Figure 1.
Wooden well constructions and Neolithization.
LBK wells from (A) Eythra 1, (B) Eythra 2, (C) Brodau 1, and (D) Altscherbitz. (E) Central European loess distribution [20] with the superimposed phases of expansion of the LBK (lines), based on 14C dates [22], and the maximum extension of the LBK (light blue) along with the 12 known early Neolithic wells featuring waterlogged wood preservation.
Figure 2.
Tree-ring samples and chronologies.
(A) Temporal distribution of 147 oak ring width series, indicating the lengths of the individual tree-ring sequences, and the youngest felling date per well construction, based on the presence of waney edges (annually precise) or sapwood (±10 years). The inset shows a 3D reconstruction of the wooden lining of the well from Altscherbitz displaying each tree using a different color. (B) The Expressed Population Signal (dotted line grey) and the inter-series correlation (dotted line black) calculated over 50 years lagged by 25 years along all of the individual samples. (C) Single ring width measurements (green) and their mean (red). (D) Absolute dating of the new Saxon oak chronology (red) against the reference chronology from the Main River Valley [30] after 10-year low-pass filtering (r = correlation coefficient, TV = T-value, GL = Gleichläufigkeit).
Figure 3.
Charred end grain surfaces at terminal ends of oak timbers from well A (A, B).
The timbers were cut to length using fire.
Figure 4.
Early Neolithic craftsmanship from well A. 3D laser rendering of (A) a timber bearing tool marks on the surface, (B) various timbers with cogging joints.
(C) 3D model of the well lining set-up using laser images. (D) Sketch of the base frame with wedged tusk tenon joints and the frame with interlocked corner joints.
Figure 5.
Basal frame construction of well A.
(A) Wedged tusk tenon joint. (B) 3D laser rendering of the basal frame.
Figure 6.
Finds from the fill of well A.
(A) Well A during excavation. Within the square wooden lining, a dense deposition of pottery consisting of intact and broken vessels has been uncovered. (B) Selection of intact and restored pots representative of the ceramic spectrum of the LBK, consisting of jars, necked vessels and bowls (to scale, photorealistic renderings of laser scans). (C) Complete ear of Einkorn (Triticum monococcum, 70 mm in length) [27].