DE-BW-03

Aerial view of the site area and the nature preserve Hornspitze-Höri peninsula © O. Braasch/ Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden Württemberg im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart

  Gaienhofen  |     Hornstaad Hornle

Short description
The site was discovered between 1856 and 1857 by M. Koch, and is the reference site of the “Hornstaad Group”. The site was examined by the Baden-Württemberg Department of Antiquities and Monuments as early as 1973, and intensively studied from 1982-1993, in the context of a Priority Program of the German Research Foundation. Hornstaad-Hörnle is one of the longest and best studied pile dwelling sites around the Lake of Constance. Altogether, five settlement areas were identified, that include sites associated with the Pfyner and the Horgen cultures.

Neolithic

3918-3902 B.C., 3870-3862 B.C., 3586-3507 B.C. and 3176-2690 B.C.

Lake of Constance "Untersee"

395 m.a.s.l.

Size of the site 13,1 ha / approx. 18 soccer pitches

Size of the bufferzone 85,5 ha / approx. 120 soccer pitches

Special features & Highlights
The site contains excellently preserved textiles and organic materials, and the artifacts tell of wide ranging bartering and trading relationships with settlements in Bavaria, Italy and Northwestern Europe.

Dagger point made of imported Rijkholt flint from the Netherlands © M. Erne/ Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden Württemberg im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart

Current activities
Parts of the site were covered by a layer of gravel, for protection. The site is regularly monitored and controlled by the Baden-Württemberg Department of Antiquities and Monuments.

Pile dwellings up-close
An infopanel is set up at Hornstaader Straße, 78343 Gaienhofen.
further information