As early as the 1960s and 1970s, some aviators of the Schönebeck e.V. flying club had noticed a large, circular cropmark in the area of the agricultural fields between Pömmelte and Zackmünde. However, they were not aware of the significance of their discovery at that time. The scientific discovery of the circular ditched enclosure at Pömmelte-Zackmünde (Salzland district) is due - as in many other cases - to systematic aerial survey in Saxony-Anhalt in the early 1990s. It was Otto Braasch who, during aerial archaeological prospection in 1991, recognised a circular ditched enclosure with four passages and an accompanying palisade in fields between Pömmelte and Zackmünde. Further aerial surveys were carried out by Ralf Schwarz in the following years. The evaluation of the aerial photographs showed that the morphology of this complex did not correspond to the already widely known Middle Neolithic circular ditched complexes. Rather, there were similarities with the Early Bronze Age circular ditched complexes in south-eastern central Europe.
Within the frame of the German Research Foundation (DFG) research group FOR550, the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, in cooperation with the Chair of Physical Geography at Saarland University, carried out geophysical prospection in the area of the circular ditch complex at Pömmelte in March 2005. This work was the preparation for the later exploratory excavations in the autumn.
The geomagnetic measurements not only confirmed the features of the complex visible in the aerial photographs over an area of 90 x 100 m, but also revealed a further ring structure to the west about 10 m outside the circular ditch as well as pit features beyond the west-north-west interruption in the ditch.
Based on the geomagnetic survey, a 360 square metre excavation area was opened in autumn 2005. In this area, the archaeologists documented the circular ditch over a length of 30 m, the accompanying narrow palisade trench, as well as three shaft pits that were sunk into the circular ditch.
The first finds not only enabled the chronological classification in the transitional horizon between the Final Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, they also showed that the site had obviously been visited and used by various archaeological cultural groups over a longer period of time. Already in this phase of the excavations, the shaft pits in particular yielded datable finds, which also indicated cult activities.
The first excavation area of almost 4,000 square metres was stripped in the south-western part of the site. But before the excavations began in 2006, the site was first examined once again geomagnetically at a higher resolution. This revealed that the palisade accompanying the circular ditch was also present in the south-west and east and seemed to be divided into segments (see illustration above). However, it was the archaeological excavations that revealed the complexity of the structure:
In addition to the circular ditch with shaft pits and an outer palisade, further features emerged, including a segmented ditch, an inner palisade as well as several rings of posts or segments of post rings, pit clusters, and cenotaphs. The construction as well as the chronology of the complex showed particular parallels to the henge monuments of the British Isles.
Details on selected features can be found here.
The second excavation campaign in summer and early autumn 2007 covered the southern and south-eastern areas of the circular ditched enclosure. They yielded further key findings on the use of the complex. For example, the post-pits of the outer palisade revealed accumulations of finds that must have been deposited after the abandonment of the complex. Furthermore, it became clear that the graves and cenotaphs were obviously directly oriented towards the circular ditched enclosure. In addition to crouched burials, also partial burials and at least one skull grave were found. The Corded Ware mortuary chamber was also discovered during this campaign. Other features provided evidence for Early Bronze Age building structures in the immediate vicinity of the site.
In the course of the third excavation campaign, the archaeological excavations of the circular ditched complex were completed. The northern and north-eastern areas of the complex were investigated over an area of about 4,600 square metres. Once again, geophysical investigations were carried out, which also took into account the broader surroundings of the complex. In the process, the square ditched enclosure in the south-east was discovered, which was subsequently also archaeologically investigated. Like the mortuary chamber discovered the previous year, this feature was also from the Corded Ware Culture period.
The opening of additional exploratory trenches to the south of the circular ditched enclosure led to the discovery of further traces of post-pits belonging to three Early Bronze Age longhouses.
During the excavations in 2008 the contexts of two shaft pit features were evaluated in more detail. The skeletons or partial skeletons belonged to two individuals who appeared to have been thrown into the shaft pits. Traces of shackling and massive violence are further indications of violent killings as well as ritual acts.
The circular ditched enclosure of Pömmelte is one of the few sites from the transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age that has been completely investigated and evaluated using the most modern excavation methods. Due to the outstanding findings, the Salzland district local authority and the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt jointly decided to reconstruct the complex at the original site and to include Pömmelte as the fifth station on the archaeological tourism route of the Himmelswege (Sky Paths).
In May 2018, the excavations at Pömmelte were resumed. This time the focus was on the Early Bronze Age settlement south and west of the roundel. The excavations in the 2000s already revealed traces of post-pits of several Early Bronze Age longhouses. However, the limits of the settlement were not yet apparent. The excavation team of the State Office and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg was supported by students from the University of Southampton (England). A total area of 4,000 square metres was uncovered and over 300 features were recorded, including not only Early Bronze Age longhouses, but also End Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, and Medieval graves (8th to 11th century).
The 2019 excavation campaign focused on further expected house features of the Early Bronze Age settlement as well as previously unexplored areas to the east of the site. For the first time, also house ground plans of the Bell Beaker Culture (2500–2050 BC) could be unearthed, which are associated with the founding period of the circular ditched enclosure. Furthermore, several graves and burial mounds of the Corded Ware Culture were discovered to the east of the roundel, which are connected to the already known Corded Ware mortuary chamber. The uncovering of medieval features such as the remains of an old road with wagon ruts, as well as several graves, made it clear that the area was also important in later periods. The eleven medieval graves from the 8th to 11th centuries were mainly burials of women and children. It is possible that they are connected with a deserted medieval village not far to the south of the ring sanctuary.
In 2020, excavations took place in the immediate vicinity of the Schönebeck site. A significant discovery was a ditch structure that was strikingly similar to the Corded Ware mortuary chamber at Pömmelte. The excavation trenches in the area to the north and east of the Schönebeck complex cover 2,700 square metres and were investigated from July to September as part of a teaching excavation for the training of students from Halle. A total of around 470 features were recorded, including two Bronze Age burial mounds with secondary burials and over 80 urn burials, which were recovered in block and are currently being uncovered under laboratory conditions at the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt.
In the excavation areas at Pömmelte, during this campaign a burial site of the Baalberge Culture (4000–3400 BC) was discovered. The sacred landscape of Pömmelte-Schönebeck is thus much older than previously assumed. Also a cremation burial of the Schönfeld Culture (2800–2200 BC) was documented. In addition to various sacred and burial structures, the excavations at Pömmelte yielded above all significant new findings on the multi-phase settlement that extended south of the ring sanctuary. A total of 67 definite house ground plans have now been recorded, the majority of which (58) can be attributed to the older Early Bronze Age Únětice Culture. Pömmelte is thus the largest Early Bronze Age settlement known in Europe to date.
This excavation campaign again focused on the settlement of Pömmelte and its relationship to the circular ditched enclosure. In an area of 24,000 square metres, the extent and structure of the settlement were investigated in more detail. At least towards the south, the limit of the settlement was recorded for the first time.
Apart from a few Bell Beaker period houses, the majority of buildings date from the first phase of the Únětice Culture (2200–2000 BC). The buildings have a standardised ground plan with an entrance in the south and semicircular ends in the west and east. Only one ground plan deviates from this scheme: it shows two semicircular ends. The most probable date is the period from 1550 BC, and thus the period immediately after the deposition of the Nebra Sky Disc.
