Does the forge of the Nebra Sky Disc lie at the bottom of the Sweet Lake?

Topic: Does the forge of the Nebra Sky Disk lie at the bottom of the Sweet Lake’

Speakers: Prof. Thomas Rauschenbach, Fraunhofer IOSB-AST Ilmenau, Head of Department Underwater Robotics and Sven Thomas, State Institute for Monument Preservation and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt

Time: Friday, 24.05.2024. 2024, 15:00 h

Place: TU Ilmenau, Faradaybau, Weimarer Straße 32

Admission: 5 Euro

In the Sweet Lake near Eisleben, archaeologists using state-of-the-art underwater robots have discovered a Bronze Age burial site over 3000 years old and the remains of a medieval settlement from the 11th to 15th centuries. The archaeologists assume that the lake around 20 kilometers west of Halle was still largely dry 3,000 years ago and gradually filled with water until the 15th century. A special 3D underwater laser was used for the first time in Germany for the archaeological exploration under the most difficult viewing conditions. This made it possible to record not only individual pile dwellings, but also entire structures.

In their lecture at the TU Ilmenau Bürgercampus, Prof. Thomas Rauschenbach, head of the underwater robotics department at the Fraunhofer IOSB in Ilmenau, and Dr. Sven Thomas, archaeologist at the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeology, will immerse the audience in the world of underwater research. The exciting presentation will focus on the use of underwater robots from Ilmenau for archaeology. In another lake, Lake Arendsee, the archaeologists used two underwater robots to discover fishing fences with an age of 4600 years. Using specially developed underwater cameras, they systematically explored and documented 25 sites in Saxony-Anhalt’s largest natural lake, which is up to 53 meters deep. The lecture not only provides deep insights into the exciting underwater expeditions, but also into the harsh conditions that the archaeologists have to deal with.