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GERMANY, SITE OF OLDEST ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY IN EUROPE

_Posted Aug 28.03_

Original headline: *German site predates Stonehenge*

*Apparently oldest astronomical observatory in Europe discovered in
eastern Germany*

Archaeologists have found what could be Europe's oldest astronomical
observatory near the town of Goseck in the eastern German state of
Saxony-Anhalt. The archaeological discovery lies only 25 kilometers from
the forest near the village of Nebra, where an Early Bronze Age disc
with gold foil ornaments was unearthed by looters just over three years ago.

The site, which is estimated to be around 7,000 years old and measures
75 meters in diameter, provides the first insights into the spiritual
and religious worlds of Europe's earliest farmers, Harald Meller, the
state archaeologist for Saxony-Anhalt, said at a press conference at the
start of the month.

Archaeologists first took note of the location of the site after aerial
images taken in 1992 showed geometrically arranged earth mounds.
Excavation, however, did not get underway until last year. The Goseck
site deviates strikingly from similar prehistoric mound sites, of which
there are around 180 spread throughout Europe. Usually four gates lead
into the circular compounds at such sites, but at Goseck there are only
three.

Astrophysicist Wolfhard Schlosser of the Ruhr University in Bochum is
convinced that the site was constructed for the observation of
astronomical phenomena such as the movements of the sun, moon and stars,
and for tracking time. The southern gates marked the sunrise and sunset
of the winter and summer solstice and enabled the early Europeans to
determine with accuracy the course of the sun as it moved across the
sky, Schlosser said.

“The formation of the site, its orientation and the marking of the
winter and summer solstice shows similarities to the world-famous Nebra
disc - though the disc was created 2,400 years later, Schlosser said.
The 32-centimeter disc, which was found in the wooded region of Nebra
just 25 kilometers away from Goseck, is considered the oldest concrete
representation of the cosmos.

Schlosser believes the formations on the disc were based on previous
astronomical observations, which could possibly have been made at the
site at Goseck.

The walled-compound at Goseck also consists of an unusual formation of
concentric rings of man-high wooden palisades. Because the rings and the
gates into the inner circles become narrower as one progresses to the
center, archaeologists believe that only a few people were allowed entry
into the inner-most ring.

Archeologists have found plenty of evidence to prove that Goseck was a
place of prehistoric cult worship. The arrangement of human bones, for
instance, is not typical of burial sites, and cut marks on the bones
suggest that human sacrifice was practiced at the site. It is “one of
the oldest holiest sites“ discovered in central Europe, said Francois
Bertemes, a university professor at the University of Halle-Wittenberg
specializing in pre-historic archaeology.

Archaeologists have been able to determine the date of the site's
origins through carbon dating of two arrow heads and animal bones found
within the site's circular compounds.

They say that with all likelihood the site can be traced back to the
period between 5000 BC and 4800 BC, which would make it the oldest-dated
astronomical observatory in Europe. The site at Goseck, erected by the
earliest farming communities between the Stone and Bronze Age, pre-dates
Stonehenge by 3,000 years.

The site is being used as learning material for students at the
University of Halle-Wittenberg. Because of this, it is only open for
excavation for a limited number of weeks in the year. A group of
students from the University of California at Berkeley will have the
chance to dig at the site next year.

*.:Story originally published by:.*
Frankfurter Algemeine
/ Germany | David Heidi Sylvester - Aug 22.03