In 1883, Dr. Hartmann, of Marne (B. 397), gave a more detailed account
of similar dwellings in the Holstein fen district, near the embouchure
of the river Elbe. These, in the form of low mounds, are met with,
according to him, in all the marshes along this part of the North
Sea coast. In the Dithmarschen, both north and south, they are very
numerous, and the larger ones, like the terp-mounds of Holland, are
now generally occupied by one or more modern buildings. In extent they
vary from 1¼ to 15 acres, and in height from 13 to 23 feet above
ordinary mean tides. On several occasions in recent times, in the
course of excavating the foundations of new buildings, the digging
of wells, etc., various relics, such as fragments of pottery, clay
weights, iron implements, bits of manipulated staghorns, broken bones,
etc., were turned out, which, however, suggested nothing more than
passing comments. But their real nature is now clearly pourtrayed
by the facts recorded by Dr. Hartmann, the chief of which were
ascertained from excavations conducted by himself in the Fahrstedter
Wurth situated some three miles to the north of the Elbe. This
_Wurth_, some years ago, became the property of a brick manufacturer,
of the name of Huesmann, who was in the habit, from time to time, of
utilising its contents, partly for filling up old clay-pits and partly
for manuring purposes. Such was the condition of the Fahrstedter
Wurth when Dr. Hartmann's attention was directed to it in August,
1881. On his first visit, while poking about the open trenches, he
picked up, at a depth of four feet from the surface, a perforated clay
weight, four inches in diameter, and two and a half inches thick.
After this he continued his visits to the locality regularly, and,
in a short time, collected a number of relics, besides determining
many interesting points in regard to the structure of the mound. The
greatest depth reached by the haphazard excavations of Mr. Huesmann
was nine and a half feet. Along the exposed section down to this point
Dr. Hartmann distinguished the following layers:
1. Ordinary soil (_Ackererde_) about 2 feet.
2. Greenish sandy earth (_hellgrüne sandige Erde_),
supposed to be due to sea action, from the
fact of its containing many of the spicules
or needles of sponges 1 "
3. A layer of reddish clay (_rother Estrich_) ½ to 1 "
4. Remains of wooden structures (_Packwerk_) 2 to 4 "
5. Earth mixed with clay (_helle Kleierde_) 1½ "
This _Packwerk_ is described as made up of decomposed branches, from
the size of a finger to, occasionally, the thickness of an arm,
arranged horizontally, but sometimes perpendicularly. Its lower
portion was composed of large quantities of the twigs of birch and
oak, the fibres of several marsh plants, broken bones, and other
organic _débris_. In the underlying clay he noticed some holes, which
he concluded to have been due to small piles, the wood of which had
disappeared by decomposition. Scattered through this Packwerk were
found, besides charcoal and ashes, a varied assortment of the relics
of human industry, of which the following may be noted:--Fragments of
pottery, (grey and black), among which were some with perforations
round the rims; sharpening-stones; a perforated clay weight; twelve
portions of quern stones, made of basalt, and having a thickness
of one and a half to two and a half inches--from a fragment, the
entire diameter of one was ascertained to be 17 inches; several iron
knives, a socketed lance-head, and some nails, together with lumps of
both iron and glass slag. A wooden handle, some worked objects of
bone with marks of rivets, bits of birch-bark, etc. A black mass of
asphalt, supposed to be a product of birch-bark, had embedded in it
the shell of a hazel-nut. From this it was inferred that the mass was
originally in a fluid condition.
Among the osseous remains the following animals were identified
by Dr. Pfeffer, of the Natural History Museum at Hamburg, and Dr.
Rautenburg:--dog, ox, pig, sheep, stag, horse, bittern (?), and
sturgeon (recognised by its scales).
In the clay below the Packwerk (_Kleierde_) were found the stumps of
eight piles, five to six feet apart, which Dr. Hartmann concluded had
originally passed upwards through the fascine work, but now only the
portions embedded in the clay remained, the rest having disappeared by
decomposition. Of these piles (four oak, three birch, and one ash),
some were round and some rectangular, and nearly all more or less
pointed at the lower extremity. The exceptions were blunt and rested
on some fragments of granite stones. One of the piles, which measured
six inches broad, and two and three-quarter inches thick, contained
four round holes, in one of which a portion of a spar still remained.
Having satisfied himself as to the condition of this portion of
the mound already exposed, Dr. Hartmann got permission from the
proprietor to sink a shaft into the undisturbed portion underneath.
The superficial area of this shaft was 12 feet long and 9 broad, and
it was excavated until the sea-sand was reached, at a depth of 11½
feet--_i.e._ about 21 feet from the surface of the mound.
Continuing now our inspection of this section (the upper portion of
which I have already detailed) the following layers were successively
passed through:--
6. Clay earth continued 1½ ft.
7. Packwerk (No. 2) 1 "
8. Blackish clayey stuff (_dunkle Kleierde_) 1 "
9. Light clay (containing the stumps of a second
series of piles, four in number, and from three
to five and a half inches thick) 1 "
10. Packwerk (No. 3) 3 "
11. Whitish clay, mixed with twigs, branches, reeds, etc. 2 "
12. A layer of cowdung (_Grüngelblicher fester Kuhdünger_) 2 "
13. Sea sand (_Meeressand_)
The two _Packwerke_ here encountered are stated to be similar to the
first, and the relics are also much of the same character. The under
portion of both is described as being made up of twigs of oak, birch,
and hazel, very much birch-bark, worked bits of wood, wooden handles
of tools, burnt faggots, _débris_ of marsh plants (_Schilf_, _Binsen_,
_und Samen von Polygonum_), small bundles of bast and other fibres of
fine roots, shells of hazel-nuts, fragments of pottery (six pounds),
lumps of iron slag (five pounds), broken bones (sixteen pounds),
charcoal, a piece of redstone, and the shells of some edible molluscs
(_Helix fruticum_ and _Strigella_, and _Cardium edule_).
Among the relics to be noted are a spindle-whorl, an iron buckle, and
a bit of leather.
Of special interest is a third series of piles, which he describes as
terminating in the sea-sand underneath all. These piles were five in
number, four oak and one birch, 2 to 5½ inches in thickness, and 18
to 33 inches in length. They were placed in a zig-zag fashion about
1½ foot apart, and traced through the layer of "Kuhdünger" to the
"Packwerk," where they became so rotten as to be no longer recognised.
One of them had also a hole, which still retained portion of a
projecting spar.
Our investigator made observations, but of a much more limited
character, on nine other _Wurthen_, and in all of them he found the
"Packwerk" to be a special feature in their structure.
Such is an epitome of the facts on which Dr. Hartmann bases his
opinion that not only the _Wurthen_, but also the neighbouring
_Warfen_ and _Terpen_, were constructed like the fascine islands of
prehistoric Switzerland, and the Scottish and Irish crannogs. The
idea of pile-buildings can scarcely be entertained by him, and he
stoutly combats Pigorini's opinions in regard to the _Terpen_ of West
Friesland.
The Fahrstedter Wurth, according to Hartmann, consisted of an original
mound some seven feet high, to which on two subsequent occasions
additions were made. The initiatory process of its construction was
to form a basis of _Kuhdünger_ two feet in thickness. Over this clay
and rubbish were placed, to the extent of other two feet; and then
came the fascine structures, which raised the mound other three feet.
To keep the mass together, piles were driven here and there down to
the sandy bottom. But the inhabitants soon found that this was too
low to shelter them from the waves and floods, so they constructed
an addition to their mound, which raised its surface to ten feet. But
this was not enough, and so a third addition was made, which added
six feet more to the mound. At this height its surface would be about
twenty feet above the medium sea level (_Normal Null_), and at this
height Dr. Hartmann concludes that cottages would be quite secure, as
the highest tides on record--viz. 4th February, 1825, reached only 12
feet 4 inches above the medium sea level, a result which would leave
a considerable margin for the Fahrstedter Wurth. Of course, the tides
never reach it now, as it is protected by the sea-dykes, the first of
which was constructed in the middle of the twelfth century.
Very little reflection shows the inherent improbability of Dr.
Hartmann's theory. Where could the primitive builders get such
a quantity of "Kuhdünger" to start with? If the "Packwerk" was
constructed as a solid mass, how could its under portions be so
prolific of such varied relics, and other odds and ends of human
occupancy? Moreover, the disproportion between the original and final
height of the mound is incompatible with the supposition that the
successive increases were merely additions entailed by unforeseen
circumstances, such as an unusual storm. The three platforms with
their corresponding series of upright piles, the stratified assortment
of the structural materials, and the position of the relics and
_débris_ of its inhabitants scattered throughout the entire mound,
are, in my opinion, inexplicable on any other hypothesis than that
we have here the remains of pile-dwellings, successively erected one
above the other, precisely similar to the terremare already described.
The more probable _modus operandi_ was to construct in the first
place a circumscribing dyke of mud, varying in size according to the
number of the tribe or family, behind which the cottages were built
on platforms supported on piles. When the under spaces became filled
up with the accumulated _débris_ of men and cattle, and all the other
odds and ends of continued occupancy, the process was repeated again
and again, until the whole enclosed area, in the course of some
centuries, became a flattish mound or island within the limits of the
tidal shore.