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| The '''Frankleben hoard''' is a significant ] deposit of the ], associated with the ]. | |||
| {{Unreferenced|date=March 2012}} | |||
| It was discovered in 1946 near Frankleben, now a part of ] municipality, ], Germany. | |||
| {{Table Numeral Systems}} | |||
| The hoard consists of three ceramic vessels, buried alongside one another. One of the vessels was destroyed by a dredge at the time of discovery | |||
| During the beginning of the ], around 1200 BC, a series of votive ]s of ] with marks that have been interpreted{{By whom|date=March 2012}} as a ], appeared in ]. | |||
| The finds consist of a total of 42 kg of bronze artefacts, most of them ]s, alongside some axheads. | |||
| The original hoard probably contained more than 300 such bronze sickles, of which 237 came into the possession of the ] museum. | |||
| ==Discovery== | |||
| An analysis of the hoard was published by Wilhelm Albert von Brunn in 1958. Von Brunn distinguished 91 types of sickles, originating from 182 individual moulds. 179 out of the total of 237 sickles show traces of use. On the sickle blades are patterns. | |||
| In 1946 a deposit with more than 250 sickles corresponding to the period 1500–1250 BC was discovered in Frankleben (in the region of ]–]). This discovery{{By whom|date=March 2012}} was part of a series of deposits from the Urnfield culture found close to the ], where some 600 sickles and other objects have been retrieved. The sickles are thought to have been created and buried in deposits with ritual ends, due to the lack of signs of use. | |||
| Von Brunn interpreted them as marks or pictograms identifying the sickle-maker. | |||
| By contrast Sommerfeld (1994) suggested that the ]s indicating numbers between zero and thirty. | |||
| == Literature == | |||
| On the sickles, a series of marks in two positions called attention: simple strokes, under the button that sticks out, near where a handle ought to be, and more complex signs, in the corner of the blade or on the base. The basic strokes have been interpreted by Christoph Sommerfeld as a numeral system.<ref>Christoph Sommerfeld: ''Gerätegeld Sichel. Studien zur monetären Struktur bronzezeitlicher Horte im nördlichen Mitteleuropa'' (Vorgeschichtliche Forschungen Bd. 19), Berlin/New York 1994 ISBN 3-11-012928-0</ref> | |||
| *Christoph Sommerfeld: ''Gerätegeld Sichel. Studien zur monetären Struktur bronzezeitlicher Horte im nördlichen Mitteleuropa'' (Vorgeschichtliche Forschungen Bd. 19), Berlin/New York 1994 ISBN 3-11-012928-0 | |||
| *Bettina Stoll-Tucker: ''Mondsicheln in der Erde''. In: Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (Hrsg.): Schönheit, Macht und Tod. 120 Funde aus 120 Jahren Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle. Begleitband zur Sonderausstellung vom 11. Dezember 2001 bis 28. April 2002 im Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle/Saale. | |||
| {{Coordinate|NS=|EW=|type=landmark|region=DE-ST}} | |||
| Other objects that show these marks have been discovered, like the ] (from the end of the ]), which shows the symbol ////\\\\\ and the ] (between 1200–1000 BC), which also shows the symbol ////\\\\\, accompanied by other symbols. In the case of the Coswig vessel, it gives the impression that it was made by a trained hand which wrote a complex series of signs on the fresh clay surface. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| The discovered numeral system is in ] five, i.e. ]. The units digit are written with a stroke from the top-right to the bottom-left «'''/'''» and the fives place with a stroke from the top-left to the bottom-right «'''\'''». The numbers from 1 = / to 29 = ////\\\\\ have been found. | |||
| == Interpretation == | |||
| These embossed marks, unique in objects from the Bronze Age, were introduced in cast-iron molds and were not created on finished objects. The marks on the clay molds were done sometimes by hand, others with stamps, and corrected wrong symbols indicates an intention and a previous planning. | |||
| That numbers past 29 have not been found, when theoretically the system can be used to write unlimited numbers, has been interpreted{{By whom|date=March 2012}} to be because of the ] of 29.5 days. The cultures that use a ] habitually decide between 29 and 30 days for their calendar and correct the annual difference in various ways. If this interpretation is accepted, each ravine represents one day of the lunar cycle. | |||
| The shape of the sickle is similar to a crescent ], which explains the significance of this object in the worship of the Urnfield culture. | |||
| With this, the symbol found on the Ruthen stamp and the Coswig vase has been interpreted,{{By whom|date=March 2012}} 29 = ////\\\\\, as a symbol of the lunar cycle. In general, it is believed that the writing encodes the lunar cycle as the agricultural cycle linked with the moon and the ]. | |||
| == Other symbols == | |||
| Another series of symbols exists which appears around the sickles and still has not been interpreted. However it is clear that these symbols follow determined rules that are valid in all the influential territory. | |||
| Some of those symbols can be put{{By whom|date=March 2012}} in groups from one to four by what has been proposed as a type of base five numeral system. | |||
| {| align=center border=1 class="wikitable" | |||
| | <small>40<small> | |||
| | <small>41<small> | |||
| | <small>42<small> | |||
| | <small>43<small> | |||
| | ] <small>44<small> | |||
| | <small>45<small> | |||
| | <small>46<small> | |||
| | <small>47<small> | |||
| | <small>48<small> | |||
| | <small>49<small> | |||
| |- | |||
| | <small>50<small> | |||
| | <small>51<small> | |||
| | ] <small>52<small> | |||
| | ] <small>53<small> | |||
| | ] <small>54<small> | |||
| | ] <small>55<small> | |||
| | ] <small>56<small> | |||
| | ] <small>57<small> | |||
| | ● <small>58<small> | |||
| | <small>59<small> | |||
| |- | |||
| | <small>60<small> | |||
| | <small>61<small> | |||
| | ] <small>62<small> | |||
| | ] <small>63<small> | |||
| | ] <small>64<small> | |||
| | <small>65<small> | |||
| | ] <small>66<small> | |||
| | ] <small>67<small> | |||
| | ●● <small>68<small> | |||
| | <small>69<small> | |||
| |- | |||
| | <small>70<small> | |||
| | <small>71<small> | |||
| | ] <small>72<small> | |||
| | ] <small>73<small> | |||
| | ] <small>74<small> | |||
| | <small>75<small> | |||
| | ] <small>76<small> | |||
| | ] <small>77<small> | |||
| | ●●● <small>78<small> | |||
| | <small>79<small> | |||
| |- | |||
| | <small>80<small> | |||
| | <small>81<small> | |||
| | ] <small>82<small> | |||
| | <small>83<small> | |||
| | ] <small>84<small> | |||
| | ] <small>85<small> | |||
| | ] <small>86<small> | |||
| | ] <small>87<small> | |||
| | ●●●● <small>88<small> | |||
| | <small>89<small> | |||
| |} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{SPATRAref|:es:Numeración de la Cultura de los Campos de Urnas|December 16, 2006}} | |||
| *{{cite book | title= Der geschmiedete Himmel. Die weite Welt im Herzen Europas vor 3600 Jahren | chapter= Mondsymbol »Sichel« - Sicheln mit Marken | last= Sommerfeld | first= Christoph | authorlink= |coauthors= | editor1-first= Harald | editor1-last= Meller | others = Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archeologie Sachsen-Anhalt LANDESMUSEUM FÜR VORGESCHICHTE Halle | year= 2006 | publisher= Konrad Theiss Verlag GmbH | location= Stuttgart | isbn = 978-3-8062-1907-4 |page= | pages= 118-123 |url= |accessdate= | language = German}} | |||
| *] Description of the Hoard of bronze found in Frankleben. | |||
| <references/> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * of the Frankleben sickles. | |||
| * of the Coswig vase. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{Commons category|Symbols of the Urnfield culture}} | |||
| *] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 11:47, 8 March 2012
The Frankleben hoard is a significant hoard deposit of the European Bronze Age, associated with the Urnfield culture. It was discovered in 1946 near Frankleben, now a part of Braunsbedra municipality, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany.
The hoard consists of three ceramic vessels, buried alongside one another. One of the vessels was destroyed by a dredge at the time of discovery The finds consist of a total of 42 kg of bronze artefacts, most of them sickles, alongside some axheads.
The original hoard probably contained more than 300 such bronze sickles, of which 237 came into the possession of the Halle museum. An analysis of the hoard was published by Wilhelm Albert von Brunn in 1958. Von Brunn distinguished 91 types of sickles, originating from 182 individual moulds. 179 out of the total of 237 sickles show traces of use. On the sickle blades are patterns. Von Brunn interpreted them as marks or pictograms identifying the sickle-maker. By contrast Sommerfeld (1994) suggested that the numeral signs indicating numbers between zero and thirty.
Literature
- Christoph Sommerfeld: Gerätegeld Sichel. Studien zur monetären Struktur bronzezeitlicher Horte im nördlichen Mitteleuropa (Vorgeschichtliche Forschungen Bd. 19), Berlin/New York 1994 ISBN 3-11-012928-0
- Bettina Stoll-Tucker: Mondsicheln in der Erde. In: Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (Hrsg.): Schönheit, Macht und Tod. 120 Funde aus 120 Jahren Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle. Begleitband zur Sonderausstellung vom 11. Dezember 2001 bis 28. April 2002 im Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle/Saale.
Coordinates: Missing latitude
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