Hünenburg (Huenenburg) bei Watenstedt is a Bronze Age settlement in Germany. Only the rampart walls and inner ditches remain. In use by c. 1400 BCE, as a village the site dates to the late Bronze Age c. 1200 BCE.
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The reconstructed village image shows typical longhouses, which are used as far back as Neolithic times c. 5000 BCE in building. The archaeological excavations indicate the Hünenburg is built during the Bronze Age as a fortification.
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Dating to the late Bronze Age (1200 to 750 BCE), several fortifications are found in Central Europe. The site is one of the largest Bronze Age settlements in Central Europe, with around 500 permanent inhabitants.
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The first inhabitants of the complex are thought to come from the Saale estuary group in the regions of the northern Harz mountains of today's Germany. Evidence of the Saale group in the Harz appears c. 1300 - 750 BCE.
Crops grown in the area might be gold-of-pleasure, a popular seed crop in northern Europe at the time; as well as barley, wheat and broad bean. Metal smiths or metalworkers are active at the site. At this time iron ores are coming into use but bronze is still preferred.
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As a center of power and seat of elite Hünenburg yields artisan bronze finds, such as a richly decorated basin cast at the site. The basin style spreads to the surrounding areas, showing commercial interaction with the neighbors.
While metallurgists in Anatolia are already creating steel from iron c. 1800 BCE, most regions take longer to adopt the new metal. Northern Europe enters the Iron Age c. 800 BCE.
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Excavation evidence shows the ramparts of the Hünenburg are first built in the 11th century BCE. From c. 900 BCE, a stone facing is built on the outer side of the rampart. Shortly thereafter the people erect a massive stone wall.
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Chronological progression details the use of the site as a group habitation, permanent settlement and later a place to be defended. Prominent people live at the site as well as specialist artisans. Cultures exchange goods and ideas. It's a desirable location.
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A double channel system with shallow ditches and individual culverts is found in 2017 CE inside the rampart. Research identifies it as a Neolithic earthwork existing thousands of years before the Bronze Age Hünenburg.
The channels measure 8 m (26 ft) wide and 3 m (9.8 ft) deep. They're considered to be part of a wall or fortification. Excavated c. 1100 BCE they're later filled back in to a depth of 1.5 m (4.9 ft), and that is where they are today.
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The remaining ditch system exists throughout the Bronze Age history of the Hünenburg and may have held a wooden construction. Some researchers believe the channels mark a dominion, or cult area within the Hünenburg complex.
Geomagnetic measurements in 2019 find evidence of a larger building constructed inside the ramparts. The southern slope, under excavation since 2001, is also probed with non-intrusive geologic methods such as seismic and sonic prospecting, as well as excavations.
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2010 CE measurements indicate a formerly inhabited area of about 27 ha (66.7 acres) as an outlying settlement known as the lower city. This exterior habitation exists at the same time as the fortification and shows plenty of activity.
By the end of 2014, archaeologists excavate three tons of pottery from the ground of the outer settlement. Quantity suggests a pottery making or trade center. Findings confirm wooden post houses with wicker or wattle walls. Houses are about 11 × 5 m (37.7 x 16.4 ft).
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Houses typically have hearths and a type of stone paving. This could be terrazzo which is easily made from crushed rock fragments. Ground limestone can soften to a clay-like consistency in water, and is used as a binder for the fragments.
When the mixture hardens the flooring is polished. Individual tiles can be made by using a mold. Evidence of early terrazzo flooring is also found at the Neolithic cult town of Gobekli Tepe.
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Storage and waste pits up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft) deep are found in the habitation. In 2011, researches find evidence of an ancient watercourse flowing through the settlement. The stream bed yields animal bones and skulls.
Streams and rivers are often sacrificial sites and perceived as sacred cross-culturally. Later excavations in the outer settlement reveal a horse skeleton on its back at a depth of 1.6 m (5.2 ft), although it's unclear whether this is an animal sacrifice or horse burial.
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Horses are most strongly linked to rulers and warriors. In Bronze Age society horses are domesticated but often associated with the elite. Horses and chariots are used in battle by the second millennium BCE in ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Anatolia (Turkey).
Horse burial is the practice of burying a horse as part of the human burial ritual. The first known horse burial is at S'ezzhee, today's southwest Russia in the 4-5th millennium BCE. Bronze Age horse burial is common to cultures such as Indo-European, Chinese and Turkic.
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During the Bronze Age the Hünenburg fortification and its outer settlement comprise an urban style trading hub and organized central settlement. Built at the intersection of long-distance routes for trade and travel, it's an excellent location.
Early trade contributes to its growth and prosperity as a settlement. Suggested trade items include ores and metal utensils or weapons, attested by archaeological finds; and possibly pottery and salt.
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Research indicates people from Baltic Scandinavia once live near Watenstedt. According to Immo Heske, head of the excavation, there is a mix of "groups and people from other regions in Watenstedt."
Seen as an early European metallurgy center, Hünenburg may have been a stop for Scandinavian traders seeking metals. Metals might be sold as raw ore, or extracted and traded as ingots of specific shapes, sizes and weights.
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Copper and tin to make bronze are especially lucrative. A route directly south from Sweden, consisting of road and river travel, is feasible. By this time the Nordic Bronze Age is at its zenith and the metals for bronze (88% copper + 12% tin) are much in demand.
Contacts of the Hünenburg population go as far as the Mediterranean region. Strong centers of trade in the Mediterranean include Greek Myceneans, up to c. 1100 BCE when the Bronze Age collapse sees the destruction of empires.
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Factors of prolonged drought, seismic activity such as as earthquakes and tremors, migration, internal rebellion, old grudges and attacks from violent seafaring peoples cause the collapse of powers including Minoan, Hittite and Kassite empires.
After that the Phoenicians rise in influence. Merchants, traders and warriors, they forge the most widespread trading network ever known, by sea to the Greek islands, across southern Europe, down the Atlantic coast of Africa, and up to ancient Britain.
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As a ring wall fortification the Hünenburg settlement is similar to the nearby Isingerode habitation, which also features a ring wall of the Late Bronze Age and outer settlement. Built around 1200 BCE it was in use until c. 600 BCE.
Between 900 and 600 BCE burials took place just southeast of Hünenburg. Excavations in 2007 and 2008 discover many graves rich in grave goods. It's thought the rulers of the Hünenburg settlement are buried there. So far 77 graves have been found.
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The Hünenburg battlements also stand for about 600 years. From the 12th to the 7th century B.C., the Hünenburg is continuously settled. It's then abandoned for a thousand years.
During the Migration Period of c. 400 CE and in the early Middle Ages. another settlement phase begins. The ramparts are renewed. A dry stone wall about 0.8 m (2.6 ft) wide is built atop of the rampart.
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In the last phase of building the stone construction is levelled again, then rebuilt up to 1.4 m (4.6 ft). It's not known if these later construction phases relate to the Saxon-Frankish conflicts of the 8th century.
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