Weizen, Linsen, Opferbrote

First Sentence

Die erste umfassende archäologische Beschreibung des Phänomens alpiner Brandopferplätze erfolgte durch Werner Krämer (1966), der durch den Vergleich mit antiken Schriftquellen auch erstmals den Konnex zum ostmediterranen Raum herstellte.

Description

Burnt-offering places are an archaeologically heterogeneous group of finds in the Alps, predominantly occurring during Late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Plant macrofossil and charcoal analyses were carried out at nine of these sites, targeting at the assessment of the offerings and the firewood used for the altars. A total of 99 taxa are represented by carbonised remains. One constant component in the finds are fragments of a cereal product, characterised by small-grained (< 300 µm) cereal bran and close structural resemblance to archaeological bread finds. Further classification (grain-paste, porridge or bread) was however not possible. In opposite to the processed cereals, grain finds (mainly hulled barley, hulled wheats, broomcorn millet) are rather scarce. Older sites (LBA) show the under-representation of main crops as documented for contemporary settlements. Finds of legumes were found mainly in north Italian sites. Oilseeds occur punctually. The useful plants spectrum, together with the archaeozoological record, confirms an "agrarian" character of the rituals postulated earlier: domesticated plants and animals dominate over gathered plants and game. Four hypotheses are suggested to explain the role of wild plants in the rituals, however not allowing definite conclusions. Fuel wood choice was guided by local availability, only two sites indicating specific selection. Dendrological and taphonomical parameters of the charcoal point to a predominance of gathered deadwood. Both aspects (deadwood use, no specific selection) clearly differentiate the Alpine burnt-offering from the ancient Greek ritual, which is often used as a basis for comparison.

Subjects