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25-474: Its construction is dated to approximately 4900 B.C., and appears to have remained in use until about 4700 B.C. Thus, it may be the oldest and best known of the circular enclosures associated with the Central European Neolithic. Currently, the site is presented officially by the state archaeologists and the local association that looks after it as a ritual or cult structure. The circle consists of

50-406: A cultic purpose . Most of them are aligned and seem to have served the function of a calendar ( Kalenderbau ), in the context of archaeoastronomy sometimes dubbed "observatory", with openings aligned with the points sunrise and/or sunset at the solstices . This is the case with the "gates" or openings of the roundels of Quenstedt , Goseck and Quedlinburg . The observational determination of

75-406: A cultic purpose . Most of them are aligned and seem to have served the function of a calendar ( Kalenderbau ), in the context of archaeoastronomy sometimes dubbed "observatory", with openings aligned with the points sunrise and/or sunset at the solstices . This is the case with the "gates" or openings of the roundels of Quenstedt , Goseck and Quedlinburg . The observational determination of

100-438: A concentric ditch 75 metres (246 feet) across and two palisade rings containing entrances in places aligned with sunrise and sunset on the winter solstice days and smaller entrances aligned with the summer solstice. Marketing materials have described the site as one of the oldest " Solar observatories " in the world, but sunrise and sunset during winter and summer solstices are the only evident astronomical alignments emphasized in

125-435: Is surprisingly narrow, lasting only for about 200–300 years (roughly 49th to 47th centuries BC). The earliest roundel to be described was the one at Krpy ( Kropáčova Vrutice ), Bohemia, by Woldřich 1886, but it was only with systematic aerial survey in the 1980s and the 1990s that their ubiquity in the region became apparent. Three types have been distinguished: The structures are mostly interpreted as having served

150-435: Is surprisingly narrow, lasting only for about 200–300 years (roughly 49th to 47th centuries BC). The earliest roundel to be described was the one at Krpy ( Kropáčova Vrutice ), Bohemia, by Woldřich 1886, but it was only with systematic aerial survey in the 1980s and the 1990s that their ubiquity in the region became apparent. Three types have been distinguished: The structures are mostly interpreted as having served

175-475: Is the Goseck circle , constructed c. 4900 BC. Only a few examples approximate a circular form; the majority are only very approximately circular or elliptic. One example at Meisternthal is an exact ellipse with identifiable focal points. The distribution of these structures seems to suggest a spread from the middle Danube (southern Slovakia and western Hungary) towards the west ( Lower Austria , Lower Bavaria ) along

200-427: Is the Goseck circle , constructed c. 4900 BC. Only a few examples approximate a circular form; the majority are only very approximately circular or elliptic. One example at Meisternthal is an exact ellipse with identifiable focal points. The distribution of these structures seems to suggest a spread from the middle Danube (southern Slovakia and western Hungary) towards the west ( Lower Austria , Lower Bavaria ) along

225-635: The Elbe and Danube basins, in modern-day Germany , Austria , Czech Republic , Slovakia , as well as the adjacent parts of Hungary and Poland , in a stretch of Central European land some 800 km (500 mi) across. They date to the first half of the 5th millennium BC; they are associated with the late Linear Pottery culture and its local successors, the Stroke-ornamented ware (Middle Danubian) and Lengyel (Moravian Painted Ware) cultures. The best known and oldest of these Circular Enclosures

250-530: The Elbe and Danube basins, in modern-day Germany , Austria , Czech Republic , Slovakia , as well as the adjacent parts of Hungary and Poland , in a stretch of Central European land some 800 km (500 mi) across. They date to the first half of the 5th millennium BC; they are associated with the late Linear Pottery culture and its local successors, the Stroke-ornamented ware (Middle Danubian) and Lengyel (Moravian Painted Ware) cultures. The best known and oldest of these Circular Enclosures

275-473: The Danube and to the northwest ( Moravia , Bohemia , Saxony-Anhalt ) following the Elbe . They precede the comparable circular earthwork or timber enclosures known from Great Britain and Ireland , constructed much later during c. 3000 to 1000 BC (late Neolithic to Bronze Age). But, by contrast to the long lifetime of the "Megalithic" culture, the time window during which the neolithic Roundels were in use

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300-424: The Danube and to the northwest ( Moravia , Bohemia , Saxony-Anhalt ) following the Elbe . They precede the comparable circular earthwork or timber enclosures known from Great Britain and Ireland , constructed much later during c. 3000 to 1000 BC (late Neolithic to Bronze Age). But, by contrast to the long lifetime of the "Megalithic" culture, the time window during which the neolithic Roundels were in use

325-533: The Institute for Prehistoric Archaeology of the University of Halle -Wittenberg. François Bertemes and Peter Biehl began a major excavation of the site in 2002. When archaeologists combined the evidence with GPS observations , they noticed that the two southern openings marked the sunrise and sunset of the winter and summer solstices . Radiocarbon dating places the construction of the site close to 4900 B.C., while

350-416: The excavation for a few weeks each year. In 2004, a group from the University of California, Berkeley joined the ongoing dig. Since the end of the excavation, the site has been reconstructed. Archaeologists and state officials have rebuilt the wooden palisade of the circle using 1,675 oak poles with a height of 2.5 m. Woodworkers worked with hand tools so that the wooden posts would look authentic. The site

375-928: The excavations. The site is maintained by the Verein Gosecker Sonnenobservatorium e.V. . Goseck is a stop on the tourist route , Himmelswege , linking archaeological sites in Saxony-Anhalt. 51°11′54″N 11°51′53″E  /  51.19833°N 11.86472°E  / 51.19833; 11.86472 Circular Enclosures Approximately 120–150 Neolithic earthworks enclosures are known in Central Europe . They are called Kreisgrabenanlagen ("circular ditched enclosures") in German, or alternatively as roundels (or "rondels"; German Rondelle ; sometimes also "rondeloid", since many are not even approximately circular). They are mostly confined to

400-404: The north, southwest, and southeast. In addition there were small gaps in the palisades allowing access. The moat followed the three main entries outward (see diagram). The entrances in the inner palisade were narrower than those in the outer, which in turn, were narrower than the gap in the moat. The southwestern and southeastern entrances face the direction of sunset and sunrise around the date of

425-505: The region known as Leipzig Bay . The circle was discovered in 1991 by Otto Braasch on an aerial survey photograph that showed circular ridges under a wheat field. The cropmarks were easy to see in a season of drought. The structure's visibility also indicated an advanced state of erosion. To preserve the endangered remains, the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt decided to conduct an excavation. It cooperated with

450-665: The remains of the structure. The existence of the site was made public in August 2003. It was opened for visitors in December 2005. The site is located on farmland near Goseck, in the Burgenlandkreis of Saxony-Anhalt, between Naumburg and Weißenfels . The circle sits on a piece of land that gradually rises toward the south, not far from where the Unstrut flows into the Saale , at the border of

475-510: The same time. Approximately 140 of these structures, known as circular enclosures , have been found. Although they all have unique features, they follow a basic architectural principle. Few of them have been excavated. During a ceremony at the first opening of this site to the public, state archaeologist Harald Meller called it "a milestone in archaeological research". Its construction is dated to approximately 4900 B.C., and it seems to have remained in use until about 4700 B.C. This corresponds to

500-500: The site a "solar observatory" is appropriate. It has been suggested that the inaccurate name was adopted primarily for marketing purposes. Archaeologist Ralf Schwarz suggests the structures at the site allowed coordinating an easily judged lunar calendar with the more demanding measurements of a solar calendar through calendar calculations. The reconstructed site is open to the public. An information point has been opened at nearby Schloss Goseck , featuring an exhibit and information on

525-449: The style of the pottery shards associate it with the stroke-ornamented ware culture of ca. 4700 B.C., suggesting that the site remained in use throughout two or three centuries. Excavators also found the remains of what may have been ritual fires, animal and human bones, and a headless skeleton near the southeastern gate, that could be interpreted as evidence of a specific burial ritual or of human sacrifice . Bertemes and Biehl continued

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550-679: The time of solstice would not have served a practical (agricultural) purpose, but could have been used to maintain a lunisolar calendar (i.e. knowledge of the date of solstice allows an accurate handling of intercalary months ). Known Circular Enclosures: There are around 50, among them: Circular Enclosures Approximately 120–150 Neolithic earthworks enclosures are known in Central Europe . They are called Kreisgrabenanlagen ("circular ditched enclosures") in German, or alternatively as roundels (or "rondels"; German Rondelle ; sometimes also "rondeloid", since many are not even approximately circular). They are mostly confined to

575-473: The transitional phase between the Neolithic Linear Pottery and Stroke-ornamented ware cultures. The site is one of a larger group of circular enclosures in the Elbe and Danube region, most of which show similar solstice alignments. There has been some debate about whether the site was used to monitor the sun throughout the year or only on specific notable days, and thus about whether calling

600-415: The winter solstice. Two of the smaller breaks in the wall face toward the equivalent direction on the summer solstice. There is no sign of fire or of other destruction. Why the site was abandoned is unknown. Later villagers built a defensive moat following the ditches of the old enclosure. The Goseck ring is one of the best preserved and extensively investigated of the many similar structures built around

625-429: Was opened to the public on 21 December 2005, the day of the winter solstice. The site is surrounded by a circular v-shaped moat of up to 1.8 m depth. The soil was used to create a rampart on the outside. The diameter of the moat is 75 m, measured from its external border. A double wooden palisade stood inside the moat. No traces of internal buildings were found. Entry to the site was via three symmetrical main entrances to

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