There is a surprising amount of ignorance regarding aspects of the Neolithic and Bronze Age material and spiritual cultures of the German-speaking lands in the Anglophone world. I believe that this is largely due to a lack of knowledge of the German tongue in these lands: most of the relevant literature is only or mainly available in German rather than English.
There is a thematic connection between this article and my previous one The Nebra Sky Disc-Unetice Culture Part 1 : I would encourage my readers to also read that article. The Goseck Circle predates the Nebra Sky Disc by more than 3,300 years, rooting it firmly in the Neolithic culture of central Europe, not the Unetice culture, which belongs to the central European Bronze Age. However, the distance between these two sites (Nebra and Goseck) is only 25 miles and both are situated in the modern German Land (state) of Sachsen-Anhalt.
Constructed around 4,900 BCE, the circle remained in use until 4,700 BCE, making this the oldest known circle in Europe, older than the first phase of Stonehenge by 1,800 years! I would ask the question, how many people in the United Kingdom or other parts of the English-speaking world are aware of that fact? This is one of the reasons why I started this blog and my previous ones 19 years ago, to bring to light that which is hidden. I have been described by one person as a 'spiritual archaeologist' and this term fits my role exactly!
The Goseck circle was discovered in 1991 due to the result of an aerial field survey. This resulted in a major excavation of the site between 2002 and 2005. Following the reconstruction of the wooden palisade, it was opened to the general public in December of 2005. 1,675 oak poles were shaped using hand tools, measuring 8.2 ft in height for each one.
Unlike the better known circles or henges, Goseck was not constructed of stone but of two wooden palisade rings which contain entrances in alignment with the sunrise and sunset of the winter solstice. The southeast gate is aligned with the winter solstice sunrise, the southwest gate with the winter solstice sunset and there is a third gate which points to the true north. Surrounding these wooden palisades was a ditch with the following dimensions: 82 yards in diameter, 2.2 to 3.3 yards in width and a depth of 1.6 to 2.2 yards. It is clear from the dimensions of the ditch that it was ritualistic, not defensive in nature.
It is interesting that while Stonhenge focuses on the summer solstice, the Goseck circle's main focus is that of the winter solstice. However, there are two narrower entrances located between the main gates which are aligned with the summer solstice and these are far less prominent architecturally. Location of the narrower entrances: one between the southeast and northern gates, aligned to the summer solstice sunrise, and one between the southwest and northern gates, aligned to the summer solstice sunset. The two narrower gates appear to have been constructed during the initial building phase. While this neolithic solar observatory marks both solstices, it is interesting why there should be an emphasis on the winter solstice.
The age of the circle as revealed through radiocarbon dating establishes the 4,900 BCE date of the site's construction while the style of the pottery shards establish a presumed last use date of 4,700 BCE. The pottery was the product of the Stroke-ornmented ware culture which flourished between 4,900 to 4,400 BCE or the Danubian Ib culture of V. Gordon Childe which marked the beginning of agrarian society in central Europe. The fact that this was a settled agricultural community explains the emphasis on the winter rather than on the summer solstice. The knowledge of the dating of the winter solstice was a crucial element in the planning of the agricultural cycle. Connected to this scientific knowledge was the religious symbolism of the rebirth of the sun and the rituals associated with that. Winters in that part of the world would have been quite harsh, and thus the expectation of the return of the sun would have held much greater significance spiritually and psychologically than in southern Europe.
There is no evidence of permanent human habitation at the site but human remains have been found there, such as a headless skeleton buried near the southeastern gate, which aligns with the winter solstice sunrise and thus of ritual significance. Other human bones have been found within pits, buried within the circular ditch system. Bovine skulls, dog skulls, goat horns and other animal bones have been found along with multiple burn marks and fire pits, all suggestive of ritual sacrifice. Solar worship was obviously a key element of the Goseck Circle.
It would appear that the abandonment of the Goseck Circle coincided with a transitional phase in neolithic culture, the replacement of the Linear Pottery culture with the Stroke-ornamented ware culture. Whether this change in pottery style was indicative of migration and population replacement, I cannot determine. With a change in material culture there is often a change in that of ritual and belief but it would appear than any such change had been gradual at Goseck and that their beliefs as a continuous population simply evolved.
As with the Nebra Sky Disc, the Goseck Circle is evidence of an advanced central European solar knowledge, and with that knowledge, it is inconceivable to me that there was not a priesthood to safeguard and transmit it!
