Bandkeramik an der Peripherie

The settlement is situated on loess on the slope of Nachtwiesenberg Hill, a north-eastern foothill of the Elm mountain range formerly surrounded by two streams, and was partly excavated in 1981/2 prior to building measures. Due to its rich finds and a rectangular double earthwork unique for Lower Saxony at the time, a research project accompanying Helmstedt brown coal mining from 1983-2013 was initiated. The bank-and-ditch complex of 190 m by 175 m surrounded an internal space of some 1.9 ha, while settlement finds and features extended over some 15 ha. The occupation comprised two phases of Linear Pottery Culture II-III [some 7 contemporaneous houses], respectively III-V [fewer houses, shift to SE, earthwork]. Pits, ovens, stone pavements, and an infant burial were documented, too. The find material consists of more than 3,000 pottery units, fired clay, over 8,000 silices and 3,000 rock objects, human and animal bones, and plant remains. Esbeck-1 had a predecessor settlement, Esbeck-2, on a neighbouring foothill to the south. Papers on pedology, petrography, mineralogy, and archaeozoology complete the volume.