Rituals and Beliefs of the Circum Harz Group-Unetice Culture Part 6

 Finally, in this series of essays about the Unetice Culture I wish to discuss the probable religious beliefs and rituals of the Circum Harz group, which has been my focus throughout. As the Unetice Culture were clearly preliterate our observations and deductions must derive from the archaeological evidence alone. This evidence reveals three important aspects of the Unetice Culture in the Harz area,

Ancestor and Elite Cults

In common with many other ancient cultures, ancestor veneration was a key part of their religious belief and ritual system. Veneration of the ancestors along with veneration of the elements of the natural world are foundational stages of so-called 'primitive' belief systems. The relative value of those goods is indicative of the individual's social status within the Unetice Culture. At the very top of this hierarchy is the prince, buried with the most precious items of jewellery, weapons and tools. It is the prince alone who was buried in a timber lined stone constructed burial chamber underneath a huge tumulus, which dominated the landscape surrounding the nearby Kyffhäuser hills, an impressive sight! A great deal of co-ordinated labour must have gone into its construction. This was not just a grave but a permanent monument, reflecting the splendour and power of the prince. 

In early Indo-European society the prince/king/chieftain wielded not only temporal power but spiritual power, both aspects vested in the same individual. This continued until the division of these functions and the creation of a separate priestly caste. Many of my readers will be aware of the theory of Dumezil that the Indo-European sovereign function had two halves: the magico-sacral and the kingly temporal/martial. The Unetice Culture seems to predate this split. However, it is likely that there would have been 'ritual specialists' who would have advised and supported the prince but they had not yet developed into a fully fledged separate priestly caste. The existence of the Nebra Disc indicates to me that men with specialist knowledge must have existed even if they were not regarded by the community as priests.

The sacral function of the prince is evident from his burial goods, the most significant, in my opinion, being the ancient stone axe, dated to the fifth millennium BCE.  As discussed in my essay Early Advanced Statehood in Central Germany-Unetice Culture Part 2 this axe was of great antiquity and clearly was no longer used as a tool or a weapon but was an important part of the prince's regalia. The lack of any priestly graves further strengthens the argument that all power, temporal and spiritual was vested in the prince. It was the prince alone who acted as a mediator between his people and the gods.

Across the whole spectrum of Indo-European mythologies the stone axe or hammer was associated with thunder, lightning and the sky gods; it was emblemic of cosmic order. We are reminded of Thunor's (original) stone hammer or axe, the stone axe of Perkunas and the thunderstones of Germanic and Celtic lore. The stone axe of the prince is indicative of his long lineage and right to rule, going right back to the Neolithic. Stone axes appear in the graves of many other Bronze Age chieftains, all symbolic of their right to rule, their long lineages and their connection to the gods. The axe, especially the stone axe was symbolic of a unified sovereignty, which was both spiritual and temporal.

Solar and Celestial Symbolism

The discovery of the Nebra Disc demonstrates to us that the people of that time and place had an advanced knowledge of the stars and the calendar. Indeed, this may be taken as evidence for solar worship or at the very least for solar-aligned ritualistic practice. Knowledge of the dating of the solstices would have been an integral part of the timing of various rituals. See: The Nebra Sky Disc-Unetice Culture Part 1

Belief in an Afterlife

At nearly all levels of Leubingen society the dead were buried along with grave goods. This is clear evidence for the belief in an afterlife in which these goods would have been necessary. It also demonstrates respect for the ancestors, all the ancestors, not just the elite. Ancestor veneration in itself demonstrates a conviction that the dead continue to exist but on a separate plane of existence. In Indo-European belief systems the gods themselves are seen as deified ancestors, deserving of the greatest veneration of all.