Eisenzeitliche Siedlung bei Bantorf

An iron-age settlement near Bantorf stands on farmland north-east of the village, on the western edge of the Hannover region. It was occupied from about 500 BC until the start of the Roman imperial period. Archaeologists first noticed traces when topsoil was stripped for a new drainage basin in 2011. A rescue dig followed, covering seven hectares, and uncovered the remains of five large timber houses and two sunken huts. The dig revealed post-hole patterns, storage pits and rubbish dumps that show the people kept animals and stored grain. Among the finds were colourful glass beads, a bronze tweezers, loom weights and a bronze hairpin. A distinctive kind of decorated pottery, known as the Nienburger cup, links the site to a wider early iron-age culture in northern Germany. Experts believe the settlement was abandoned in the 1st century AD and moved elsewhere. Visitors can see a floor plan painted at life size in the local town hall, showing the post holes and pits of one house. Reconstructed pots, metalwork and fragments are displayed in cases. The exhibition explains how the people lived and how archaeologists work today. The finds themselves are kept in Hannover museum, but the display brings a slice of 2,500-year-old village life to Barsinghausen.