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<< Our Photo Pages >> Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen - Round Barrow(s) in Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia

Submitted by Harald_Platta on Wednesday, 26 August 2015  Page Views: 3240

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen Alternative Name: Urne von Gevelinghausen, Amphore von Gevelinghausen
Country: Germany Land: North Rhine-Westphalia Type: Round Barrow(s)
Nearest Town: Olsberg  Nearest Village: Gevelinghausen
Latitude: 51.349558N  Longitude: 8.446232E
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
1 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.
4 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
5

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Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen
Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen submitted by Harald_Platta : The bronze amphora of Gevelinghausen in the LWL-Museum für Archäologie in Herne (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). Some of the embossed ornaments form so called "Bird-Sun-Boats" (Vogel-Sonnen-Barken). This indicates that the amphora originally had a sacral meaning. © Platta 2015 (Vote or comment on this photo)
The bronze urn of Gevelinghausen was found in Olsberg (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) in 1961. It exhibits several ornaments, including “Bird-Sun-Boats“, which are a rare example of a pictorial representation of religious beliefs from the Bronze Age. Moreover, certain ornaments of the urn seem to resemble a calender.

The discovery of the bronze urn has been regarded as one of the most important German finds of the last century. Today, there are only 11 comparable amphorae-like vessels known in Europe. The amphora of Gevelinghausn has been called the most beautiful bronze vessel of Germany.

The amphora of Gevelinghausen is 36.2 cm high and stems from the Bronze Age (ca. 9th – 8th century BC).
The amphora displays a rich decoration with ornaments. It exhibits 10500 bosses of different diameter. Some of them form rowing boats. They have bows and sterns that are reminsicent of stylised birds. The rowing boats seem to transport circular structures that might resemble the sun. These so called “Bird-Sun-Boats“ (Vogel-Sonnen-Barken) are recognised as a rare pictorial representation of religious beliefs from the Bronze Age.

Moreover, the amphora displays a calender. The central bosses can be assigned to the days.

One of the two bronze handles was already torn off in ancient times.

The urn contained the cremated remains of a man. The first reports stating that the remains belong to a woman have been disproven. Radiocarbon dating suggested that the man had died between 772 and 400 BC. The only grave good were two small decorated bone tiles of unknown function.
It is not known, how the burial site looked like, but it can be speculated that it had a tumulus.

The origin and original function of the amphora are a matter of debate. One hypothesis is, that it originally was a sacral item and had been used for religious rites. The owner possibly died during a journey through today`s middle Germany. His cremated remains were placed in the amphora after it was desecrated by tearing off one handle.

The amphora had been removed from the original place of discovery (see coordinates at the top of the page). Today, the amphora of Gevelinghausen is part of the permanent exhibition in the LWL-Museum für Archäologie in Herne.


Text References:
[01] May, J.: Ausgeleuchtet. Die Bronzenen Amphoren Aus Seddin Und Herzberg Im Lichte Neuer Dokumentationsmethoden. In: Archäologie In Berlin Und Brandenburg (2012).
[02] Jockenhövel, A.: Die Bronzeamphore von Gevelinghausen:“Vogel-Sonnen-Barke“ in Westfalen. In: Westfalen in der Bronzezeit (2008).
[03] May, J.: „Die gefangene Zeit“. Vergleichende Untersuchungen
zu den Kalenderamphoren von Seddin, Herzberg, Rørbæk, Unia und Gevelinghausen. In: Acta Praehist. et Arch. 40 (2008).
[04] Steinrücken, B.: Untersuchung des Fundortes der Bronzeurne von Gevelinghausen auf astronomische Auffälligkeiten.
[05] Jockenhövel, A.: Die Vogel-Sonnen-Barke: Symbol der mitteleuropäischen Urnenfelderkultur. In: Von der Höhlenkunst zur Pyramide: Vorzeit und Altertum (1997).
[06] Probst, E.: Die ältere Niederrheinische Grabhügel-Kultur. In: Deutschland in der Bronzezeit (1996).
[07] Jockenhövel, A.: Eine Bronzeamphore des 8. Jahrhundert v. Chr. Von Gevelinghausen, Kr Meschede (Sauerland). In: Germania Bd. 52 (1974).

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Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen
Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen submitted by Harald_Platta : The bronze amphora of Gevelinghausen. This photo also shows the lower half of the amphora. Only here, a big single sun symbol is transported by the "Bird-Boat". It is relatively difficult to take photos of this part because of the lights and the refections of the glass. This picture belongs to the news-article "Du bist Westfalen!" by the LWL (http://www.lwl.org/pressemitteilungen/m... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen
Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen submitted by Harald_Platta : The bronze amphora of Gevelinghausen in the LWL-Museum für Archäologie in Herne (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). The central rows of bosses are interpreted as calender. One boss stands for one day. © Platta 2015 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen
Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen submitted by Harald_Platta (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen
Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen submitted by Harald_Platta : The bronze amphora of Gevelinghausen in the LWL-Museum für Archäologie in Herne (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). One of the handles was already torn off in ancient times. This could indicate a desecration of the amphora. © Platta 2015 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen
Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen submitted by Harald_Platta : The bronze amphora of Gevelinghausen in the LWL-Museum für Archäologie in Herne (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). The urn contains the cremated remains of a man. He died between 772 and 400 BC. The amphora itself was created between the 9th and 8th century BC. © Platta 2015

Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen
Bronze Urn of Gevelinghausen submitted by Harald_Platta : The bronze amphora of Gevelinghausen in the LWL-Museum für Archäologie in Herne (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). The only grave goods were two small decorated bone tiles of unknown function. © Platta 2015

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