Grube von Erfurt-Melchendorf

The Grube von Erfurt-Melchendorf is an archaeological dig in the Melchendorf district of Erfurt, in the German state of Thüringen. It sits on a gentle south-facing slope beside the remains of an ancient stream. Excavations between 1982 and 1985 uncovered a Neolithic settlement from the Baalberger culture, part of the wider funnel-beaker tradition. The site also held a circular pit lined with Keuper sandstone blocks and filled with burnt clay and charcoal. At its centre stood a saddle-shaped stone block, its surface worn smooth like a quern. Archaeologists found the ribs, vertebrae and some long bones of an adult laid across this block. A cattle bone and two kidney-shaped pieces of lightly fired clay lay nearby. The skull was missing, though the lower jaw remained in place. No cut marks appear on any bone, and the skeleton’s overall position suggests deliberate placement rather than disturbance. A later Bronze Age child’s grave cut into the pit disturbed only the shoulder and hip area, leaving the rest intact. The pit itself was dug 100 to 120 centimetres deep and 120 centimetres wide in loess soil. Concentric hollows were cut into the floor, the innermost just 31 centimetres across. Excavators believe a fire once burned in this depression before being smothered with loess, leaving a flat surface for the central stone. The arrangement points to a ritual purpose, though its exact meaning remains open to interpretation.