Translations by: Dirk Steinforth
Felix Biermann, Normen Posselt, Robert Prust
The medieval Erdstall of Helfta in Mansfeld Land and similar underground structures in Central Germany
In 2022, an Erdstall was recorded during excavations in a medieval fortified settlement centre near Helfta, a municipality of Lutherstadt Eisleben, district Mansfeld-Südharz, Saxony-Anhalt, which dates from the thirteenth or the first half of the fourteenth century. The structure had been dug into the loess and is only partially uncovered to date; it does, however, add an instructive example to the Erdstall region in Central Germany.
This article first presents the Erdstall in Helfta and its material finds. Then, similar structures in Central Germany and particularly in the area of the Harz Mountains are discussed regarding their shapes and dating as well as their interpretation during a research history that reaches back to the eighteenth century. Finally, attention is given to the controversial question of the function of the Erdställe. Both in Helfta and in other Central German structures, there are no indications that they were used for cultic-religious purposes; rather, evidence suggests that they were places of refuge that were used in moments of danger.
Otto Cichocki
Erdstall research in Lower Austria in 2024/25
The continuation of the excavations in Eggenburg revealed a 90° bend in the passage leading to the town wall; this makes the hypothesis of a mining corridor implausible.
In Dürnkrut, we reconstructed the remains of the Erdstall. Like in Fistritz, its owner in an exemplary way had created a permanent entry to facilitate further research.
In Fistritz, both a photogrammetric 3D reconstruction and a laser scan of the Erdstall were made.
Ralf Keller
Three Erdställe revisited: Hundsruck, Zinkenried, and Kleinwiesen.
Results of the conference excursion 2024 in Lower Bavaria
During the annual conference of the Arbeitskreis für Erdstallforschung (Work Group for Erdstall Research) in 2024, three underground structures were visited. This article summarises the latest findings and issues that arose among Erdstall researchers during the on-site examinations and subsequent discussions. The 3D surveys carried out on that occasion allowed a detailed documentation and a comparison with existing records of the layouts.
Heike Gems-Müller
Erdställe in written sources of the High Middle Ages
As both conclusive archaeological evidence and written sources regarding the creation and purpose of Erdställe are largely absent, hypotheses about the original functions of Erdställe cannot be confirmed or refuted, regardless of their plausibility. While due to numerous age determinations of datable finds, the use of Erdställe may now be dated with a high degree of probability to the High Middle Ages, the search for records referring to Erdställe in medieval written texts has met with little success to date. Why are the sources silent? And what significance has the testimony of three thirteenth-century authors, who in their writings mention places that possibly could be Erdställe?
Martin Müller
An Erdstall in Großostheim (Lower Franconia)
Several underground passage systems have survived in the loess soil of the historic town centre of Großostheim (district Aschaffenburg). Among them is an Erdstall with multiple bends in its passage, a slip hole, and a terminal chamber that features five side niches.
This article contrasts the formerly only documentation from 1934 with photos, examinations, and surveys from recent years and compares characteristic architectural details of the Erdstall. There still is a need for research particularly regarding the former entrance area and the terminal chamber.
Heike Gems-Müller, Josef Weichenberger
The terminal chamber of Erdställe
Anyone following the structure of an Erdstall in its main direction usually will end up in a special room: the terminal chamber. The way there is fraught with many obstacles, such as winding passages, narrow slip holes, and inclines. Having arrived in the terminal chamber, the visitor will often find benches and niches for seating that have been hewn out of the rock of the chamber’s walls.
This article investigates the characteristics of terminal chambers, particularly regarding their shapes, dimensions, positions, and furnishings, by means of the layouts of Erdställe and the analysis of statistically recorded features. Based on the results of this study, it is going to assess the suitability of terminal chambers as places of refuge for people seeking shelter.
Werner Breuherr
Functional components of Erdställe for grain storage
The Middle Ages were a phase of important agricultural advancements. The introduction of the three-field system, improved plough designs, and a larger variety in cultivation led to higher yields and thus to new challenges for the storage of grain. This article supports the hypothesis that during this period the classic grain pits also were developed in shape and transformed into Erdställe, before dry storage above ground became predominant.
While two earlier articles investigated the organisation of circular Erdställe and their storage conditions, this third contribution addresses other types of Erdställe that were used for the storage of grain. Special attention is paid to the different methods for air exclusion as well as the architectural elements and their functional interplay. The aim is the creation of a compendium to facilitate the identification of Erdställe, beginning with the grain stores.
Werner Breuherr
Of angels and women.
Erdställe as testimony of Christian popular piety
While many Erdställe in loess and crystalline rock may well be understood as functional constructions, many structures, mainly in Altbayern and adjacent Upper Austria, turned out as considerably harder to read. Characteristic is the inaccessibility that impedes practical use and makes an interpretation as storage space improbable. Distinguishing features indicating that Erdställe were used for the storage of grain are largely missing, while seemingly “purpose-free” elements attract attention, such as chambers with a sacral appearance; in addition, these Erdställe often occur underneath churches.
Against this background, this article presents an interpretation that understands the design of these Erdställe as a Christian symbolic motif of the Holy Sepulchre. The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 1009 and as a consequence became increasingly prominent in the consciousness of the Christian world. In the following centuries, numerous imitations emerged throughout Europe – perhaps the Erdställe in question are part of this phenomenon as well.
Martin Müller
The Erdställe in North-Western Bavaria – compilation and classification
In the past, dozens of very different underground structures in Lower Franconia, the administrative region in the north-west of Bavaria, have been called Erdställe. On this issue, this article compiles and presents information taken from various sources, including unpublished ones. Furthermore, all structures are appraised evaluated to determine the extent to which they can be considered Erdställe from the perspective of current research.
Interview by Otto Cichocki with Lois Ullmann
The cellar digger
In Niederkreuzstetten in Lower Austria’s Weinviertel (‘wine quarter’), Alois Ullmann has his home. His hobbies are very diverse: a long time ago, for one, he began to connect several Kellerröhren (underground tubular wine cellars) on his property and to enlarge them with new rooms that he dug himself. The experiences he won from his excavations are of particular interest to Erdstall researchers, as his new passages – leading down into the ground, narrow and twisting – to some extent are quite similar to an Erdstall. Some of the mined material is used by Alois to revet the cellar extensions; in one place, it is rich in interesting microfossils (teeth, vertebrae, otoliths of fish…). In the new sections of his cellars, Alois exhibits the fossils he found himself as well as archaeological artefacts. As certified Kellergassenführer (‘cellar lane guide’), he is happy to show his treasures to visitors and to invite them to a glass of wine in his underground realm.