An extended prehistoric well field in the opencast mine area of Zwenkau, Germany

Abstract

In the opencast mine area of Zwenkau, Germany, many prehistoric wells and pits have recently been excavated. In this region there is generally no bone preservation and charred seeds are rare, seldom encountered in a reliable archaeological context, whereas charcoal is frequently found. From an archaeological point of view, however, charcoal from wood is not as reliable for radiocarbon dating as short-lived materials. Fortunately, many deep features were found where wood has been preserved. Over a dozen structures turned out to be prehistoric wells, some of them typologically dated by ceramics to between Early Bronze Age and Early Middle Ages. For other features without archaeological finds, 14C dating was the only way to get an age. Analysis showed that different types of wells were constructed by the same culture. On the other hand, the same constructions are not characteristic for a defined cultural period and were applied over a time span of three millennia.