Opfermoor Vogtei
It is the largest known Iron Age cult site in Central Europe[1] and has yielded important information about pre-Germanic and Germanic religious practices.
[16] The finds originate from various parts of Roman Germania, and are not associated with any one Germanic tribe, suggesting a cult-place serving more than the immediate region.
[17] The cultic nature of the depositions is clear, although opinions have varied as to whether the isolated bones, particularly skulls, represent simple offerings or the remains of sacramental feasts,[18] which given the absence of some parts of the skeleton would have taken place elsewhere.
[19] The religious centre of the site in the early period is a rectangular altar of Muschelkalk limestone surrounded by a semicircular wall made of rocks and earth.
These enclosed altars made of blocks of sod or soil supported by wickerwork, with a tall post or a simple stick-figure cult image on the top.
At its centre was a large rectangular wooden altar with corner posts; numerous bones from sacrificed animals were found near it.
During the mid-Roman Period, use of the site focused on the veneration of various deities distinguished by their idols and attributes, which took place in shared circular shrines.
A craftsmen's settlement at Haarhausen (Amt Wachsenburg) and sacrifices of oxen and offerings at the cemetery in Haßleben indicate influence on the Hermunduri via workers from the region of the Roman Limes.
The shrine contained a coffin with a female skeleton inside; the grave was destroyed in the 4th century, possibly during the disturbances associated with the formation of the Thuringii.
The larger was formed of branches with a hole indicating the steering oar and was associated with a male divinity, who was represented by a tall post idol surmounted by a horse's head.
The archaeological evidence does not support continuous use after the early Holy Roman Empire,[22] but 10th- and 11th-century pottery and dog bones indicate sacrifices at the site even after the introduction of Christianity.
[35][36] In part because of excavation problems, it is also one of the few inland Central European sites where remains of fish have been recovered: pike and some tench.
[42] Some of the discoveries from the excavation are on display at the Opfermoor Museum on the northern edge of Oberdorla, including the skeletal remains of a woman with her skull on a stake, reproducing the way she was found.
The museum offers periodic presentations and classes in ancient Germanic clothing, weaponry, cookery and baking, spinning and weaving, and games.
[1] A Germanic festival and a Roman market take place on-site in alternating years, with costumed living history reenactors seeking to recreate everyday life in one or the other context.
