»Gefäßdeponierungen« aus den Töpfereien von Mayen – Einblicke in Gedanken- und Lebenswelten römischer und mittelalterlicher Menschen?

Abstract

»Vessel Depositions« from the Potteries of Mayen – Insights into the Intellectual and Environmental World of Roman and Medieval People?

It is rare that excavation features offer profound insights into the human action and thought processes of individuals in those societies. Utterly surprising, such possibilities arose, according to the author, during the investigations of 1986/1987 near the Siegfriedstraße in the castle gardens of the Genovevaburg (Flur 21 »Oben auf dem Glacis«) in Mayen. For in the structures belonging to the potteries, intentionally placed »vessel depositions« were found, which may indicate a rite carried out by the population from at least the 4th/5th up to the 12th/13th centuries. The origin of these ritual actions of offering ceramic misfires could have lain in the efforts of the people for personal security or individual gratitude to »higher powers«. This paper deals with the material deposits of the rite appearing here and the reasons for the interpretation.