Swords of the Older Bronze Age from men's graves
Almost exclusively grave finds from the Bronze Age (ca. 2300 to 800 BC) are available for the early phase of collecting and research. The grave mounds of the period around 1400 BC, which are clearly visible in the landscape, were the particular target of find excavations. Various weapons were found in men's trenches from this period: Lances, axes, arrowheads and especially swords. Particularly on the basis of this group of objects with different blade lengths, handle designs and ornamentation spectra, a chronological classification of the find material was carried out.
Bohndorf, district of Uelzen / reproduction, Lensahn estate, district of Ostholstein / ca. 1300 B.C.
Neck jewellery (neck collars) of the Early Bronze Age from women's graves
At the same time as the horizon with numerous armaments, the women's graves include rich jewellery grave goods: Arm and leg rings, belt plates, needles as well as hair and neck jewellery. The components vary from region to region and reveal traditional costume circles and centres of production. The equipment also makes it possible to trace marriage relationships over great distances. In some graves, fragments of clothing have survived due to the preservation conditions. These are from blouses, dresses, skirts and capes and give a vivid picture of Bronze Age costume.
Possibly Dabel, district of Sternberg / ca. 1300 BC / Reproduction
Figurine with female clothing and costume according to finds from various graves in northern Germany and Denmark
Figurine with jewellery and clothes form findings in different graves in Northern Germany and Denmark
Heinrich Keiling / 1912 / c. 1300 BC
Objects from the Neolithic period (Funnel Beaker Culture, culture of the large stone graves) in the North German Plain and the Baltic Sea area
The Funnel Beaker Culture is represented by typical finds, including large, excellently polished flint axes. The vessels with a "funnel" contributed to the naming of this culture. With the large stone tombs, this culture created impressive funerary monuments. The introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry did not begin in northern Lower Saxony until around 4,000 BC due to the unsuitable soils. The use of large flint tools can be explained by the occurrence of large-sized raw materials.
Börger, district of Emsland and Denmark / ca. 3300 BC
Objects of the Neolithic (Linear Pottery) in the Loess Landscapes
The Neolithic revolution in Central Europe is associated with the Linear Pottery, which came from south-eastern Europe and included domestic animal husbandry, house building, a significantly expanded range of tools, agriculture and ceramic vessels. The very fertile loess soils, which extend through the Leine valley to the line of the present-day cities of Hanover and Brunswick, formed the basis of settlement from 5400 BC onwards. Grinding stones, flint implements, axes and so-called shoe last wedges for woodworking as well as vessels are the typical finds and testify to the enormous technological development.
Diemarden and Klein Lengden, both district of Göttingen; Monsheim, district of Alzey-Worms / ca. 5100 B.C.
Teaching Collection for Pre- and Protohistory
In 1929, with the establishment of the subject of prehistory and early history at Göttingen University, the teaching collection on prehistoric archaeology was also set up. A teaching collection is still indispensable for university education in an object-related science that explicitly deals with material culture. The foundation stone was laid by permanent loans from the Provinzialmuseum Hannover, mainly pieces of non-Hanoverian provenance and duplicates. The first prehistoric and early historical objects, however, arrived at the university's "Royal Academic Museum" at the beginning of the 19th century due to a steadily growing interest in "Germanic antiquity".
