DOI chapter:
Grenzgänger, traders and the last hunter-gatherers of the North European Plain
DOI chapter:Gerken, Klaus; Kotula, Andreas; Ludwig, Clemens; Nelson, Hildegard; Philippi, Alexandra: Niedernstöcken – a settlement of the Linear Pottery culture beyond the loess border in the land of hunters and gatherers
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66745#0100
Stone Age Borderland Experience (MAN 60, 2022, 99-122)
99
Niedernstocken - a settlement of the Linear
Pottery culture beyond the loess border in the
land of hunters and gatherers
Klaus Gerken, Andreas Kotula, Clemens Ludwig, Hildegard Nelson and
Alexandra Philippi
Abstract During a rescue excavation, the first settlement of the Linear Pottery culture (LBK) in the north German lowlands
was discovered, located about 50 km northwest of the already known LBK settlements in the district of Hildesheim. Due to
the relatively small area of excavation, no reliable house layouts were discovered. Numerous pits and post-holes as well as
typical artefacts such as adzes, ceramics, flint tools with a glossy lacquer (sickle sheen), and whetstones were documented.
The settlement can be dated to the younger Flomborn period. The location of the site raises many questions about the Neo-
lithic north of the loess zone and the relationship between LBK farmers and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups. The discovery
of two adzes on an adjacent piece of arable land in the spring of 2018 led to a geophysical investigation of this area in the
summer of the same year and finally to a small research excavation in the summer of 2019.
Keywords Linear Pottery, Linienbandkeramik, neolithisation, settlement, younger LBK, younger Flomborn period
Zusammenfassung Bei einer Rettangsgrabang wurde ca. 50 km nordwestlich der bisher im Lbssgebiet bekannten band-
keramischen Siedlungen des Landkreises Hildesheim aberraschend die erste bandkeramische Siedlung in der norddeutschen
Tiefebene entdeckt. Aufgrundder relativ kleinen Untersachangsflache warden keine sicheren Hausgrundrisse, jedoch zahlreiche
Gru ben and Pfostengraben sowie typische Artefakte wie Dech sei, Keramik, Flintgerate mit Lackglanz and Schleifsteine entdeckt.
Die Siedlang lasstsich derjangeren Flombornzeitzaweisen. Die exponierte Lage wirft vide Fragen bezaglich derNeolithisierang
nbrdlich der Lbsszone and zam Verhaltnis der linienbandkeramischen Baaern za den mesolithischen Wildbeatergrappen aaf.
Der Fand zweier Dechsel aaf einer nbrdlich anschliebenden Ackerflache im Frahjahr 2018 fiahrte za einer geophysikalischen
Untersachang im Sommer 2018 in diesem Bereich and schlieSlich za einer kleinen Forschangsgrabang im Sommer 2019.
Introduction1
A settlement of the Linear Pottery culture (Linearband-
keramik, LBK) was discovered in 2015 at the northern
outskirts of Niedernstocken (Neustadt am Riibenberge,
Lower Saxony; Figs. 1; 9), during a rescue excavation
on an area of approximately 30 x 60 m under the direc-
tion of one of the authors (Klaus Gerken). Additional
geomagnetic prospections were carried out in 2015 and
2018. In 2019, it was possible to continue the work
with a short field campaign as part of a project at the
1 This paper represents an updated and complemented versi-
on of Gerken / Nelson 2016.
University of Gottingen funded by the German Research
Foundation (DFG) and with resources from the State
Office of Cultural Heritage Preservation for Lower-
Saxony (Niedersachsisches Landesdenkmalamt; NLD).2
The site is located on flat terrain of the lower ter-
race with a soil fertility which is high for this region;
the soil substrate is loess-like with a high proportion
of silt and clay. To the west there is the Leine lowland
at a level of about +29.0 m NN. The current distance
to the river Leine is 1,150 m, to the edge of the valley
meadow approx. 310 m.
2 The work was carried out within the framework of a DFG
project headed by T. Terberger (TE/259/17-1) and supported by
the NLD. We thank both institutions for their financial support.
99
Niedernstocken - a settlement of the Linear
Pottery culture beyond the loess border in the
land of hunters and gatherers
Klaus Gerken, Andreas Kotula, Clemens Ludwig, Hildegard Nelson and
Alexandra Philippi
Abstract During a rescue excavation, the first settlement of the Linear Pottery culture (LBK) in the north German lowlands
was discovered, located about 50 km northwest of the already known LBK settlements in the district of Hildesheim. Due to
the relatively small area of excavation, no reliable house layouts were discovered. Numerous pits and post-holes as well as
typical artefacts such as adzes, ceramics, flint tools with a glossy lacquer (sickle sheen), and whetstones were documented.
The settlement can be dated to the younger Flomborn period. The location of the site raises many questions about the Neo-
lithic north of the loess zone and the relationship between LBK farmers and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups. The discovery
of two adzes on an adjacent piece of arable land in the spring of 2018 led to a geophysical investigation of this area in the
summer of the same year and finally to a small research excavation in the summer of 2019.
Keywords Linear Pottery, Linienbandkeramik, neolithisation, settlement, younger LBK, younger Flomborn period
Zusammenfassung Bei einer Rettangsgrabang wurde ca. 50 km nordwestlich der bisher im Lbssgebiet bekannten band-
keramischen Siedlungen des Landkreises Hildesheim aberraschend die erste bandkeramische Siedlung in der norddeutschen
Tiefebene entdeckt. Aufgrundder relativ kleinen Untersachangsflache warden keine sicheren Hausgrundrisse, jedoch zahlreiche
Gru ben and Pfostengraben sowie typische Artefakte wie Dech sei, Keramik, Flintgerate mit Lackglanz and Schleifsteine entdeckt.
Die Siedlang lasstsich derjangeren Flombornzeitzaweisen. Die exponierte Lage wirft vide Fragen bezaglich derNeolithisierang
nbrdlich der Lbsszone and zam Verhaltnis der linienbandkeramischen Baaern za den mesolithischen Wildbeatergrappen aaf.
Der Fand zweier Dechsel aaf einer nbrdlich anschliebenden Ackerflache im Frahjahr 2018 fiahrte za einer geophysikalischen
Untersachang im Sommer 2018 in diesem Bereich and schlieSlich za einer kleinen Forschangsgrabang im Sommer 2019.
Introduction1
A settlement of the Linear Pottery culture (Linearband-
keramik, LBK) was discovered in 2015 at the northern
outskirts of Niedernstocken (Neustadt am Riibenberge,
Lower Saxony; Figs. 1; 9), during a rescue excavation
on an area of approximately 30 x 60 m under the direc-
tion of one of the authors (Klaus Gerken). Additional
geomagnetic prospections were carried out in 2015 and
2018. In 2019, it was possible to continue the work
with a short field campaign as part of a project at the
1 This paper represents an updated and complemented versi-
on of Gerken / Nelson 2016.
University of Gottingen funded by the German Research
Foundation (DFG) and with resources from the State
Office of Cultural Heritage Preservation for Lower-
Saxony (Niedersachsisches Landesdenkmalamt; NLD).2
The site is located on flat terrain of the lower ter-
race with a soil fertility which is high for this region;
the soil substrate is loess-like with a high proportion
of silt and clay. To the west there is the Leine lowland
at a level of about +29.0 m NN. The current distance
to the river Leine is 1,150 m, to the edge of the valley
meadow approx. 310 m.
2 The work was carried out within the framework of a DFG
project headed by T. Terberger (TE/259/17-1) and supported by
the NLD. We thank both institutions for their financial support.