Design considerations
During educational excavations near Hermeskeil, archaeologist Professor Sabine Hornung from Saarland University and her excavation team uncovered a Celtic sanctuary. Its shape and building typological comparisons suggest that it functioned as a place of worship
The cult building measures around six by six meters and was once made of wood. It was discovered by Sabine Hornung, Professor of Prehistory and Early History at Saarland University, and her team of research assistants and students near Hermeskeil. “Its location, its layout, the overall find situation and experience from comparable finds during other excavations suggest that it is a Celtic sanctuary,” explains the archaeologist. “The Celts sacrificed animals, objects and sometimes even people.”
The excavation team did not find any human remains. “Bones are not preserved in this type of acidic soil, but decompose quite quickly,” explains excavation manager Patrick Mertl, research assistant to Sabine Hornung. Nothing remains of the former wooden structure of the cult site either. By September, archaeology students had uncovered the trough-shaped trenches, in which the wooden construction beams of the sanctuary lay, around 40 centimetres below the earth’s surface. The archaeologists found pottery shards in the surrounding area. They excavated the remains of an ancient storage jar with a lid directly on one of the former side walls. Two massive wooden posts with stones were probably anchored in the ground in front of the sanctuary, as evidenced by post pits with fortification stones. “It is quite possible that weapons or shields were attached to these posts,” suspects Mertl.
The Romans next door
The cult site is located in a settlement of the Celtic tribe of the Treveri, which Sabine Hornung had already discovered during earlier research. “This site is village-like with loose buildings, about five hectares in size,” she says. The archaeologist caused a sensation that attracted international attention in 2012 when she discovered a Roman military camp just a few hundred meters away. Using finds such as hand mills, hobnails from Roman soldiers and pottery shards, she was able to date the camp to 51 BC – the time when Julius Caesar waged his Gallic War against rebellious Gauls. Today, it is one of the three oldest known military camps on German soil.
Why was the Celtic sanctuary destroyed?
The archaeologists in Saarbrücken are trying to find out exactly what happened to the Celtic sanctuary that has now been discovered. What is certain is that the building – as well as the surrounding settlement – burned down. The archaeologists found typical traces of fire everywhere. However, whether the Romans from the nearby military camp reduced the settlement to rubble is still a mystery. “We are researching this. We are trying to clarify whether the settlement existed when the Romans arrived, and if so, what happened. If not, we want to find out when the settlement was founded and why it was destroyed,” says Sabine Hornung.
Found thanks to state-of-the-art technology
The researchers found the remains of the archaeological structures in the ground with the help of modern technology. “We carried out geomagnetic prospection with the students, which provided us with valuable information about archaeologically relevant structures in the ground without having to dig into the ground. We then selected our excavation area based on these measurements,” explains Patrick Mertl, specialist in geophysical evaluations. As part of the excavation, the researchers also created digital 3D models. “We calculate these using Structure from Motion (SfM) software from digital photos of the excavation areas. These models enable us to view the excavation areas from all sides in three dimensions in the office later on,” says Mertl.