Geheimnisvolle Gräben am Nübeler Noor

Abstract

In 2018, a trial trench near an offshoot of
the Flensburg Fjord revealed a row of three
partly parallel linear ditches. Adjoining
one of those ditches was a much thinner
palisade ditch, another few smaller ditches,
as well as a settlement.
The buildings of the settlement had the
same direction as the parallel ditches and
date mainly to the late Roman Iron Age,
around the same time as the large depositions
of weaponry in the nearby situated
Nydam bog.
The construction of the parallel ditches
seems to date to the middle of the Bronze
Age, around the same time as an extensive
cultural shift happened throughout most
of Europe. However, they also seem to
have layers from the pre-Roman Iron Age
and a top layer, and thus closure, which is
contemporary with the settlement traces
of the late Roman Iron Age. Until now, no
other similar Bronze Age structures are
known from the Danish area. There are no
contemporary settlements nearby and the
original function of the ditches is still unclear.
Very similar structures are known
from Germany and in great number from
the United Kingdom. Here they are often
accompanied by pit rows, which may be
the case in Nübel too.
The parallel ditches, however, are not the
only fascinating aspect of this site. Some of
the nearby situated smaller ditches, as well
as a large depositional layer, seem to date to
the mid Neolithic, just as a nearby circular
structure may date to the Neolithic Period.
A fortified manor and a church show that
the site was also settled during the Medieval
Period, though presumably unaware of
the much older ditches.