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Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic, Edmonds, Bender

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein - Sculptured Stone in Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia

Submitted by Harald_Platta on Wednesday, 06 May 2015  Page Views: 3602

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Country: Germany
NOTE: This site is 2.021 km away from the location you searched for.

Land: North Rhine-Westphalia Type: Sculptured Stone
Nearest Town: Königswinter
Latitude: 50.698602N  Longitude: 7.177204E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. Detail of the famous back side of the stone. Photo of the original stone in the LVR Rheinisches LandesMuseum Bonn. © Platta 2016 (Vote or comment on this photo)
The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein is a sculptured stone that stems from the transition period from paganism to christianity of the Germanic tribe of the Franks.

It was found in Niederdollendorf (Königswinter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) during railway construction works in 1901. The interpretation of the figures and ornamentations is still a matter of debate. It is also not clear, if the stone displays pagan and christian themes or if it is entirely of pagan origin. The stone was part of a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD, but it could be even older. The cemetery stems probably from the transition time between paganism and christianity, because the graves can not clearly be categorized. The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein did not function as a gravestone. Instead itself was found in an otherwise empty grave.

The front side most likely shows a Germanic warrior. His left hand is lying on the Frankish short sword, while he holds a comb in his right hand. He wears a long-sleeved pant-like garment. A canteen near his his right leg is shown. The right hand and the left shoulder are touched by a two-headed snake, while a similar animal with opened mouth is seen near the sword.

The back side also shows a figure. The head is surrounded by an aureole. The figure carries a circle on its chest and holds a lance in the right hand. The background displays triangles and rhombi. The interpretation of this mysterious figure has led to different results. It has been proposed to represent a "transfigured warrior in the hereafter", a "light deity" or an early version of "Christ in the glory".

The right side shows two intertwined snakes, that are linked at their tails.

The left side displays one large and in three superimposed standing portals.

The top exhibits squares with diagonal and crossed lines and a circle in the middle. The crossed lines do not necessarily have to have a christian meaning. They could also be related to the "year division" rune.

The riddle of the Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein is still not solved. It is a unique artefact, but this also means the there are no other examples to compare it to.

The stone has been moved from the site of discovery (see coordinates at the top of the page) to the LVR Rheinisches LandesMuseum Bonn.

Literature:
[01] Ruhr Museum (Hrsg.): Werdendes Ruhrgebiet. Spätantike und Frühmittelalter an Rhein und Ruhr (2015).
[02] Zehnder, G. (Hrsg.): 100 Bilder und Objekte. Archäologie und Kunst im Rheinischen Landesmuseum Bonn (1999).
[03] Brast, W.: Der Bildstein von Niederdollendorf. In: Festschrift zum Hundertjährigen Bestehen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte 1869-1969, Zweiter Teil: Fachwissenschaftliche Beiträge (1970).

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Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The back side of the stone displays a figure. The head is surrounded by an aureole. The figure carries a circle on its chest and holds a lance in the right hand. The background displays triangles and rhombi. The interpretation of this mysterious figure ha... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The front side most likely shows a Germanic warrior. His left hand is lying on the Franconian short sword, while he holds a comb in his right hand. He wears a long-sleeved pant-like garment. Near his his right leg a canteen is shown. The right hand and th... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The right side shows two intertwined snakes, that are linked at their tails. Photo of the original stone in the LVR Rheinisches LandesMuseum Bonn. © Platta 2016 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The left side displays one large and three superimposed standing portals. Photo of the original stone in the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn. © Platta 2016 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The left side displays one large and in three superimposed standing portals. This photo was taken of a replica shown during the special exhibition "Werdendes Ruhrgebiet" in the Ruhr Museum Essen. The original stone can be seen in the LVR-LandesMuse...

Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The right side shows two intertwined snakes, that are linked at their tails. This photo was taken of a replica shown during the special exhibition "Werdendes Ruhrgebiet" in the Ruhr Museum Essen. The original stone can be seen in the LVR-Landes...

Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The top exhibits squares with diagonal and crossed lines and a circle in the middle. The crossed lines do not necessarily have to have a christian meaning. They could also be related to the "year division" rune. This photo was taken of a replica ...

Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein
Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein submitted by Harald_Platta : The Niederdollendorfer Bilderstein was found in Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia) in a Frankish cemetery of the 6th or 7th century AD. The front side most likely shows a Germanic warrior. His left hand is lying on the Franconian short sword, while he holds a comb in his right hand. He wears a long-sleeved pant-like garment. Near his his right leg a canteen is shown. The right hand and...

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