Papers by Barbara Rappenglueck
The traditions of peoples are packed with the wondrous qualities of containers. Vessels may e.g. ... more The traditions of peoples are packed with the wondrous qualities of containers. Vessels may e.g. serve as uterus, they manage transformation and rebirth, and they can communicate harm and death, or transmit notions of abundance and wisdom. Beyond that, containers may in manifold ways relate to cosmic symbolism, either representing the whole cosmos or referring to celestial objects and phenomena. In this article such “cosmic” containers are categorized and treated as
1. notional ‘containers’ mentioned in traditions and myths, and 2. concrete (tangible) containers epitomising the cosmos or related to celestial phenomena. While the first category is structured by celestial phenomena which are addressed by examples from traditions, the second category is structured by physical characteristics of containers − shape, material, manufacturing, décor, and context of use − which may in manifold manners be charged with “cosmic” meanings. The article is based on comparative mythology as well as documented traditions and interpretations that have been put forward concerning concrete vessels.
Archaeological sites undoubtedly destroyed by a meteorite impact had not been identified so far. ... more Archaeological sites undoubtedly destroyed by a meteorite impact had not been identified so far. For such a proof, both a meteorite impact and its definite effects on an archaeological site would have to be evidenced. This review article reports on geoarchaeological investigations, involving mineralogy, petrography, and geophysics, which established evidence that two prehistoric human settlements have been affected by the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age (ca. 900-600 BC) Chiemgau meteorite impact in southeastern Germany. One site, the Mühlbach area, was affected by the ejecta from the 600 m Ø-Tüttensee crater, one of the largest craters in a crater strewn field measuring about 60 x 30 km. At the other site, Stöttham close to Lake Chiemsee, the catastrophic layer of the impact was found embedded in the archaeological stratigraphy of a settlement, which had been repeatedly occupated from the Neolithic to the Roman era. At both sites, artifacts have become components of impact rocks, establishing a hitherto unknown form of an impact rock, an artifact-in-impactite. The immediate coexistence of rocks, which exhibit impact-diagnostic shock metamorphism, with relicts of metallic artifacts, as encountered in finds from Stöttham, are unprecedented evidence of human experience of a meteorite impact.
A. César González-García, Roslyn M. Frank, Lionel D. Sims, Michael A. Rappenglück, Georg Zotti, Juan A. Belmonte, Ivan Šprajc (eds.), Beyond Paradigms in Cultural Astronomy, Beyond Paradigms in Cultural Astronomy (BAR International Series 3033), Oxford, 57-64, 2021
The claim that meteorite impacts shaped human history is a well-known element of (neo-)catastroph... more The claim that meteorite impacts shaped human history is a well-known element of (neo-)catastrophism. But many methodological caveats, shortly summarised in the first part of this article, should be considered before drawing such far-reaching conclusions. So far no evidence existed of any archaeological site directly being involved in an impact process.
Such evidence has now resulted from the examination of “slags” from an excavation at Chieming-Stöttham (SE-Germany) and is presented in the second part. Analyzed by polarising microscope and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), several samples turned out to be complex combinations of rock with metallic residues: The rocky components show typical shock metamorphism, characteristic of a meteorite impact. The metallic components are high lead bronze and processed iron, i.e. remnants of artefacts. To the best of our knowledge, the samples are the first evidence worldwide of artificial remnants becoming part of an impact rock. They yield a unique attestation of a meteorite impact in an archaeological context.
The finds are linked to the Chiemgau Impact, a prehistoric meteorite impact, which hit SE-Germany and caused more than 100 craters of five to several hundred meters diameter in an area of ca. 60 x 30 km. It is dated to ca. 900-600 BC. In view of the Chiemgau Impact being the biggest confirmed Holocene impact, its excellent data base, the explicit archaeological evidence, and its comparably good dating, it should actually be a candidate for disastrous cultural consequences. But the exemplary work on two methodological questions, treated in the third part, illustrates that despite the good database the assumed scenario of a cultural catastrophe can neither be confirmed nor denied. This results in critical considerations to the paradigm of catastrophic cultural consequences of meteorite impacts or cosmic airbursts.
In: Gudrun Wolfschmidt (ed.), Himmelswelten und Kosmovisionen - Imaginationen, Modelle, Weltanschauungen. Proceedings der Tagung der Gesellschaft für Archäoastronomie in Gilching 2019 (= Nuncius Hamburgensis - Beiträge zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften 51), Hamburg, 330-349., 2020
The largest meteorite impact of the Holocene known to date occurred during the Bronze/Iron Age in... more The largest meteorite impact of the Holocene known to date occurred during the Bronze/Iron Age in southeastern Bavaria, between Altötting and the edge of the Alps. The event is known as the "Chiemgau Impact". More than 100 craters with diameters from 5 m up to several hundred meters are distributed over an area of about 60 km length and 30 km width. Finds of meteoric material confirm the event as well as the widespread evidence of so-called shock metamorphosis in the rock. The article focuses on new investigations of "slags" from an archaeological excavation in Chieming-Stöttham, on the eastern shore of Lake Chieming. Six objects analysed with polarisation microscope and SEM-EDS turned out to be complex combinations of rock and metal particles. While the rock components show the shock metamorphosis typical for a meteorite impact, the metallic components proved to be remnants of artefacts made of bronze or iron with a high lead content. Together they form an impact rock. To our knowledge, these are the first examples worldwide in which artefacts have become components of an impact rock. In addition, the special nature of the metallic components and the consideration of the archaeological context allow the more precise dating of the Chiemgau Impact to approximately 900-600 BC.
Zeitschrif für Anomalistik, 2017
In English:
“Chiemgau Impact” is an event which took place in the Bronze Age / Iron Age with the... more In English:
“Chiemgau Impact” is an event which took place in the Bronze Age / Iron Age with the creation of a large meteorite strewn field by the impact of a comet / asteroid in southeast Bavaria. The research is interdisciplinary from the outset. It covers, among other things, geology, geophysics, limnology, archaeology, mineralogy, speleology, astronomy, and historical sciences. The research results show that a major disaster must have taken place in the area between Altötting, the Lake Chiemsee, and the Alps. Finds of exotic material, found only in meteorites, extremely stressed and altered rocks, caused by extreme pressures, high temperatures and the action of acid, strange carbon spherules, glass-like carbon, nanodiamonds, magnetic anomalies, soil compaction, sinkholes, and many other abnormalities can be explained by the hypothesis of a post-ice impact. All the impact criteria required according to scientifc standards were demonstrated. The impact associated with a large air blast may have produced considerable regional and probably transregional effects. People not only from the Chiemgau region were witnesses of the fascinating, shocking and disturbing event. Perhaps quite accurate descriptions of the event and the regional effects were even described in the ancient Greek myth of the young racer Phaeton, driving the solar chariot. Te paper presents the current (2017) state of knowledge and briefly also the research history.
In German:
Chiemgau-Impakt“ bezeichnet ein Ereignis, das sich in der Bronze-/Eisenzeit mit der Schaffung eines großen Meteoritenkraterstreufeldes durch den Einschlag eines Kometen/
Asteroiden in Südostbayern abgespielt hat. Die Forschung ist von Anfang an interdisziplinär angelegt und umfasst u. a. Geologie, Geophysik, Limnologie, Archäologie, Mineralogie, Speläologie, Astronomie und historische Wissenschafen. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass sich im Gebiet zwischen Altötting, dem Chiemsee und dem Alpenrand eine große Katastrophe abgespielt haben muss. Funde von exotischem Material, das teilweise nur in Meteoriten vorkommt, durch höchste
Drücke und Temperaturen und Einwirkung von Säure extrem beanspruchte und veränderte Gesteine, verschiedenste ganz ungewöhnliche Kohlenstoff-Modifkationen, Nanodiamanten, geophysikalische Anomalien, enorme, weit verbreitete Bodendeformationen und viele andere Auffälligkeiten können durch die Hypothese eines nacheiszeitlichen Impakts stimmig erklärt werden. Sämtliche in der Forschung geforderten Impaktkriterien konnten nachgewiesen werden. Der Einschlag verbunden mit einem großen Air Blast hat erhebliche regionale und wohl auch überregionale Wirkungen hervorgerufen. Menschen nicht nur aus der Region des Chiemgaus waren Augenzeugen des faszinierenden, schockierenden und verstörenden Ereignisses. Möglicherweise wurden recht genaue
Beschreibungen des Ablaufs und der regionalen Auswirkungen sogar im antiken griechischen Mythos des jugendlichen Sonnenwagenfahrers Phaeton geschildert. Der Beitrag erläutert den heutigen
(2017) Kenntnisstand und geht kurz auch auf die Forschungsgeschichte ein.
The Chiemgau strewn field in the Alpine Foreland discovered in the early new millennium comprises... more The Chiemgau strewn field in the Alpine Foreland discovered in the early new millennium comprises more than 80 mostly rimmed craters in a roughly elliptically shaped area with axes of about 60 km and 30 km. The crater diameters range between a few meters and a few hundred meters. Geologically, the craters occur in Pleistocene moraine and fluvio-glacial sediments. The craters and surrounding areas so far investigated in more detail are featuring heavy deformations of the Quaternary cobbles and boulders, abundant fused rock material (impact melt rocks and various glasses), shock-metamorphic effects, and geophysical anomalies. The impact is substantiated by the abundant occurrence of metallic, glass and carbon spherules, accretionary lapilli, and of strange matter in the form of iron silicides like gupeiite and xifengite, and various carbides like, e.g., moissanite SiC. The hitherto established largest crater of the strewn field is Lake Tüttensee exhibiting an 8 m-height rim wall, a ri...
50th Lunar & Planetary Science Conference, 2019
In: Ivan Šprajc and Peter Pehani (eds), Ancient cosmologies and modern prophets. Proceedings of the SEAC 2012 conference. Ljubljana: Slovene Anthropological Society (= Anthropological Notebooks year XIX, supplement), 67-83., 2013
The last three decades have seen a growing awareness that the planet Earth and human civilization... more The last three decades have seen a growing awareness that the planet Earth and human civilizations might be much more threatened by extraterrestrial objects than previously thought. It has been suggested on many occasions that the course of human prehistory has been remarkably shaped by big meteorite impacts, airbursts of meteoroids, or the load of the atmosphere with cosmic dust. Myths and motifs are interpreted to encode information of such events. This article brings to the fore a series of essential methodological steps which may strengthen such interpretations.
Astronomy and Cosmology in Folk Traditions and Cultural Heritage, Archaeologia Baltica 10, 2008, Klaipėda University Press, Klaipėda, 268-272; ed. by: Vaiskunas, Jonas , 2008
In the last three decades cosmic events such as supernovae and the impact of large meteorites hav... more In the last three decades cosmic events such as supernovae and the impact of large meteorites have undergone a remarkable renaissance in being considered as a trigger of radical change, not only in geological timescales but also among prehistoric cultures. In such theories, archaeological horizons indicative of destruction events are combined with evidence from dendrochronology, ice-core analysis, mythical traditions etc. and are put forward as evidence for cultural disasters caused by cosmic events. This critically scrutinizes the underlying concepts of “cosmic catastrophe” and “cultural disaster” as well as the methods that are meant to corroborate them. Special emphasis is placed upon the limitations that show up in analyzing myth and folklore.
Antiquity 84 (2010): 428-439, 2010
Arguing from a critical reading of the text, and scientific evidence on the ground, the authors s... more Arguing from a critical reading of the text, and scientific evidence on the ground, the authors show that the myth of Phaethon – the delinquent celestial charioteer – remembers the impact of a massive meteorite that hit the Chiemgau region in Bavaria between 2000 and 428 BC.
Antiquity 85 no. 327 (2011), 278-280, 2011
Mediterranean Archaeology & Archaeometry, 2006
In Greek mythology there exists one story that has repeatedly been interpreted to describe the fa... more In Greek mythology there exists one story that has repeatedly been interpreted to describe the fall of a celestial body: the story of Phaethon, who undertakes a disastrous drive with the sun-chariot of his father Helios. First, the article presents the arguments given by ancient authors for interpreting this story as the reflection of a natural phenomenon. Then details given in the old descriptions of Phaethon’s fall are compared with nowadays knowledge of impact phenomena. Furthermore the texts are examined for clues to the time and the location of the hypothesised impact. These considerations substantiate the suggestion that the myth of Phaethon reflects a concrete strike of a meteorite, the so-called Chiemgau Impact. That impact struck the south-east of Bavaria/Germany at some time during the Celtic period and left an extended crater-strewnfield of about 100 craters. A conspicuous intersection between the tradition of the Phaethon-story and the up to now known time-frame for the Chiemgau Impact gives new clues for dating the Chiemgau Impact to the time between 600 and 428 BC.
Mäetagused, 2011
Teesid: Tekstikriitilise analüüsi ja teaduslike tõendite alusel näitavad autorid, et Phaetoni müü... more Teesid: Tekstikriitilise analüüsi ja teaduslike tõendite alusel näitavad autorid, et Phaetoni müüt-kurja tegeva taevase sõjavankri müüt-säilitab mälestusi ajavahemikul 2000-428. eKr Baieri Chiemgau piirkonda tabanud tohutust meteoriidist.
Antiquity, 2011
We acknowledge the observations of Doppler et al. on our paper and we are grateful to Antiquity&#... more We acknowledge the observations of Doppler et al. on our paper and we are grateful to Antiquity's editor for this opportunity to reply to their objections. Firstly, it should be noted that we have not claimed that the Chiemsee once included the Tüttensee. We agree that the region in which both lakes lie was glacially formed. But while Lake Chiemsee is the result of the last Ice Age the Tüttensee basin originates from a much later Holocene meteorite impact. We do not use the myth of Phaeton to date this event that is known as the Chiemgau impact. On the contrary we estimate from archaeological evidence and OSL dating that the event occurred between 2200 and 800 BC, i.e. the Bronze Age (Rappenglück et al. 2010: 436).We go on to discuss parallels between the independent dating of the Chiemgau impact and the possible time frame of the myth (Rappenglück et al. 2010: 435–37).
Did in the Holocene meteorite impacts of a size capable to affect human cultures happen at all an... more Did in the Holocene meteorite impacts of a size capable to affect human cultures happen at all and – if the answer is “yes” – which cultural implications did they have? Since a few years this question is fiercely and controversially discussed. The Chiemgau meteorite impact event may provide an important contribution to the discussion. This event stroke south-east Germany very probably in the 1st millenium BC and left a field of about 80 craters. In comparison to other Holocene impacts it provides extraordinary data by the extension of its crater field, the size of the biggest crater, the variety of secondary effects, the direct embedding of the impact layer in an archaeological stratigraphy, and the comparably good dating. The recently known data are introduced and discussed with regard to the question of cultural effects of Holocene impacts.
Ropes and the use of ropes have left clear traces in the myths and fairy tales of people all over... more Ropes and the use of ropes have left clear traces in the myths and fairy tales of people all over the world. Numerous examples let us surmise that many of these ropes are related to the sky and connected with selected astronomical phenomena. This article categorizes these phenomena more closely, focusing on only a few very representative examples, which give us a clear hint or a well-based probability for an astronomical meaning. In the second place, considerations based on the sciences of symbolics, religion, and ethnology suggest that the astronomical meanings of ropes are connected with their magico-religious ones.
Humanity’s integration into the cosmos is fundamentally shaped by the perception of structured ce... more Humanity’s integration into the cosmos is fundamentally shaped by the perception of structured celestial movements: the rotation of the celestial sphere and the various regular paths of celestial bodies. Participating in these cosmic regularities has been an objective of human cultures since ancient times. Reproducing their structures may serve to participate in their power and to manipulate or to stabilize their effects. Dance as a rhythmic pattern of movement is a cultural expression especially prone to re-enacting the structured cosmic movements. Hence, ancient traditions have considered manifold relations between dance and ideas about the cosmos. Cultural traditions reporting “cosmic” aspects of dances refer to: (1) the dances of celestial bodies themselves, whose interpretations are based on concrete observations such as the apparent looping of the planets; (2) human dances which are in some sense related to celestial bodies or celestial events, e.g. by costumes which equip a d...
Throughout the course of history, from early prehistory to the Space Age, power structures have e... more Throughout the course of history, from early prehistory to the Space Age, power structures have existed which have been more or less derived from or correlated to astronomical phenomena or certain cosmologies and cosmovisions. These have significantly affected and formed the economic, social, political, artistic and religious life of people across different cultures. Cosmographies, time reckoning and calendar systems, celestial navigation techniques, landscape and architectural models of cosmicpotency, celestial divination and astrological ideas, cosmic clothing and other related concepts have been used successfully by interest groups to establish, maintain and expand psychological, social, religious and political power. Furthermore, the celestial sphere and its inhabitants have also been closely connected and partially interwoven with the concept of the manifestation of cosmic order and power both in nature and in culture. The book’s 43 chapters cover numerous aspects of the topic, from general ideas to astronomy and politics in the Modern Age. The editors are proven experts in the field of cultural astronomy, having many years of experience. They are adept in different subjects and methodologies based on natural sciences as well as on humanities. Dr Michael A. Rappenglück MA, the first editor of the work in hand, has been president of the European Society of Astronomy in Culture (SEAC) since 2011.
A. César González-García, Roslyn M. Frank, Lionel D. Sims, Michael A. Rappenglück, Georg Zotti, Juan A. Belmonte, Ivan Šprajc (eds.), Beyond Paradigms in Cultural Astronomy (BAR International Series 3033), Oxford, 11-18, 2021
The traditions of peoples are packed with the wondrous qualities of containers. Vessels may e.g. ... more The traditions of peoples are packed with the wondrous qualities of containers. Vessels may e.g. serve as uterus, they manage transformation and rebirth, and they can communicate harm and death, or transmit notions of abundance and wisdom. Beyond that, containers may in manifold ways relate to cosmic symbolism, either representing the whole cosmos or referring to celestial objects and phenomena. In this article such ‘cosmic’ containers are categorized and treated as 1. notional ‘containers’ mentioned in traditions and myths, and 2. concrete (tangible) containers epitomising the cosmos or related to celestial phenomena. While the first category is structured by celestial phenomena which are addressed by examples from traditions, the second category is structured by physical characteristics of containers - shape, material, manufacturing, décor, and context of use – which may in manifold manners be charged with “cosmic” meanings. The article is based on comparative mythology as well as documented traditions and interpretations that have been put forward concerning concrete vessels.
Himmelswelten und Kosmovisionen - Imaginationen, Modelle, Weltanschauungen (= Nuncius Hamburgensis. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften 51), ed. by Gudrun Wolfschmidt, 330-349, Hamburg: tredition., 2020
To the best of our knowledge, the first examples worldwide of artificial remnants, which directly... more To the best of our knowledge, the first examples worldwide of artificial remnants, which directly co-exist with meteorite impact-diagnostic shock metamorphism, come from an excavation site in Stöttham (Chiemgau, SE-Germany). Archaeological finds (‘slags’), analysed by polarising microscope and SEM-EDS, exhibit complex structures of rocky partitions shocked by a meteorite impact, and bits of metallic artefacts. The structures, matching polymictic melt rock breccia with artificial metallic components, testify that the artefacts have been overprinted by a meteorite impact. Moreover, the results once more confirm that the site has been involved in the prehistoric Chiemgau meteorite impact, which has left more than 80 craters in the Chiemgau region. One of the presented finds is especially particularised due to its special metallic components, i.e. high leaded bronze, which dates not earlier than the late Urnfield culture and allows a re-dating of the Chiemgau meteorite impact to ca. 1000-300 BC.
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Papers by Barbara Rappenglueck
1. notional ‘containers’ mentioned in traditions and myths, and 2. concrete (tangible) containers epitomising the cosmos or related to celestial phenomena. While the first category is structured by celestial phenomena which are addressed by examples from traditions, the second category is structured by physical characteristics of containers − shape, material, manufacturing, décor, and context of use − which may in manifold manners be charged with “cosmic” meanings. The article is based on comparative mythology as well as documented traditions and interpretations that have been put forward concerning concrete vessels.
Such evidence has now resulted from the examination of “slags” from an excavation at Chieming-Stöttham (SE-Germany) and is presented in the second part. Analyzed by polarising microscope and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), several samples turned out to be complex combinations of rock with metallic residues: The rocky components show typical shock metamorphism, characteristic of a meteorite impact. The metallic components are high lead bronze and processed iron, i.e. remnants of artefacts. To the best of our knowledge, the samples are the first evidence worldwide of artificial remnants becoming part of an impact rock. They yield a unique attestation of a meteorite impact in an archaeological context.
The finds are linked to the Chiemgau Impact, a prehistoric meteorite impact, which hit SE-Germany and caused more than 100 craters of five to several hundred meters diameter in an area of ca. 60 x 30 km. It is dated to ca. 900-600 BC. In view of the Chiemgau Impact being the biggest confirmed Holocene impact, its excellent data base, the explicit archaeological evidence, and its comparably good dating, it should actually be a candidate for disastrous cultural consequences. But the exemplary work on two methodological questions, treated in the third part, illustrates that despite the good database the assumed scenario of a cultural catastrophe can neither be confirmed nor denied. This results in critical considerations to the paradigm of catastrophic cultural consequences of meteorite impacts or cosmic airbursts.
“Chiemgau Impact” is an event which took place in the Bronze Age / Iron Age with the creation of a large meteorite strewn field by the impact of a comet / asteroid in southeast Bavaria. The research is interdisciplinary from the outset. It covers, among other things, geology, geophysics, limnology, archaeology, mineralogy, speleology, astronomy, and historical sciences. The research results show that a major disaster must have taken place in the area between Altötting, the Lake Chiemsee, and the Alps. Finds of exotic material, found only in meteorites, extremely stressed and altered rocks, caused by extreme pressures, high temperatures and the action of acid, strange carbon spherules, glass-like carbon, nanodiamonds, magnetic anomalies, soil compaction, sinkholes, and many other abnormalities can be explained by the hypothesis of a post-ice impact. All the impact criteria required according to scientifc standards were demonstrated. The impact associated with a large air blast may have produced considerable regional and probably transregional effects. People not only from the Chiemgau region were witnesses of the fascinating, shocking and disturbing event. Perhaps quite accurate descriptions of the event and the regional effects were even described in the ancient Greek myth of the young racer Phaeton, driving the solar chariot. Te paper presents the current (2017) state of knowledge and briefly also the research history.
In German:
Chiemgau-Impakt“ bezeichnet ein Ereignis, das sich in der Bronze-/Eisenzeit mit der Schaffung eines großen Meteoritenkraterstreufeldes durch den Einschlag eines Kometen/
Asteroiden in Südostbayern abgespielt hat. Die Forschung ist von Anfang an interdisziplinär angelegt und umfasst u. a. Geologie, Geophysik, Limnologie, Archäologie, Mineralogie, Speläologie, Astronomie und historische Wissenschafen. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass sich im Gebiet zwischen Altötting, dem Chiemsee und dem Alpenrand eine große Katastrophe abgespielt haben muss. Funde von exotischem Material, das teilweise nur in Meteoriten vorkommt, durch höchste
Drücke und Temperaturen und Einwirkung von Säure extrem beanspruchte und veränderte Gesteine, verschiedenste ganz ungewöhnliche Kohlenstoff-Modifkationen, Nanodiamanten, geophysikalische Anomalien, enorme, weit verbreitete Bodendeformationen und viele andere Auffälligkeiten können durch die Hypothese eines nacheiszeitlichen Impakts stimmig erklärt werden. Sämtliche in der Forschung geforderten Impaktkriterien konnten nachgewiesen werden. Der Einschlag verbunden mit einem großen Air Blast hat erhebliche regionale und wohl auch überregionale Wirkungen hervorgerufen. Menschen nicht nur aus der Region des Chiemgaus waren Augenzeugen des faszinierenden, schockierenden und verstörenden Ereignisses. Möglicherweise wurden recht genaue
Beschreibungen des Ablaufs und der regionalen Auswirkungen sogar im antiken griechischen Mythos des jugendlichen Sonnenwagenfahrers Phaeton geschildert. Der Beitrag erläutert den heutigen
(2017) Kenntnisstand und geht kurz auch auf die Forschungsgeschichte ein.
1. notional ‘containers’ mentioned in traditions and myths, and 2. concrete (tangible) containers epitomising the cosmos or related to celestial phenomena. While the first category is structured by celestial phenomena which are addressed by examples from traditions, the second category is structured by physical characteristics of containers − shape, material, manufacturing, décor, and context of use − which may in manifold manners be charged with “cosmic” meanings. The article is based on comparative mythology as well as documented traditions and interpretations that have been put forward concerning concrete vessels.
Such evidence has now resulted from the examination of “slags” from an excavation at Chieming-Stöttham (SE-Germany) and is presented in the second part. Analyzed by polarising microscope and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), several samples turned out to be complex combinations of rock with metallic residues: The rocky components show typical shock metamorphism, characteristic of a meteorite impact. The metallic components are high lead bronze and processed iron, i.e. remnants of artefacts. To the best of our knowledge, the samples are the first evidence worldwide of artificial remnants becoming part of an impact rock. They yield a unique attestation of a meteorite impact in an archaeological context.
The finds are linked to the Chiemgau Impact, a prehistoric meteorite impact, which hit SE-Germany and caused more than 100 craters of five to several hundred meters diameter in an area of ca. 60 x 30 km. It is dated to ca. 900-600 BC. In view of the Chiemgau Impact being the biggest confirmed Holocene impact, its excellent data base, the explicit archaeological evidence, and its comparably good dating, it should actually be a candidate for disastrous cultural consequences. But the exemplary work on two methodological questions, treated in the third part, illustrates that despite the good database the assumed scenario of a cultural catastrophe can neither be confirmed nor denied. This results in critical considerations to the paradigm of catastrophic cultural consequences of meteorite impacts or cosmic airbursts.
“Chiemgau Impact” is an event which took place in the Bronze Age / Iron Age with the creation of a large meteorite strewn field by the impact of a comet / asteroid in southeast Bavaria. The research is interdisciplinary from the outset. It covers, among other things, geology, geophysics, limnology, archaeology, mineralogy, speleology, astronomy, and historical sciences. The research results show that a major disaster must have taken place in the area between Altötting, the Lake Chiemsee, and the Alps. Finds of exotic material, found only in meteorites, extremely stressed and altered rocks, caused by extreme pressures, high temperatures and the action of acid, strange carbon spherules, glass-like carbon, nanodiamonds, magnetic anomalies, soil compaction, sinkholes, and many other abnormalities can be explained by the hypothesis of a post-ice impact. All the impact criteria required according to scientifc standards were demonstrated. The impact associated with a large air blast may have produced considerable regional and probably transregional effects. People not only from the Chiemgau region were witnesses of the fascinating, shocking and disturbing event. Perhaps quite accurate descriptions of the event and the regional effects were even described in the ancient Greek myth of the young racer Phaeton, driving the solar chariot. Te paper presents the current (2017) state of knowledge and briefly also the research history.
In German:
Chiemgau-Impakt“ bezeichnet ein Ereignis, das sich in der Bronze-/Eisenzeit mit der Schaffung eines großen Meteoritenkraterstreufeldes durch den Einschlag eines Kometen/
Asteroiden in Südostbayern abgespielt hat. Die Forschung ist von Anfang an interdisziplinär angelegt und umfasst u. a. Geologie, Geophysik, Limnologie, Archäologie, Mineralogie, Speläologie, Astronomie und historische Wissenschafen. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass sich im Gebiet zwischen Altötting, dem Chiemsee und dem Alpenrand eine große Katastrophe abgespielt haben muss. Funde von exotischem Material, das teilweise nur in Meteoriten vorkommt, durch höchste
Drücke und Temperaturen und Einwirkung von Säure extrem beanspruchte und veränderte Gesteine, verschiedenste ganz ungewöhnliche Kohlenstoff-Modifkationen, Nanodiamanten, geophysikalische Anomalien, enorme, weit verbreitete Bodendeformationen und viele andere Auffälligkeiten können durch die Hypothese eines nacheiszeitlichen Impakts stimmig erklärt werden. Sämtliche in der Forschung geforderten Impaktkriterien konnten nachgewiesen werden. Der Einschlag verbunden mit einem großen Air Blast hat erhebliche regionale und wohl auch überregionale Wirkungen hervorgerufen. Menschen nicht nur aus der Region des Chiemgaus waren Augenzeugen des faszinierenden, schockierenden und verstörenden Ereignisses. Möglicherweise wurden recht genaue
Beschreibungen des Ablaufs und der regionalen Auswirkungen sogar im antiken griechischen Mythos des jugendlichen Sonnenwagenfahrers Phaeton geschildert. Der Beitrag erläutert den heutigen
(2017) Kenntnisstand und geht kurz auch auf die Forschungsgeschichte ein.
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