The Lyre From Grave 58 at Trossingen and Its Owner

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Von der Leier aus Grab 58 von Trossingen haben sichneben dem vollstndigen Resonanzkrper und seinerDeckplatte auch der Steg und die Wirbel erhalten.Der Austausch von Wirbeln, aber auch Reparatur-und Abnutzungsspuren lassen erkennen, dass dasInstrument ber einen lngeren Zeitraum gespieltwurde. Die vollstndige Verzierung der Leier durchfeine Schnitzlinien ist bisher einzigartig. Die Vorder-seite ziert eine figrliche Szene aus zwei Gruppen vonje sechs Kriegern, zwischen denen sich eine aufge-pflanzte Lanze befindet. Sie lag im linken Arm eines3040 jhrigen Mannes, der nach verschiedenenDendrodaten im Jahr 580 bestattet worden sein muss.Die Platzierung im Grab spricht fr eine persnlicheBeziehung des Bestatteten zum Instrument. Aufflligist die Lage des Schwertes im rechten Arm des Man-nes als Pendant zur Leier. Bewaffnung und brigeBeigaben, wie kostbare gedrechselte Mbel, kenn-zeichnen ihn als berittenen Krieger, der in seinerGemeinschaft eine fhrende Rolle gespielt hat. Eineentsprechende soziale Stellung scheinen auch dieToten aus den brigen bekannten Leiergrbern ausSkandinavien und vom Kontinent besessen zu haben.Anders sieht es im angelschsischen England aus, woLeiern als Beigaben mit erheblichem Sozialprestige inKnigsgrbern auftauchen, aber auch in vergleichs-weise bescheiden ausgestatteten Mnnergrbern.

The Merovingian cemeteries of Oberflacht1, Tros-singen2, and Neudingen3, famous for their woodenartefacts, are concentrated in a small area betweenthe Black Forest and the Swabian Jura. The geologi-cal formation of the Black Jura in combination witha high water table provides excellent conditions forwood preservation in this region (Fig. 1).

1 EXCAVATION

In 2001/2 archaeological investigation5 of thelong-known Merovingian cemetery at the former

site of the Hohner musical instrument factory atTrossingen6, uncovered 12 additional graves, ofwhich number 58 is the deepest and richest so fardiscovered. The fat and heavy clay-subsoil whichled to such excellent wood preservation made theexcavation itself difficult.

Because of bad weather conditions at the endof the year, it was decided to bring the main part ofthe grave in one block to the laboratories of thearchaeological services, where the burial of a manwas uncovered.

The wooden chamber contained a bed, whichwas covered by a wooden roof, of which the ridgetook the form of a snake. Outside of the bed wereplaced different pieces of furniture and tableware:a chair, a three-legged table, a candleholder, a flask,a bowl and a plate. The space between grave cham-ber and bed was filled with weaponry as well, con-sisting of a lance, a shield, a bow and probably partof a saddle. Inside the bed coffin was found acomb beside the mans head; the sword was placedin his right and the lyre in his left arm (Fig. 2ac).

2 CONSERVATION AND RESTO-RATION, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Particular emphasis was placed on documentationand conservation of textiles7. The man was dressedin a tunic and linen trousers with leather strapsaround his calves. A coat or plaid of red and yel-low wool was laid over his body. The unique,complicated fabric was probably imported fromthe Mediterranean area.

1 Paulsen 1992; Schiek 1992.2 Damm 1994; Theune-Grokopf 2004; Theune-Grokopf

2006a; Theune-Grokopf 2006b.3 Brendle 2005.5 Klug-Treppe 2002; Ebhard-Beinhorn/Nowak 2002; Theu-

ne-Grokopf 2002.6 Buchta-Hohm 1996, 121122.7 Ebhard-Beinhorn/Nowak 2002; Peek/Nowak 2003; Theu-

ne-Grokopf 2006a, 279280.

Warrior and MusicianThe Lyre from Grave 58 at Trossingen and its Owner

Barbara Theune-Grokopf

Examination of the skeleton revealed a thirty-to forty-year-old male with a height of 1.78 m. TheDNA analysis was unfortunately unsuccessful. Astable isotope analysis to detect where the mangrew up and where he lived the last years of his lifeis on the way; results are expected at the end of theyear8.

One of the main issues still in progress is thecleaning, preparation, conservation and restora-tion of the different wooden objects9. Finding thebest conservation method is essential for goodresults. The reason why most earlier finds weredestroyed is that wooden artefacts from gravesgenerally come from a wet environment, and theircapillaries are filled with water. When let dry in theair which was done until the sixties of the 20th

century they will shrink and deform. To avoid deformation of water-logged wooden

artefacts you have to substitute the water andimpregnate the object with a glucose compound tostabilize the capillaries. After freeze-drying(lyophilisation) the artefact is in a stable form.This conservation treatment provided excellentresults for the Trossingen artefacts.

Dendro-analysis10 (annual-ring dating) wasperformed on the three oak floorboards of theburial chamber, the beech roofboards of the bedcoffin and the oak candleholder. According to theresults the man from grave 58 was buried betweenMay and June in A.D. 580.

3 GRAVE GOODS

The sword, still in its wooden scabbard, is decorat-ed with silver inlay on its pommel-plate and cross-guard. This being the most widespread 7th centurytype of sword11, it must have been ultra-modern atthe time of the burial in A.D. 580.

The lance was completely preserved with itsiron spearhead12 and wooden hafting made ofhazel. With a total length of 3.60 m the lance didntfit into the grave, so the shaft had to be cut in half.The enormous length tells us that it must havebeen a horsemans weapon. A further indicationthat we are dealing with an horsemans grave is awooden saddle bow. His weaponry is completedby a shield and a bow. It should be mentioned thatalmost all metal mounts and fittings, like the shieldboss, are missing. This was probably caused by theacid soil.

For his afterlife the deceased was providedwith a chair with a decorative backrest13. All thelathe-turned parts, chair legs and balusters, weremade of maple; the structural parts like cross-beams were made of ash. Another find was a lathe-turned three-legged table with a round table-top14,the table-top being of maple, the legs of ash. The

furniture was accompanied by a flask, a plate and acandleholder. A bone comb lay beside his head; a(water) bowl stood under the bed.

4 THE LYRE (Fig. 3ab)

The most important of the grave goods is thelyre15, complete in almost all respects with sound-box and cover both parts made of maple. Drilledin the cover are 8 sound holes in the middle of thebody, and one in each arm. Yoke and arms andsound-box are made in one piece. The bridge withseven notches16 and the tuning pegs are alsopreserved. The six pegs17 indicate a six-stringedinstrument.

Comparing it with the 6th and 7th century lyresfrom the Sutton Hoo ship burial, the graves 37 and84 at Oberflacht and grave P/100 beneath St. Sev-erins Church18 in Cologne and the recent findfrom Prittlewell19, the Trossingen lyre representsthe familiar model of the time, but with an out-standing preservation.

It is the first time that the bridge was found inconnection with the lyre body, and it is the earliestwooden bridge as well20. The lyre was turned facedown, the bridge under the lyre in almost the cor-rect position. This indicates that the instrumentwas stringed when buried with the man. Maybe itwas contained in a bag. The material used for thebridge is willow (Fig. 4). Until now the knownbridges were mostly made of bone, antler or

8 Studies conducted by J. Wahl, Landesamt fr Denk-malpflege im Regierungsprsidium Stuttgart, ArbeitsstelleKonstanz, Osteologie. The recently provided results showthat he belonged to the local population.

9 Conservation and restoration conducted by Konservie-rungslabor Potthast/Riens, Konstanz.

10 Data raised by W. Tegel, Landesamt fr Denkmalpflege imRegierungsprsidium Stuttgart, Arbeitsstelle Hemmen-hofen, Dendrochronologisches Labor.

11 Menghin 1983, 77 (groupe E).12 Spearhead of the type Trier A4: Bhner 1958, 148149,

Pl. 28. 49; Koch 1990, 182.13 Similar are the chairs from a grave of a young boy in the

Dome of Cologne and from the graves 84 and 92 at Ober-flacht: Doppelfeld 1964, 181183, Figs. 17, 2ac; Schiek1992, 55, 61, Pl. 60, 65. 1, 66. 113; Paulsen 1992, 6467.7581.

14 A similar table was found in grave 80 at Oberflacht:Paulsen 1992, 83, Fig. 72; Schiek 1992, 52, Pl. 52. 2.

15 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 102112, Fig. 8, 9.16 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 104, Fig. 10c, 15.17 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 103, Fig. 10a, 16, 14.18 Bischop 2002a, Liste 240241, No. 9, 12, 13, 14; Bischop

2002b, Liste 226227, No. 9, 12, 13, 14.19 Hirst et al. 2004, 22, 37.20 There is a 10th century 6-string bridge from York: Bischop

2002a; 2002b, 228; Morris 2000, 23552357, Fig. 1161; twowooden bridges from the 13th century are known fromGamlebyen, Oslo. The one with seven notches is very sim-ilar to the Trossingen bridge: Kolltveit 1997, 6970, Fig. 1.

Barbara Theune-Grokopf218

bronze. It is interesting to see that the bridge hasseven notches, obviously one more than necessaryfor the six strings.

The tuning pegs were plugged in from the rear,the slits for the strings being on the front side. Theheads of the pegs are of different shapes and mate-rials (Fig. 5ab), two made of hazel wood and fourof ash. This seems to be a clear indication that theinstrument was really played and that at somepoint the broken pegs had to be replaced proba-bly the original craftsman was not at hand21.

Another sign of wear and repair is the unequalabrasion of the two lyre arms. The incised decora-tion of the right lyre arm seen from the instru-ment is still sharp-edged, while the decoration ofthe left arm is flat and abraded. This applies to theedges as well (Fig. 6ab). At the end of the rightarm the cover was fixed to the body by iron nails.These are secondary attachments; originally theparts were glued with animal glue22.

The distinctive abrasion of the left lyre arm is astrong indication that the instrument was playedby a right handed person. It must have been thesame holding-position as shown in many medievalmanuscripts. Two fragments of leather strapsaround the lower ends of the lyre arms are evi-dence of wrist-straps as shown in the 8th centuryCassiodorus Manuscript in Durham CathedralLibrary23. The putative straps of the Anglo-Saxonlyres from Bergh Apton24 and Snape25 actuallyreceive their first Continental archaeological cor-roboration26.

The Trossingen lyre is not only completelypreserved, but completely decorated. The decora-tion was incised with a very sharp knife. The cutlines were filled with charcoal to contrast with thelight background of the maple wood27 (Fig. 7ab).The decoration portrays on the front side twogroups of warriors between which stands a lancewith small flags hanging from the spearhead. Botharms and the back of the instrument bear orna-ments, which comprise numerous, varied, inter-laced bands in Germanic animal style II28. Thewarrior scene is related to the warrior processionson the helmets of the Scandinavian ship burials ofVendel and Valsgrde from the 6th/7th century29.The number of the twelve warriors is similar, aswell as their weaponry with downward-pointinglances and round shields.

The lance and banner lance are well knownfrom archaeological evidence and iconographicalsources to be a symbol of leadership and powerboth in mythology and in a secular context. Itmay represent Wotan, Christ or any Germanicchief. It is most likely that an oath-swearing cere-mony is depicted, but whether a religious or aprofane meaning was intended cannot be deter-mined30.

5 THE MAN

Although the conservation of the ensemble ofgrave 58 from Trossingen is not yet completelyfinished and although some metal artefacts mighthave been destroyed by the acid soil, we are able todraft a picture of the man who was buried there.

The weaponry characterises him as a warrior;the saddle and riders lance as an horseman. Theimage of the riding nobleman equipped with sword,lance and round shield is a well known theme in thecontemporary Germanic art and was especiallypopular in Alamannia31 (Fig. 8). His high social sta-tus is confirmed by his lathe-turned furniture, espe-cially his big chair which would have provided himwith the equipment to preside at the banquet32.Furthermore he was wearing precious clothesimported from the Mediterranean. Grave 58 is sofar the most wealthy burial in the Trossingen ceme-tery so the man buried there must have been aleading person in this/his community33.

But he also presents himself as a musician. Theposition of the instrument inside the bed coffin, inhis left arm and on the side opposite the sword,shows that he must have had a personal relation-ship to the lyre34. The signs of wear and repair atthe instrument indicate that it was not only a sta-tus symbol, but also really played and used.

6 BURIALS WITH LYRES

So far ten early medieval burials furnished withlyres dating between the 5th and 8th century areknown, in which the position of the instrument isclose to the deceased35 reflecting probably an

21 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 103, 109110.22 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 103, 110, Fig. 12.23 Psalter MS.B.II.30, fol.81.verso, Durham Cathedral

Library; Lawson 1981, 241, Fig. 8; Salmen 2006, 403404.24 Lawson 1978, 9295, Figs. 106108.25 Filmer-Sankey/Pestell 2001, 7579, Fig. 101103; Lawson

2001, 217218, Figs. 140141.26 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 103, Figs. 9a, 13.27 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 113, Fig. 18ab.28 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 113120.29 Valsgrde grave 7: Arwidsson 1977, 23.120; Bhner 1991,

721. Vendel grave 14: Stolpe 1912, Pl. 49,1.30 Theune-Grokopf 2006b, 134135. The procession theme

itself was adopted from Late Antique Christian icono-graphy: Theune-Grokopf 2005, 311313; Theune-Gro-kopf 2006b,135138.

31 Quast 2002, 275, 277, Liste d) Fig. 2. 1, 45.32 Grodde 1989, 4546; Schn 2000, 235; Capelle 2002, 116.33 Theune-Grokopf 2006a.34 Lawson 2001, 221; Bischop 2002b, 223224.35 Bischop 2002b, No. 3 Abingdon, No. 6 Bergh Apton, No.

7 Morning Thorpe, No. 8 Snape, No. 9 Oberflacht grave84, No. 10 Schlotheim, No. 13 Oberflacht grave 37, No. 14Kln, No. 17 Broa I Halla, No. 26 Trossingen; Lawson2001, 221.

Warrior and Musician 219

intimate relationship. They came from Scandi-navia, Anglo-Saxon England and from the Mero-vingian continent.

These burials must be distinguished from threeroyal burials in Anglo-Saxon England: Taplow, Sut-ton Hoo and Prittlewell36, where the lyre obviouslydoes not belong to the personal armament, but isone of many prestige objects that are placed ingroups inside the burial chamber. Among the non-royal burials there seem to be a lot of similarities,although the differences in preservation conditions,funerary practices and time must be considered.Among these are only three burials withoutweapons: the graves from Bergh Apton37 andMorning Thorpe38, which were disturbed, and thegrave from Cologne St. Severin39, a church burialfrom the end of the seventh century.

The five burials from the Continent withweaponry: Broa I Halla40, Schlotheim41, Ober-flacht42 with two graves and Trossingen, wereequipped with at least two different weapons, acombination of sword and lance, which can besupplemented by shield and bow. Four of them areadditionally characterised as those of equestrians;three were provided with representative furniture;in three graves evidence of precious clothes, tex-tiles or fittings was found. This suggests that atleast the individuals from the Continent with lyreshad considerable wealth and high social status43

(Fig. 9). This seems to differ from the Anglo-Saxon

observations. On the Continent the lack of royal

burials furnished with lyres is very noticeable, butthere is also a difference in the normal lyre burialsfrom cemeteries. In England these are modestlyfurnished, if at all, with simple but functionalweaponry44 (Fig. 10). This archaeological evidencecaused Graeme Lawson to identify these latterindividuals with the Anglo-Saxon scop playingand performing at his chiefs or kings banquet45.

The continental lyre player seems to representa different social status: a chief or leader of a limit-ed community who played the lyre at the banquetin his own hall or house amongst his retainers.Lyre playing, the performance of heroic songs andsongs of praise in the mead hall was an importanttool for self-promotion in early medieval German-ic warrior society46. The decoration of the Trossin-gen lyre showing a procession of 12 warriors tak-ing an oath at a banner-lance fits this pictureperfectly.

36 Bischop 2002b, No. 11 Taplow, No. 12 Sutton Hoo; Prit-tlewell: Hirst et al. 2004; Lawson 2001, 221.

37 Lawson 1978.38 Lawson 1987.39 Pffgen 1992, I 481f, Fig. 170; II 284; III Pl. 59. 5.40 Salin 1922. 41 Behm-Blancke 1989.42 Schiek 1992, 3740, Pl. 3034, 5556, Pl. 6061.43 Behm-Blancke 1989, 207208.44 Lawson 1978; Lawson 2001.45 Lawson 2002, 221223.46 Bischop 2002a, 237238; Bischop 2002b, 221223; Salmen

2006, 402.


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THEUNE-GROSSKOPF. B. 2006bDie vollstndig erhaltene Leier des 6. Jahrhun-derts aus Grab 58 von Trossingen, Baden-Wrttemberg, Kreis Tuttlingen, Germania 84,93142.


Fig. 1 The distribution of wooden artefacts with dendrochronologicaldatings from the early Middle Ages in South-West Germany reflects theexcellent geological requirements for wood preservation in this

region (after Theune-Grokopf 2006b, Fig.1).

Fig. 2 Trossingen grave 58. Grave plan, different layers (Ch. von Elm, Tbingen) a: Layer 3/4 bed with roof, backrestof the chair on top, different grave goods around the bed coffin; b: layer 5/6; c: layer 7, the deceased on the floor-

board of the bed with the sword in his right and the lyre in his left arm.


a cb

Fig. 3 ab Trossingen grave 58. Frontside with pegs and bridge and rear side of the lyre after conservation.Photo: Manuela Schreiner, Archologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Wrttemberg.

Fig. 4 Trossingen grave 58. The bridge with seven notches made of willow. Photo:Manuela Schreiner, Archologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Wrttemberg.


a b

Fig. 5 ab Trossingen grave 58. The tuning pegs of different shape heads. Photographs: KonservierungslaborPotthast/Riens; Manuela Schreiner, Archologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Wrttemberg.

Fig. 6 ab Trossingen grave 58. Signs of wear and repair on the upper ends of the arms of the cover(Konservierungslabor Potthast/Riens).


a

a b

b

Fig. 7 ab Trossingen grave 58. Replica of the lyre (Harfenmanufaktur Rainer Thurau, Wiesbaden). The incised deco-ration contrasts very well with the light maple wood (Manuela Schreiner, Archologisches Landesmuseum Baden-

Wrttemberg).


a

b

Fig. 8 Phalera from Nendingen, 7th century, showing the picture of aGermanic equestrian (Quast 2002, Figs. 2, 5).

Fig. 9 Oberflacht grave 37, plan. Burial with weaponry consisting of two swords and a harness(Schiek 1992, Pl. 8).

Fig. 10 Snape grave 52, plan. Burial with weaponry consisting of a shield boss,and the socket of a spear head (Filmer-Sankey et al. 2001, Fig. 56).


Documents

The Lyre From Grave 58 at Trossingen and Its Owner