The ring sanctuary of Pömmelte, Germany: a monumental, multi-layered metaphor of the late third millennium BC Research André Spatzier1,∗ & François Bertemes2 Religion, social identity and social formation processes are topics of great interest to the archaeological community. Regarding the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age monuments of Central Europe, evidence from recent Berlin excavations at the Pömmelte enclosure in Pömmelte Central Germany suggests that circular or henge-like enclosures were monumental sanc- tuaries that served as venues for communal gatherings, ritual activities and performance. We suggest that such enclosures represent complex metaphors, possibly representing cosmological geographies, and that they N 0 km 200 also played important roles as communal structures in local identity formation and social regulation. Keywords: Germany, Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, Bell Beaker Culture, Úneticeˇ Culture, circular enclosure Introduction The Nebra sky disc is a find of global importance. Its iconography implies intensive observation of the sky and knowledge of complex astronomical phenomena (Meller 2010). The location and context of the disc’s deposition in eastern Germany provide insights into the ritual activities of political and cultic authority in the Central European Early Bronze Age. In this region, some 2000 years before, in the early fifth millennium BC, we find the 1 Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg, Berliner Straße 12, 73728 Esslingen, Germany 2 Institut für Kunstgeschichte und Archäologien Europas, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle, Emil-Abderhalden- Straße 26-27, 06108 Halle (Saale), Germany ∗ Author for correspondence (Email: [email protected]) © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re- use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. antiquity 92 363 (2018): 655–673 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2018.92 655 André Spatzier & François Bertemes Figure 1. Topographic map of the Pömmelte enclosure location and surrounding micro-region (indicated with a circle) in central Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (base map: DGM 100, LVermGeo LSA, 01/2015). so-called Kreisgrabenanlagen. These circular enclosures, commonly 40–120m in diameter, are defined by ditches with two to four entrances. Based on their layout and the astronomical alignment of their entrances, they have been widely interpreted as sanctuaries (Petrasch 2012: 60–63). The term Kreisgrabenanlagen is, however, misleading, as those monuments also frequently feature concentric rings of pits and posts. In recent decades, evidence has accumulated for comparable enclosures of later dates, including the Early Bronze Age Úneticeˇ Culture between 2200 and 1600 BC, and thus into the chronological and cultural context of the Nebra sky disc. Based on the analysis of one of these enclosure sites, recently excavated at Pömmelte on the flood plain of the Elbe River near Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, and dating to the late third millennium BC (Spatzier 2017a; Figure 1), this paper offers new insights into the complex and primarily sacred significance of such monuments within Bronze Age society. Building sequence and enclosure layout While previous aerial and geophysical prospection (Spatzier 2017a: 17–19) indicated the existence of multiple rings at Pömmelte, excavations between 2005 and 2008 revealed a complex architectural layout comprising several concentric circles of posts, pits and ditches, of which the largest was approximately 115m wide (Figure 2). The central open space— with a diameter of around 47m—was encircled by two rings of loosely spaced posts. Moving © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018 656 The ring sanctuary of Pömmelte, Germany Research Figure 2. Plan of the excavations in Pömmelte-Zackmünde between 2005 and 2008 (plan by André Spatzier). © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018 657 André Spatzier & François Bertemes outwards, a palisade confined the interior and ran along the inside edge of a ring ditch, outside of which (as deduced from the backfilling of the ditch) was a bank, probably of discontinuous segments. Next came a ring of elongated pits, probably once forming sections of a segmented ditch, and then a shallow ditch dug only in the south-eastern quarter. Finally, a ring of closely spaced posts defined the enclosure’s outer perimeter. Two main entrances oriented east-south-east and west-north-west, and two side entrances oriented south-south-west and north-east formed significant architectural elements marked by interruptions or distinctive symmetrical post settings (Figure 2). These post settings existed only along the main entrance axes in each ring, thereby facilitating direct passage through the monument connecting the interior with the surrounding landscape. The most elaborate constructions were apparently along the east-north-east axis and indicate that this was the main corridor used to enter or leave the enclosure. In contrast, the side entrances did not connect all the ring zones and perhaps only allowed passage from one ring zone to the next. Irregularities in the layout at Pömmelte suggest a multi-phase construction. The main entrances of each of the inner rings, the palisade and the ring ditch show precise axial alignments, although the interruption in the ditch for the east-south-east entrance is shifted slightly northwards. The main entrances of the outer post ring and the gaps in the segmented ditch and the south-eastern curved ditch are also axially aligned but slightly shifted southwards. The alignment shift of the main entrance axes suggests that the inner and outer circles may represent something akin to building units or phases. Furthermore, the ring ditch initially may have had three additional interruptions to the south-east, south- south-east and north-north-west, which were dug out or removed later. The precision of the monument’s layout illuminates the building process. The ring ditch is the most geometrically accurate of all the circles; the accuracy of the other rings decreases slightly towards both the interior and the exterior (Figure 2 & Table 1). Presumably the laying out of the ring ditch worked from a point selected as the centre for the enclosure. Subsequently, the ring ditch was used as the reference to lay out the inner and outer rings, with the exception of the innermost. The latter seems to have comprised a northern semi- ellipse and a southern semi-circle. This is reminiscent of Woodhenge and the Stonehenge bluestone oval. These can be interpreted as two semicircles possibly representing D-shaped “meeting houses” (Parker Pearson 2013: 336). At Pömmelte, the two distinct parts of the innermost post ring suggests the possibility of two building phases. Evidently, the archaeological plan of the enclosure demonstrates a superimposition of construction phases. The ring ditch was probably dug c. 2300 BC, but, for now, it is impossible to date the erection of the post rings. There is, however, evidence to suggest that, at one stage, all the circles existed contemporaneously. When the post rings were deconstructed by extracting the timber posts, offerings were deposited in the postpipes. Two radiocarbon dates on bone from such ‘final’ deposits found in the innermost post ring (B) correlate with the youngest dates that are stratigraphically older than a massive layer (in terms of thickness and representation around the ditch) containing wood ash in the ring ditch. Thus, at the end of the enclosure’s main occupation phase, the inner post rings, the palisade, ring ditch and bank may have existed simultaneously with each other. Following this, they were dismantled, the timbers burnt and the ash backfilled into the ring ditch. © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018 658 The ring sanctuary of Pömmelte, Germany Table 1. Geometry of the Pömmelte enclosure’s individual rings. Distance to ring centre Distance to enclosure centre (in metres) Deviation from mean (in metres) Deviation from mean No. of features Min Max Mean Stdev Min Max Stdev Min Max Mean Stdev Min Max Stdev 659 Outer post ring 293 56.26 60.42 58.16 1 -3.3% 3.9% ±1.7% 55.54 60.38 58.14 1.08 -4.5% 3.9% ±1.9% Ditch segment 52 47.48 50.6 48.69 0.66 -2.5% 3.9% ±1.4% 47.08 50.43 48.67 0.77 -3.3% 3.6% ±1.6% Ring ditch 92 37.74 40.07 38.9 0.57 -3.0% 3.0% ±1.5% 37.15 40.16 38.9 0.69 -4.5% 3.2% ±1.8% Palisade 153 34.86 37.5 36.1 0.58 -3.4% 3.9% ±1.6% 34.29 37.52 36.1 0.73 -5.0% 3.9% ±2.0% Post ring A 79 28.56 30.63 29.63 0.54 -3.6% 3.4% ±1.8% 28.42 30.91 29.61 0.69 -4.0% 4.4% ±2.3% Post ring B 80 21.31 24.69 23.34 0.8 -8.7% 5.7% ±3.4% 21.52 25.1 23.33 0.84 -7.7% 7.6% ±3.6% © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018 Research André Spatzier & François Bertemes This may also be true for the outer post ring and the adjacent curved ditch (the grey ditch segment on Figure 2), as radiocarbon dating of bone from the latter correlates with the ‘pre- deconstruction dates’ (see below). With regard to the segmented ditch, two charcoal dates fit into this chronology, but one bone date is the youngest for the enclosure. In summary, a general building sequence can be suggested for the Pömmelte monument. The first phase involved defining the enclosure’s centre and marking out the ring ditch, the latter then serving as a reference for subsequent construction. The outer and two inner post rings probably represent subsequent building phases; the inner rings were probably constructed first. Prior to the deconstruction event, the inner rings—and perhaps all of the rings—coexisted.