The Cruel and Twisted Discoveries at Germany’s Stonehenge
When you think of Stonehenge what do you think of? England? Druids? Partygoers celebrating the solstice? A unique piece of ancient heritage? Chances are that you don’t think of Germany. As it turns out, however, Saxony-Anhalt has its own Early Bronze Age wooden henge—Ringheiligtum Pömmelter—and recent excavations have added more detail to its dark, distinctive history.
The reason that you might not have heard of Ringheiligtum Pömmelter is that it was only discovered in 1991. The monument, which is located near the village of Pömmelte, in the district of Salzlandkreis, was discovered when aerial photography of the region revealed the outline of the structure. Like Wiltshire’s Stonehenge, it is concentric and is made up of seven rings of raised banks, ditches, and palisades in which wooden posts were positioned. If you visit the 380-feet-wide circle today you can see the attractive reconstructed monument. The painted wooden posts erected at the site give tourists a sense of what it was like in its heyday.
Like Stonehenge the orientation of the site appears to have been determined by the summer and winter solstices. Thus, until recently, archaeologists assumed that Ringheiligtum was a ritual site that was used for religious purposes, stargazing, and the celebration of seasonal festivals. It was essentially a sacred flex space. Now excavations begun last month and reported this week by Heritage Daily, have revealed that people actually lived there. During the course of the May 2021 excavations scientists have discovered 130 dwellings (80 of which are complete), 20 ditches, and two burials. The newly discovered structures were built between 2800 BCE and 2200 BCE, with most of the houses dating to the latter period.