Ein Mühlstein als Abdeckung einer frühmittelalterlichen Grube aus Neunkirchen, Niederösterreich<br>Žrmlje kot pokrov zgodnjesrednjeveške jame iz Neunkirchna, Niederösterreich</br>

Abstract

/A Quern as a Cover of an Early Mediaeval Pit from Neunkirchen, Lower Austria/ On the outskirts of the cremation graves cemetery from Early Imperial period, many pits with pottery and animal bones were found, which could be the remains of funeral rites of that time. A real surprise was the discovery of an early mediaeval pit with pottery and animal bones that were covered with a useless quern. The complex of this pit cannot be linked with the original purpose of the quern stone. As similar examples from Lower Austria, Bohemia and Moravia show, the secondary position of the stone can be explained by Slavic mythology. Carefully made pottery and animal bones can indicate such use.

Keywords

• lower austria
• early middle ages
• slavs
• mythology
• quern