Before the start of construction on the SuedOstLink high-voltage direct current transmission line, the State Department for Heritage Management and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt (LDA) in Germany is carrying out extensive archaeological investigations along the planned route, which stretches from Wolmirstedt, near Magdeburg, to Droyßig, in the Burgenland district. As a result of these excavations, graves belonging to the Bell Beaker Culture, a society from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age that existed between 2500 and 2050 BCE, have recently been discovered near the town of Förderstedt, located in the Salzlandkreis district.
Named for the distinctive shape of its characteristic ceramic vessels, the Bell Beaker Culture spread across various regions of Europe starting around 2500 BCE. However, its geographical distribution was not uniform, as it developed in scattered communities that coexisted with other groups possessing different material cultures.
One of the most distinctive aspects of this culture was its particular burial practice, in which the deceased were placed in a crouched position on their side, with a clear gender-based differentiation: men were laid on their left side with their heads facing north, while women rested on their right side with their heads pointing south. In all cases, the face of the deceased was directed toward the east.
Grave goods were typically relatively scarce, limited in most cases to one or a few ceramic pieces. However, some burials contained objects that helped identify the status or occupation of the deceased. For instance, some individuals were buried with arrowheads, stone wrist guards, or copper daggers, suggesting they may have been warriors or hunters. Some grave goods also included jewelry, although evidence of copper metallurgy is less frequent. In fact, the earliest gold finds in Central Germany have been associated with this culture.
Along the planned route of the SuedOstLink transmission line, archaeologists have identified at least ten graves belonging to the Bell Beaker Culture. Among them, three burials, originally covered by a burial mound, are being subjected to detailed excavation. These burials are approximately two meters deep and are remarkably well preserved.
One of these graves contained a bell-shaped vessel that was likely used to hold food as a funerary offering. Another tomb, attributed to a male individual based on the position of his body, included, in addition to a ceramic vessel, a stone wrist guard measuring 8×4 cm, made from Gotland sandstone, a material that was transported to Central Germany by glaciers during the Ice Age. These types of guards, worn on the forearm, were used to prevent the recoil of the bowstring upon release. Although no arrows were found in the grave, the presence of the wrist guard suggests that the deceased may have been a hunter or warrior.
In a nearby burial, however, arrow remains were found. The individual, also positioned on his left side, had two stone arrowheads near his back, located within a slightly discolored area of the soil. This alteration of the substrate could indicate the presence of an organic quiver, which has since decomposed.
“Evidence of organic objects, such as the possible quiver identified in this excavation, is extremely rare, making this discovery particularly significant,” said Susanne Friedrich, head of the department for the preservation of archaeological monuments at the LDA of Saxony-Anhalt. She also highlighted that “thanks to close coordination with the grid operator 50Hertz and the professional work of the field team, even exceptional discoveries like this have not caused delays in construction preparations.”
The presence of materials such as Gotland sandstone in the German region suggests the existence of trade or migration networks that connected different communities, shedding light on the complex interactions between cultures in the third millennium BCE.
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