Station: [43] Human Skeletal Remains from Caves in the Franconian Alps

Time and again, human remains are discovered in caves, often along with pottery, jewellery, weapons and tools. But how can these findings be conclusively interpreted?

In the past, the assumption was that caves were "inhabited", whereas these days, we tend to think mainly of ritual use. To our ancestors, caves in general, but especially vertical pits, clearly represented a link to the afterlife. Even during the Palaeolithic, caves and grottos were being used as burial places.

Even for later prehistoric periods thought to have well-established customs involving burials in cemeteries, we still discover skeletal remains associated with material finds in caves. They may be the burials of specially selected groups within the population. But we also need to consider that they may represent the disposal of victims of war, crime or plague.

Then again, perhaps these were special places where human beings were sacrificed to a deity, however conceived. The purpose may have been to protect the community from harm and to plead for help in times of danger. The skeletal remains themselves only occasionally display signs of violence. Archaeologists hope that new discoveries will help to provide a clearer picture.

More than a hundred caves in the Franconian and Upper Palatinate Jura are known to have contained skeletal remains. We’ve chosen the Dietersberg pit near Egloffstein as a typical example. As well as the remains of more than 50 individuals, the excavations back in 1928 uncovered bronze armlets and hair ornaments, what’s known as “eye beads" made of glass in three colours, a clay bowl and an iron spearhead. Animal bones might represent food offerings-– or separate sacrifices. According to recent radiocarbon dating, the practice of burying the dead in the Dietersberg pit continued for a long time. It lasted from around 750 to 350 BC, taking in large parts of the Hallstatt and Early Latène periods.