallstatt- und Frühlatènezeit im Industriegebiet »Siebenlinden« in Rottenburg a.N., Kreis Tübingen. Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg 1990 (1991) 79-84.

Reim, H.: Die ersten 14-C-Daten aus der ältestbandkeramischen Siedlung in Rottenburg a.N., Kreis Tübingen. Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg 1993 (1994) 31-33.

Taute, W.: Neue Forschungen zur Chronologie von Spätpaläolithikum und Frühmesolithikum in Süddeutschland. Archäologische Informationen 2/3, 1973/74, 59-66.

Tillmann, A.: Kontinuität oder Diskontinuität? Zur Frage einer bandkeramischen Landnahme im südlichen Mitteleuropa. Archäologische Informationen 16/2, 1993,157-187.

Uerpmann, H.-R: Betrachtungen zur Wirtschaftsform neolithischer Gruppen. Fundberichte aus Baden-Württemberg 3, 1977, 144-161.