Gebruiker:J.w.de.kort/Kladblok

Discovery

A recent discovery in the Netherlands has brought to light an important site from the early medieval period. Archaeologists working near the hamlet of Hezingen in the eastern part of the country have uncovered an offering place or cult site which can be dated between the late 6th and early 8th century CE. The site was discovered during nature development in the Springendal nature reserve by metal detectorists. The area in which the site is located was a disputed border region between the Frisians, the Saxons and Franks, three of the major Germanic tribes of the early medieval period.

Cult site 1

The first offering place consists of four east-west oriented row of 18 posts with a total length of 30 meters. North of the postholes, archaeologists have found a variety of objects that were most likely used in religious rituals, such as gold jewelry and coins (so-called tremisses and sceatta’s). These coins date the site between 580 and 720 CE. Some of the coins were found in the fill of the postholes.

Deposition did not take place simultaneously: the oldest finds (the bracteate-like pendants and tremisses with a high gold content) are clustered in the east, imitations of Madelinus-type tremisses with a lower gold content are found in the central part of the site and the youngest finds (the sceattas) are in the west.

Geochemical analysis revealed that animal sacrifice may also have been involved.

Cult site 2

A second sacrificial site was found about 100 meters south of the first site. This site has a north-south oriented distribution of finds. Gold tremisses were also found here, but dated slightly younger than the first site. No imitations of the Madelinus-type tremissis were found here. In addition, a single small gold pendant was found.

Unique?

The offering place near Hezingen-Springendal is so far the only one of this kind to have been discovered in the Netherlands. Similar sites have been found in other parts of Europe, including Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, and they were most likely used for various religious purposes, such as offerings to gods and goddesses, ancestor worship, and divination. The discovery of the offering place near Hezingen-Springendal sheds new light on early medieval religious practices in the Netherlands. It provides valuable insights into the religious beliefs and practices of the Germanic tribes who lived in the region in the centuries following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the transition to Christianity. Further research will be required to gain a better understanding of the site's significance and its role in early medieval society. Nonetheless, the discovery of the artifacts in relation to the soil traces of postholes at the site offers a fascinating glimpse into a remarkable period of history and emphasizes the importance of continued archaeological research in the region.

Surrounding sites

Finds indicating a settlement, such as pottery and waste pits, were not found. A settlement indicative of supra-local importance (Vasse-De Steenbrei) can be identified four kilometres to the west (Pronk 2015), where an anomalous building was found within a pallisade that can be interpreted as a cult building.

There are a large number of prehistoric burial mounds in the area. Based on their location, two east-west and north-south routes can be reconstructed across the Ootmarsum moraine ridge. The site of Hezingen-Springendal lies exactly at the junction of these two routes.

Sources

• de Kort, J.W., B. Groenewoudt & S. Heeren (2022) Offers aan de goden? De vroegmiddeleeuwse schatvondst van Hezingen-Springendal, Archeologie in Nederland, jaargang 6, deel 1, p. 2-7. #[[1]]
• A site report is expected to be published in late 2023: de Kort, J.W., B. Groenewoudt & S. Heeren (red.) (in prep.) "Goud aan de grens; Onderzoek naar een voorchristelijke cultusplaats uit de vroege middeleeeuwen in het natuurgebied Springendal bij Hezingen (gemeente Tubbergen), Rapportage Archeologische Monumentenzorg, Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, Amersfoort.
• Pronk, E.C. (2015) Van palenkrans tot palissade.Een opgraving van een grafveld uit het Laat Neolithicum en de Midden tot Late Bronstijd en een herenhof uit de Merovingische tijd Plan gebied De Steenbrei 3 te Vasse, gemeenteTubbergen, Amsterdam (RAAP-Rapport 2836).

Gallery

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  Selection of the finds of the early medieval cult site of Hezingen-Springendal (the Netherlands). The finds of the later discovered cult site are pictured on the bottom left. Central and bottom left: tremisses; bottom right: sceatta's; left: silver earrings; top right: jewelry; top left: parts of a silver vessel (?); central right: part of a buckle or hilt decoration
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  Artist's reconstruction of one of the posts representing a statue of Wodan on the find spot.
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  Reconstruction of the early medieval cult site of Hezingen-Springendal (the Netherlands)
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  Distribution of the finds on the early medieval cult site of HEzingen-Springendal (the Netherlands).