Neolithic circular enclosures (Rondels)

And some not that old...

Not long ago I have bumped into an article about these ancient, built structures (older and much more bigger than Stonehenge) and could not calm down until some acceptable kmz attachment done.

Content would also fit my "general" archaeology collection, ending I have decided that these deserve their own thread. 

Also here need to be mentioned another thread of mine with quite a similar title: Prehistoric Enclosured Settlements where I try to locate sites with primary settlement functions and not (only?) cultic/astrometrical artifacts as it stands by these.

Neolithic circular enclosures in Central Europe

Approximately 120–150 Neolithic earthworks enclosures are known in Central Europe. They are called Kreisgrabenanlagen ("circular ditched enclosures") in German, or alternatively as roundels (or "rondels"; German Rondelle; sometimes also "rondeloid", since many are not even approximately circular). They are mostly confined to the Elbe and Danube basins, in modern-day Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, as well as the adjacent parts of Hungary and Poland, in a stretch of Central European land some 800 km (500 mi) across. They date to the first half of the 5th millennium BC; they are associated with the late Linear Pottery culture and its local successors, the Stroke-ornamented ware (Middle Danubian) and Lengyel (Moravian Painted Ware) cultures. The best known and oldest of these Circular Enclosures is the Goseck circle, constructed c. 4900 BC.

Only a few examples approximate a circular form; the majority are only very approximately circular or elliptic. One example at Meisternthal is an exact ellipse with identifiable focal points. The distribution of these structures seems to suggest a spread from the middle Danube (southern Slovakia and western Hungary) towards the west (Lower Austria, Lower Bavaria) along the Danube and to the northwest (Moravia, Bohemia, Saxony-Anhalt) following the Elbe. They precede the comparable circular earthwork or timber enclosures known from Great Britain and Ireland, constructed much later during c. 3000 to 1000 BC (late Neolithic to Bronze Age). But, by contrast to the long lifetime of the "Megalithic" culture, the time window during which the neolithic Roundels were in use is surprisingly narrow, lasting only for about 200–300 years (roughly 49th to 47th centuries BC) / wikipedia

By every site I try to find proper GE aerial imagery date for best viewing results, add overlay (not only) where it needed.


Szemely-I. enclosure, where diameter of the inner circle is about the same as the outer, earthen ring of Stonehenge(!)

image source

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By last update: 166 placemarks (+5 suspicious sites) and 34 overlays (off as default) for sites from 15 countries in attanced kmz folder.

KMZ download: >>> Prehistoric Circular Enclosures.kmz (37.71 KB)

Placemark color legend:

• white:       Neolithic Age
• orange:    Chalcolithic Age
• brown:     Bronze Age
• red:          Suspicious Sites

(This latter three counts only a few marks and shall be excluded anytime.)

Attached kmz file only available here on the every-time "Live" GE Community Forums, which is now self-sponsored. If You make good use of this dataset, please donate our community! Thank You!

***
(some of my) sources: fejerszovetseg.blogspot.hu // files.archaeolingua.hu (PDF) // magyarostortenet.gportal.hu // oldwww.mageof.hu (PDF) // researchgate.net // astrosim // writeopinions.com // de.wikipedia // iaepan.vot.pl (PDF)

(Good (hungarian language) read on subject and more: Határtalan Régészet 2018/IV _.PDF

Any further info on these or on other sites, generally all related contributions welcome!

Thanks!

g

Note for latest edit: 3 more sites from Czechia and 1 plus from Poland added by 2018.nov.27. 
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Related from board:

Prehistoric Enclosured Settlements

Ancient Saudi Stone Structures

My archaeology collection

Mounds of (the) Earth

all archaeo threads by archaeo,


Related from oGEC:

Placemark-thousands of The Megalithic Portal guide to 25000+ ancient sites worldwide by Andy Megalithic,

Neolithic sites in Arabia and East Africa by KenGrok

Neolithic Monuments of the Sahara by KenGrok

Historical Atlas of Eurasia by RWFG

Art of the steppe nomads by Villaman

The frozen tombs of the Altai by Belizarius

North American Archaeology 2013 by deansnow

Only bump this posting because Slovakia, Czechia and Germany subfolders have begun to dilute with "Need to fix location" placemarks and would need some help with these.
(EDIT: most of the Slovak and some of the Czech placemark locations has been fixed)

some examples from this latest update:

Late Neolithic circular enclosures: never entirely uncovered
Peter Miloa, Jan Zemana, Martin Bartík and Martin Kučac

Late Neolithic circular enclosures count among prehistoric structures that have left distinct traces in the landscape. Due to their considerable dimensions and a typical round shape they are easy to identify by aerial survey as well as on orthographic survey images of the landscape (Kuzma 2013). This was also the case with three circular enclosures presented in this paper. These enclosures located in Bíňovce (Slovakia), Milovice and Nové Bránice (Moravia, Czech Republic) are new additions to the list of similar sites in the region already investigated geophysically by other teams (e.g., Melichar and Neubauer 2010). Considering the typical shape of these structures and the potsherds collected from the surface at individual sites, the enclosures under review can be datd without doubt to an early phase of the Lengyel Culture.


Bíňovce


The circular enclosure, irregularly circular in plan, consists of five ditches and several palisade trenches, which in some places are only fragmentarily reflected in the geophysical data. The western edge of the magnetogram is distinctly disturbed by a gas pipeline, which also partly overlaps with the roundel. However, with respect to the structure as a whole, a detailed picture.

The ditches are 4.0 m to 6.7 m wide. The circle inscribed by the internal edge of the central ditch has a diameter of 49 m to 53 m. The circle inscribed by the external edge of the outermost fifth ditch has a diameter of 167 m to 187 m. Counting from the centre to the outside, ditches 1 to 3 exhibit two gaps each — the northeast and the southwest entrance. Ditches 4 and 5 have four entrances each. Besides the northeast and the southwest entrance, which parallel the straight line leading through the entrances from the three internal ditches, there are also two diametrically opposed entrances on the northwest and southeast of the circular enclosure. Palisade trenches can clearly be evidenced on the outside of the first and the second ditch and on the inside of the fourth ditch. To the north and east of the circular enclosure, we can follow the course of a palisade trench, which is also related to the circular enclosure. Its preserved length is about 230 m.

The disproportion in the number of entrances in individual ditches might indicate chronological discontinuity of the structure under review as a whole. Why is it that the external ditches have two additional entrances each when they did not lead to the centre of the roundel? A possible answer is that ditches 4 and 5 represent a second or even third constructional phase. Chronological differences between the ditches may also be indicated by their magnetic fills, which are entirely different.

Milovice - (location fixed)


The enclosure is nearly circular in shape and consists of an internal palisade trench and two parallel ditches 4 m to 5 m wide. The distance between ditches is 10 m. The circle pf the external ditch has a diameter of about 120 m. The ditches are interrupted at regular distances by four opposite gaps. The entrances are flanked by pairs of shorter connecting ditches about 3 m wide.

The palisade trench inside the roundel runs at a distance of 5 m to 8 m from the internal perimeter ditch of the roundel and forms an approximately circular area of 66 m in diameter. The entrances in the palisade are oriented in the same directions as the gaps in perimeter ditches. The changes in magnetic values in the area inside the palisade are curious compared to the area immediately around the ditches. Higher magnetic values inside the roundel might indicate a preserved occupation layer. The palisade trench forms a distinct border at the perimeter of this area. However, it may also be supposed that low magnetic values around the ditches resulted from piled up low-magnetic or non-magnetic subsoil earth, which was obtained by digging the perimeter ditches. If so, then the Milovice roundel can be imagined as a system of not only ditches and palisades, but also massive perimeter ramparts.

Nové Bránice - (location fixed)


The irregularly circular linear enclosure consists of two internal palisade trenches, which are only fragmentarily preserved in the geophysical data, and an external ditch. The circle inscribed by the internal palisade trench has a diameter of roughly 60 m to 70 m. The circle inscribed by a ditch about 2.0 m to 4.0 m wide has a diameter of roughly 108 m. The ditch exhibits four gaps, but only the one in the north–northwest part can unequivocally be identified as an entrance. An entrance is also supposed with the easternmost of the three gaps in the southeastern part of the enclosure ditch. Through this gap runs a narrow linear anomaly leading directly to the centre of the enclosure. This feature was most probably connected with the functional purpose of the circular enclosure. It might be a trench-like structure, but also a shallow depression, a pathway, for instance. A pedological origin of this structure cannot be completely excluded either.

Several extensive anomalies, which are accumulated outside and around the circular enclosure, deserve special attention. These features are situated at regular distances of 5 m or 6 m from the external edge of the circular ditch. The only reason for such arrangement can be an aboveground obstacle, which has not been reflected in the geophysical data. It may have been a light fence or a shallowly sunken palisade. A road running around the roundel is also possible, but the most likely interpretation is apparently an earthen rampart piled up in these places. The whole archaeological context of the circular enclosure at Nové Bránice, whose ditch seems to have been enclosed from outside by a rampart, is thus a further valuable contribution to this discussion.

sources: www.iaepan.vot.pl/ap2015 (PDF) // or // researchgate.net/Martin_Kuca/ (PDF)

Browsing subfolders you might find (only a few) other marks that would need to be fixed.

Updated kmz file attached to OP.

Placemarks for +18 enclosures with clearly visible soil- or cropmarks on GE imagery in the new kmz subfolder of Croatia.

8 of those are described as neolithic circle enclosures built by people of the Sopot Culture.

4 examples (Čepin, Korođvar, Tenja, Brođanci):


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below I quote source: Abstract of publication by Bartul Šiljeg and Hrvoje Kalafatić at researchgate.net

Sites were selected according to the results a series of aircraft photographic surveys from 2013 to 2015. UAVs have been used since 2015 to record target areas and sites, which significantly increased the number of newly discovered sites. The satellite imagery and aerial photography data were compared with results of the systematic field survey. Consequently, more than 150 archaeological sites were identified throughout the area. The combination of all described methods provided a completely new insight on land occupation, settlement patterns and subsistence strategy in prehistoric, Roman and medieval period. Already known sites could be viewed more accurately for the first time, in their entirety and within their landscape. The majority of discovered sites can be attributed to Neolithic Sopot culture from the 5th millennium BC and to the late Medieval period. An interesting observed phenomenon is the reoccupation of Neolithic circle enclosures in the late medieval period. Besides new discoveries, it has to be emphasised that survey has shown a surprisingly dynamic change of the landscape from the 18th century until today that is important both for cultural heritage management and for landscape development strategies.

Based on their overview map, I have spotted 10 further, similar features browsing GE imagery. Until one says, that these are not neolithic, I leave placemarks in this collection. An example:


_____________________________

Updated kmz file attached to OP.

just have marked this site, only not sure about the dating:
one source says it is from the Bronze age, another mention it as Neolithic.

"The locality is not archaeologically explored. Only a sondage excavation was done, the findings suggested Neolithic dating. ... In addition to this, the size of formation speaks in favor of Neolithic dating (similar Bronze Age circular formations are generally smaller)."
source: www.vlasici.org.rs/kontakt/

any info on this, anyone?




source: www.arheo-amateri.rs/2016/11/neobicni-veliki-koncentricni-krugovi-snimljeni-nedaleko-od-vatina/

updated kmz file attached to OP.

soil mark slightly visible by best-set GE imagery date, so site got an overlay (off as default) too:

Neolithic roundel near Kolín, preliminary magnetometer survey helped precisely before the start of the rescue archaeological excavation of the Kolín bypass road. Remains of the Neolithic roundel with a diameter of over 200 m were identified on three fields around the junction of present roads. ...

Result of magnetometer survey in this case helped (without any previous successful RS data) to manage efficient rescue archaeological excavation of endangered parts of one of the largest bohemian Neolithic roundels.
source: www.researchgate.net/publication/319597630_Comparison_Study_to_the_Use_of_Geophysical_Methods_at_Archaeological_Sites_Observed_by_Various_Remote_Sensing_Techniques_in_the_Czech_Republic

also pretty cool 3D model of the roundel(s) were available:

Multiple roundels with mounds located along the outer edges of the trenches constituted unmistakably dominant features of the landscape. Was the central space really free of any lightweight components made of organic materials - and what was the original form of the gates? One computer replica of roundels Nos. 1 and 2, in accordance with the research carried out prior to the construction of the ring road around Kolín.
Author: Petr Vavrečka.
source: www.archaeo3d.com/en/lide-z-dlouhych-domu/stavitele-a-tezari/rondely---prvni-monumentalni-objekty-ve-stredni-evrope/

__________________________
updated kmz file attached to OP.

as listed:

-Slovakia: Kľačany, Prašník, Hosťovce, Kočín sites
___
source: www.cevnad.sav.sk/aktivita_1_1/slovenska_archeologia_2004_2.pdf

-Hungary: Ikervár site (cropmark visible on GE aerial, also overlay of the picture below is done for the site)

source: www.cevnad.sav.sk/aktivita_1_1/SZ_41.pdf

pity need to fix location of Klacany site.

updated kmz file attached to OP.

discovery of the recent past I have decided to sort here.

A series of Stone Age palisade enclosures have been discovered in Denmark in recent years and archaeologists are still wondering what they were used for.

One of the latest additions is a huge construction, discovered by archaeologists from the Museum Southeast Denmark. The fence dates from the Neolithic period and seems to frame an oval area of nearly 18,000 square meters.

“It was actually somewhat overwhelming to experience that it is possible to reveal the traces of such a huge building from the Neolithic period. There are many suggestions for what they could’ve been used for, but to put it simply, we just don’t know,” says archaeologist Pernille Rohde Sloth who leads the excavation.

full article and caption from source: sciencenordic.com/did-stone-age-people-build-large-labyrinth-denmark

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no visible features on aerial imagery - overlay added for this site:


updated kmz file attached to OP.

the time has come I needed to edit title as besides neolithic- also circular enclosures dated to the chalcolithic have been included by this update. (orange circle placemarks)

following quite good source blog I have managed to locate 6 objects of which 5 dated to the chalcolithic age. (example screenshot with kmz folder structure below)




furthermore 'Bronze age' and 'UK' subfolders have been born. (brown circle placemarks)

One day I plan to exclude there, until that
updated kmz file attached to OP.

Have found a good source* with useful kmz, so as all site positions could now be fixed and some more added to Neolithic/Slovakia subfolder.

Two examples:

Budmerice (Gidrafa)


Suchá nad Parnou (Szárazpatak)


*Article (Sk) by Ivan Kuzma also describes a rare glitch of imagery processing which must not be neglected browsing GE satellite imageries.

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Awesome 3D model (kmz) of Svodín enclosure available HERE!

The rondel (circular enclosure) was part of a lengyel culture settlement (late neolithic, 4800 BC) discovered by Viera Němejcová-Pavúková in 1971-1983.
It is The northwest and southwest gates are astronomically oriented to the high Moon.
Reconstruction by Peter Demján, Department of Archaeology, Comenius University, Bratislava (http://uniba.academia.edu/demjan)

my updated kmz collection is attached to OP.

there is a monster at vinga, romania

Apr 9, 2018 11:09:05 GMT syzygy said:

just have marked this site, only not sure about the dating:
one source says it is from the Bronze age, another mention it as Neolithic.

"The locality is not archaeologically explored. Only a sondage excavation was done, the findings suggested Neolithic dating. ... In addition to this, the size of formation speaks in favor of Neolithic dating (similar Bronze Age circular formations are generally smaller)."
source: www.vlasici.org.rs/kontakt/

any info on this, anyone?




source: www.arheo-amateri.rs/2016/11/neobicni-veliki-koncentricni-krugovi-snimljeni-nedaleko-od-vatina/

updated kmz file attached to OP.

thats at the bottom of the alibunar morass which supposedly had been a lake from the end of the ice age until it was drained during the era of photography.

note the parallel lines called the furrow of novac that the causeway from this rondel intersects with






and the huge enclosure that overlooks it from the deliblatska



seems to be the prototype for the architecture of the british neolithic with there cursus and rondels

Jul 16, 2018 17:38:50 GMT parta said:

there is a monster at vinga, romania
...

Hi and welcome parta!

thank you for interesting additions!
do you happen to know some sources for the one at Vinga? - was there any exploration works you know about? (dating?)

also you might be interested in other misc. spottings of mine I store there until exact ID.
most interestig for me would be the one by Aurélháza at >>45.668132°, 20.923356°<< / (imagery date: 10/30/2013) -any info on this?

thanks and all the best!
g

the excavation at vinga was on the hilltop just to the northwest of the rondel. they found a megaron. the megaron was within a star-shaped fortress which encircled the whole area [minus the rondel].
they also found a mammoth tooth.

the aurélháza site is very near the famous tell at uivar but also a turkish fortress mapped by the hapsburgs which defended the approach to timisoara. personally i think its a port structure related to the super massive [1800 hectares] bronze age village at cornesti.

peace

thanks further clues parta!

now I ask you here whether you know some about some other sites, but please answer in their own forum-thread! (placemarks for the locations below, also attached there)

47.484096°, 22.264718°
47.653817°, 22.330298°
47.717909°, 22.493567°
all by GE imagery date 5/22/2016

and a last one for now:

45.526039°, 20.872254° by imagery date 5/23/2016

thanks in advance, hoping you still around!
g

the other topic seems very formal. 

your ciumesti site is where the famous celtic bird helmet was found. maybe that is his home.


foeni is the type site of the foeni culture.

and the rondel with the huge ditch looks to me like an early medieval gord


here another 1 for you.
fortress - look left of the farm on the left to see the 4th wall and note its strange starish shape. investigator says its bronze age at the latest

watch out for the great avar ring [maybe vinga?]

thanks put these right, and for the one by Giurgita with really breath-taking outskirts!

I have outlined main ditches (line feature set in 'overlays, outlines' subfolder /off as default/) also put a mark to the bronze-age subfolder (updated kmz attached to OP).


---
sorry I am no expert and only have heard about Vinga site as hou have mentioned... no sondage or any fieldworks have been done you know about? -any further info would be interesting!

would you please give some other source for the "great avar ring" you try to find? (source of the alamy.photo or other -written- sources?)

all the best!

avar-bro (:

p.s.: what do you mean under my other topic seems "formal"? 

it is formal in that i think i might mess it up. i feel i sort of have messed this one up a bit. not so good with the tools am i.

the story the great Ring [from the monk of saint gall]:

CHARLEMAGNE AND THE AVARS

[47] STRIKING is the story which the early centuries of modern Europe have to tell us. After the era of the busy building of empire in which the sturdy old Romans were the active agents, there came an era of the overthrow of empire, during which the vast results of centuries of active civilization seemed about to sink and be lost in the seething whirlpool of barbarism. The wild hordes of the north of Europe overflowed the rich cities and smiling plains of the south, and left ruin where they found wealth and splendor. Later, the half-savage nomades of eastern Europe and northern Asia—the devastating Huns—poured out upon the budding kingdoms which had succeeded the mighty empire of Rome, and threatened to trample under foot all that was left of the work of long preceding ages. Civilization had swung downward into barbarism; was barbarism to swing downward into savagery, and man return to his primitive state?



Against such a conceivable fate of Europe Charlemagne served as a mighty bulwark, and built by his genius an impermeable wall against the torrent of savage invasion, saying to its inflowing waves, "Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther." Attila, the "Scourge of God," in the track of whose [48] horses' hoofs "no grass could grow," met his only great defeat at Châlons-sur-Marne, on the soil of Gaul. He died in Hungary; his hordes were scattered; Europe again began to breathe. But not long had the Huns of Attila ceased their devastations when another tribe of Hunnish origin appeared, and began a like career of ravage and ruin. These called themselves Avars. Small in numbers at first, they grew by vanquishing and amalgamating other tribes of Huns until they became the terror and threatened to become the masters of Europe. Hungary, the centre of Attila's great circle of power, was made their place of abode. Here was the palace and stronghold of their monarchs, the Chagans, and here they continued a threat to all the surrounding nations, while enjoying the vast spoils which they had wrung from ruined peoples.



Time passed on; civilization showed feeble signs of recovery; France and Italy became its abiding-places; but barbarian invasion still threatened these lands, and no security could be felt while the hordes of the north and east remained free to move at will. This was the task that Charlemagne was born to perform. Before his day the Huns of the east, the Saxons of the north, the Moors of the south kept the growing civilization of France in constant alarm. After his day aggression by land was at an end; only by sea could the north invade the south.



The record of the deeds of Charlemagne is a long one. The Saxons were conquered and incorporated [49] into the kingdom of the Franks. Then collision with the Avars took place. The story of how Charlemagne dealt with these savage hordes is one of the most interesting episodes in the extended tale of his wars, and we therefore select it for our present theme. The Avars had long been quiet, but now again began to stir, making two invasions, one of Lombardy, the other of Bavaria. Both were repelled. Stung by defeat, they raised a greater army than before, and in 788 crossed the Danube, determined in their savage souls to teach these proud Franks a lesson, and write on their land in blood the old story of the prowess and invincibility of the Huns. To their alarm and astonishment they found themselves not only checked, but utterly routed, thousands of them being left dead upon the field, and other thousands swallowed up by the Danube, in their wild effort to swim that swollen stream.



This brings us to the record of the dealings of Charlemagne with the Huns, who had thus dared to invade his far-extending kingdom. Vast had been the work of this mighty monarch in subduing the unquiet realms around him. Italy had been made a part of his dominions, Spain invaded and quieted, and the Saxons, the fiercest people of the north, forced to submit to the power of the Franks. Now the Avars of Hungary, the most dangerous of the remaining neighbors of Charlemagne's great empire, were to be dealt with.



During the two years succeeding their defeat, [50] overtures for peace passed between the Avars and Charlemagne, overtures which, perhaps, had their chief purpose in the desire to gain time to prepare for war.



These nomadic hordes were celebrated alike for their cunning and their arrogance,—cunning when they had an object to gain, arrogance when they had gained it. In their dealings with Charlemagne they displayed the same mixture of artfulness and insolence which they had employed in their dealings with the empire of the East. But they had now to do with a different man from the weak emperors of Constantinople. Charlemagne continued his negotiations, but prepared for hostilities, and in the spring of 791 put himself at the head of a powerful army, prepared to repay the barbarian hordes with some of the havoc which they had dealt out to the other nations of Europe.



It was no light task he had undertaken, and the great general made ready for it with the utmost care and deliberation. He was about to invade a country of great resources, of remarkable natural and artificial defences, and inhabited by a people celebrated for their fierceness and impetuosity, and who had hitherto known little besides victory. And he was to leave behind him in his march a kingdom full of unquiet elements, which needed the presence of his strong arm and quick mind to keep it in subjection. He knew not but that the Saxons might rise upon his march and spread ruin upon his path. There was one way to avoid this, and that he took. [51] Years before, he had incorporated the Lombards with his army, and found them to fight as valiantly for him as against him. He now did the same with the Saxons, drafting a large body of them into his ranks, with the double purpose of weakening the fighting power of the nation, and employing their fierce courage in his own service. All winter the world of the Franks was in commotion, preparing for war. The chroniclers of the times speak of "innumerable multitudes" which the great conqueror set in motion in the early spring.



The army marched in three grand divisions. One entered Bavaria, joined to itself recruits raised in that country, and descended the Danube in boats, which carried also an abundance of provisions and military stores. A second division, under Charlemagne himself, marched along the southern side of the river; and a third, under his generals Theoderic and Meginfried, along its northern banks. The emperor had besides sent orders to his son Pepin, king of Italy, bidding him to lead an army of Lombards and other Italians to the frontier of Hungary, and co-operate with the other troops.



Before telling the story of the expedition, it behooves us to give some account of the country which the king of the Franks was about to invade, and particularly to describe the extraordinary defences and interior conditions with which it is credited by the gossipy old Monk of St. Gall, the most entertaining, though hardly the most credible, writer of that period. All authors admit that the country [52] of the Avars was defended by an ingenious and singular system of fortifications. The account we propose to give, the Monk of St. Gall declares that he wrote down from the words of an eye-witness, Adelbart by name, who took part in the expedition. But one cannot help thinking that either this eye-witness mingled a strong infusion of imagination with his vision, or that the monk added fiction to his facts, with the laudable purpose of making an attractive story. Such as it is, we give it, without further comment.



Nine concentric circles of palisaded walls, says the garrulous old monk, surrounded the country of the Avars, the outer one enclosing the entire realm of Hungary, the inner ones growing successively smaller, the innermost being the central fortification within which dwelt the Chagan, with his palace and his treasures. These walls were made of double rows of palisades of oak, beech, and pine logs, twenty feet high and twenty feet asunder, the interval between them being filled with stone and lime. Thus was formed a great wall, which at a distance must have presented a singular appearance, since the top was covered with soil and planted with bushes and trees.



The outermost wall surrounded the whole country. Within it, at a distance of twenty Teutonic, or forty Italian, miles, was a second, of smaller diameter, but constructed in the same manner. At an equal distance inward was a third, and thus they continued inward, fortress after fortress, to the [53] number of nine, the outer one rivalling the Chinese wall in extent, the inner one—the ring, as it was called—being of small diameter, and enclosing a central space within which the Avars guarded the accumulated wealth of centuries of conquest and plunder.



The only places of exit from these great palisaded fortifications were very narrow gates, or sally-ports, opening at proper intervals, and well guarded by armed sentinels. The space between the successive ramparts was a well-wooded and thickly-settled country, filled with villages and homesteads, so close together that the sound of a trumpet could be heard from one to the other, and thus an alarm from the exterior be conveyed with remarkable rapidity throughout the whole land.



This and more the veracious Monk of St. Gall tells us. As to believing him, that is quite another matter. Sufficient is told by other writers to convince us that the country was guarded by strong and singular defences, but the nine concentric circles of breastworks, surpassing the Chinese wall in length and size, the reader is quite privileged to doubt.



Certainly the defences failed to check the advance of the army of Charlemagne. Though he had begun his march in the spring, so extensive were his preparations that it was September before he reached the banks of the river Enns, the border line between Bavaria and Hungary. Here the army encamped for three days, engaged in prayers for victory, and here encouraging news came to Charlemagne. His [54] son Pepin, with the Duke of Friuli, had already invaded Hungary, met an army of the Avars, and defeated it with great slaughter. The news of this success must have invigorated the army under Charlemagne. Breaking camp, they invaded the country of the Avars, advancing with the usual impetuosity of their great leader. One after another the Hungarian lines of defence were taken, until three had fallen, while the country between them was laid waste. No army appeared in the path of the invaders; sword in hand, Charlemagne assailed and broke through the strong walls of his foes; soon he reached the river Raab, which he followed to its junction with the Danube.



Until now all had promised complete success. Those frightful Huns, who had so long kept Europe in terror, seemed about to be subdued and made subjects of the great monarch of the Franks. But, through that fatality which so often ruins the best-laid plans of men, Charlemagne suddenly found himself in a perilous and critical situation. His army was composed almost wholly of cavalry. As he lay encamped by the Danube, a deadly pestilence attacked the horses, and swept them off with such rapidity that a hasty retreat became necessary. Nine-tenths of the horses had perished before the retiring army reached Bavaria. Good fortune, however, attended the retreat. Had the Avars recovered from the panic into which their successive defeats had thrown them, they might have taken a disastrous revenge upon the invaders. But as it [55] was, Charlemagne succeeded in retiring without being attacked, and was able to take with him the valuable booty and the host of prisoners which were the trophies of his victorious progress.



He fully intended to return and complete the conquest of Hungary in the spring, and, to facilitate his advance, had a bridge of boats constructed, during the winter, across the Danube. He never returned, as it happened. Circumstances hindered. But in 794 his subject, the margrave Eric, Duke of Friuli, again invaded Hungary, which had in the interval been exhausted by civil wars. All the defences of the Avars went down before him, and his victorious troops penetrated to that inner fortress, called the Ring, which so long had been the boasted stronghold of the Chagans, and within whose confines were gathered the vast treasures which the conquering hordes had accumulated during centuries of victory and plunder, together with the great wealth in gold and silver coin which they had wrung by way of tribute from the weak rulers of the Eastern Empire. A conception of the extent of this spoil may be gathered from the fact that the Greek emperor during the seventh century paid the Avars annually as tribute eighty thousand gold solidi, and that on a single occasion the Emperor Heraclius was forced to pay them an equal sum.



In a nation that had made any progress towards civilization this wealth would have been distributed and perhaps dissipated. But the only use which the half-savage Avars seem to have found for it [56] was to store it up as spoil. For centuries it had been accumulating within the treasure-house of the Ring, in convenient form to be seized and borne away by the conquering army which now broke into this long-defiant stronghold. The great bulk of this wealth, consisting of gold and silver coin, vessels of the precious metals, garments of great value, rich weapons and ornaments, jewels of priceless worth, and innumerable other articles, was taken to Aix-la-Chapelle, and laid at the feet of Charlemagne, to be disposed of as he saw fit. So extensive was it, that, as we are told, fifteen wagons, each drawn by four oxen, were needed to convey it to the capital of the mighty emperor.



Charlemagne dealt with it in a very different manner from that pursued by the monarchs of the Avars. He distributed it with a liberal hand, the church receiving valuable donations, including some of the most splendid objects, a large share being set aside for the pope, and most of the balance being given to the poor and to the royal officers, nobles, and soldiers. The amount thus divided was so great that, as we are told, the nation of the Franks "became rich, whereas they had been poor before." That treasure which the barbarian invaders had been centuries in collecting from the nations of Europe was in a few months again scattered far and wide.



Eric's invasion was followed by one from Pepin, king of Italy, who in his turn entered the Ring, took the wealth which Eric's raiders had left, demolished [57] the palace of the Chagan, and completely destroyed the central stronghold of the Avars. They were not, however, fully subdued. Risings afterwards took place, invading armies were destroyed, and not until 803 was a permanent conquest made. The Avars in the end accepted baptism and held themselves as vassals or subjects of the great Frankish monarch, who permitted them to retain some of their old laws and governmental forms. At a subsequent date they were nearly exterminated by the Moravians, and after the year 827 this once powerful people disappear from history. Part of their realm was incorporated with Moravia, and remained so until the incursion of the Magyars in 884.



As regards the location of the Ring, or central stronghold of the Avars, it is believed to have been in the wide plain between the Danube and the Theiss, the probable site being the Pusste-Sarto-Sar, on the right of the Tatar. Traces of the wonderful circular wall, or of the palisaded and earth-filled fortifications of the Avars, are said still to exist in this locality. They are known as Avarian Rings, and in a measure sustain the old stories told of them, though hardly that of the legend-loving Monk of St. Gall and his romancing informant.

i used to fancy attilas tomb being in the mures river at arad. its a really easy place to divert a pretty big river and plant a tomb in the river bed.

peace

ps. i have a few more killer sites and i will learn to use the tools. 

ugh, thanks!

next time a simple link to source page (with a shorter quotation highlighting the essence) would be fine! (also by now you can edit your reply)
(btw, every time you should to give link to source URL in your contributions. / if it is from a printed book (no URL available), then I usually give ISBN number as credit, besides title and author of course)

very interesting things you know about parta!

glad to see you around!

waiting for further additions to these forums by you!*

best!
g


*until that: do you happen to know some about these in Hungary:
(two more other suspicious locations from my misc. archaeological findings post.)

47.437725°, 17.146390°

46.058080°, 18.484552°

Jul 27, 2018 19:13:34 GMT parta said:

... i have a few more killer sites and i will learn to use the tools.

just cannot wait, any "tools" you must to deal with and anyhow you mean "killer site"! (;

The Neolithic village Passo di Corvo (Crow's Pass), with its 40 hectares, is one of the largest and oldest in Europe, dating from the sixth to the fourth millennium BC.

It was discovered more by chance in aerial photographs of the Royal Air Force in 1943.

The excavations carried out in the post-war period have brought to light one of the largest entrenched villages of the Tavoliere, inside which some "C" ditches have been discovered, used for the drainage of the land around the individual houses, traces of wells for the collection of the 'water, of various housing units with related objects related to daily life and worship. These findings, together with the acquired knowledge, have allowed the scholars to reconstruct on a real-scale site of the activities of the families who lived here between 6000 and 5000 years ago.

The archaeological area is considered by the scholars to be the cradle of agriculture in Italy, arrived from the populations of the Middle East, who exploited the fertility of the Tavoliere.

Attachments:

Passo di Corvo.kmz (700 B)

Aug 13, 2018 0:08:29 GMT willi1 said:

The Neolithic village Passo di Corvo (Crow's Pass), ...

Many thanks for great neolithic site 'Crow's Pass', soon I will add also to Neolithic Settlements thread!

Since I have spotted a rondel-like structure within boundaries of the neolithic settlement, your contribution fits also this one!



check rondel by coordinates >>41.560833°, 15.605671°<< at imagery date 12/23/2005


placemark for the object has been added to updated kmz file, attached to OP.

not long ago I happened to peep into the Melichar-Neubauer Catalogue, so could update Neolithic/Austria folder with 10+ placemarks. 
(also 2 more from Slovakia -both visible on imagery- by another source - reference given in kmz)
placemarks set to best-view imagery dates, by next update overlays will be included as well.

updated kmz file attached to OP.

3 more from the Czech Republic have been placemarked, one overlay also added. (145 marks, 32 overlays by now)


Mohelno “Šibenice field”. The rondel of the Moravian Painted Ware Culture, phase Ia. (source)

***
updated KMZ file attached to OP.

Belleben (Germany, Saxony-Anhalt) has several neolithic circular enclosures. Belleben 1 and Belleben 2 date from the late phase of the Baalberge Group and were dated

by radiocarbon dating to 3640-3370 cal. BC.

The plants were superimposed by Bronze and Iron Age settlements.
Belleben 3 was classified late Bronze Age (about 1420-970 cal. BC).

The Lodderstedt 1 site was recently discovered and has not yet been archaeologically documented, but it is believed to have originated in the Early Neolithic.

Other Neolithic settlements (Belleben 4, Gerbstedt) are suspected, but are not yet localized.

(Overlay source monument.ufg.uni-kiel)

Attachments:

Belleben.kmz (173.55 KB)

This neolithic circular enclosure near Schönebeck (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) comes from the Early Bronze Age Aunjetitzer culture. By means of radiocarbon method they could be dated to 2150-1740 cal. BC.

In the historic layer from GE can bee seen the excavations for exploration of the plant.

For 2019, a reconstruction of this system analogous to that of Pömmelte (included in the KMZ collection) is provided. Pömmelte is only about 1300 meters away.

Attachments:

Schnebeck.kmz (766 B)

Not only the two more rondels from Portugal (with overlay), but some new spottings from Africa, which are present some similarities with them made me doing this update reply.

'sinuous rondel' from Portugal:



sinuous rondel (?!) from Africa:





Updated kmz attached to OP. - (For African rondelloids click on 2nd link above! - Until we have no further info about these I keep them excluded from this collection.)

When was the main KMZ file last updated?

I've switched to KML almost exclusively.  I now edit the KML files in a text editor so I have complete control of the code.  With my own domain, jqjacobs.net, I can easily host images, so no KMZ required.  It is quite handy to have a KML open in a text editor with search, find and replace, and other such functions.

Oct 5, 2021 14:28:14 GMT archaeo said:

When was the main KMZ file last updated?

...

Was a long ago, at 23.Mar.2020. By that time it was pretty complete, now an other look-around is should to be done...

Yep - by big amount of data it is much easier to handle KML databases with a text editor. By this one and others with quite a small number of placemarks and overlays I stay in GE kmz editor panel. Of course broken (image) links would have to be revised periodically - pain, I have not that amount of free time besides my office duties to keep searching for such errors simultaneously all in my collections...

I feel my time isn't going to go to waste when I embed images from the Web Archive.  Also, Wikimedia Commons should be a stable source, so I use it directly.  You can add pages to the Web Archive as needed.

By this update I have added a new folder. Without any further comments, these are suspicious rondel-sites with no informations I could dig up so far about them.

Example site:


Kurgan group with rondel-like concentric structure around the main tumulus, that also can be a "simple" multiple ditch system, built with the mound itself. It would be uncommon, still it is conceivable...


Opening kmz, you find this set of placemarks as red circles. 

--

Updated kmz file attached to OP.
Note: Some (all) of these might be found in other placemark sets as well, e.g. in the "burial mounds-" or "my archaeology" collections.

Stumbled upon this article today via Twitter feed:

Twenty-five years after discovery of 'Polish Stonehenge' we now know about 20 other such structures
scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C96705%2Ctwenty-five-years-after-discovery-polish-stonehenge-we-now-know-about-20-other-such

Made a few placemarks:
sier1 Sieroszów Roundel I 50.621712 16.894927
sier2 Sieroszów Roundel II 50.625551 16.898367
zabar Zabardowice Roundel 50.943952 17.219903
drzer Drzemlikowice Roundel 50.882430 17.236633
lysor Lysomice Roundel 53.098286 18.611568
tylir Tylice Roundel 53.118154 18.674265
rapir Rąpice Roundel 52.117504 14.716376