Bernstorf - an outpost of Mycenae?
In August 1998 the German archaeological world was stunned when two amateur archaeologists found decorated gold-sheet ornaments on a hill in Bavaria north of Munich, near a farm named Bernstorf, in the commune of Kranzberg. A Bronze Age fortified enclosure was known there, local amateurs having excavated it earlier in the 1990s; later, permission was granted for gravel extraction, trees were cleared and it was in this disturbed area that the gold appeared. The authorities were quickly alerted. Both the Staatssammlung in Munich (Bavarian State Archaeological Museum) and the Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (BLfD, Bavarian State Office for Monument Care) took part in inspections and, subsequently, excavations. More gold, including a ‘diadem’, appeared and, in late September 1998, perforated lumps of amber. Then in November 2000, on the edge of an area under excavation by the BLfD, came the sensational discovery of two incised pieces of amber hailed as Mycenaean.
In 1994 Dr. Manfred Moosauer from Haimhausen where my school is located and his partner Traudl Bachmaier discovered in the vicinity of Bernstorf an urban settlement constructed around 1350 BCE. High
above the Ampertal, at the confluence with the Glonn, was supposedly a
city-like castle
dating from nearly 3,400 years ago. The steeply-sloping site protected
the inhabitants from the
south, west and north. Deep trenches and a 4.50 metre-high city wall
nearly two kilometres in length made up of densely interwoven,
mud-plastered
wood surrounded the fortification. For this, about 40,000 oak trees had
to be
felled. A quarter century after its completion, the settlement appears
to have been
destroyed in a devastating fire. It was not until the 20th century that
its remains reappeared before being lost again. Fortunately, part of the
site has been secured
for excavations. Bernstorf soon became one of the most exciting
archaeological sites in Germany. Sensational findings revealed the
former significant regional and international importance of the city:
the oldest crown
tiara of pure gold found in Europe; thirty pieces of amber, two of
which have astonishing engravings- the "amber face" and a seal with
characters in
Mycenaean script. The two amber objects were found in 2000. They were,
with jewellery, embedded in small clay coverings and carefully
buried - perhaps as offerings to the gods. Burn marks on the gold and a
charred wood residue in a gold band are thought to have a connection
with the fire of the city walls.
Topography of the site with computer-generated model of the terrain
The fortifications, with graves on the left
Excavations of the fortifications by 1998, 2001 and 2005
Dr. Moosauer himself involved in an on-site experiment in 2011 to test the effects of fire on the walls
Reconstruction of the fortification walls
How the size of the site compares to others, including Troy VI and Mycenae (and Freising today)
Spectacular Finds
The gold and amber finds of Bernstorf shown below are revolutionary in our understanding, not only of Bavarian but of the Bronze Age history of Europe itself. The amber finds include previously unknown characters in the Linear B script, which was previously found only within the range of Mycenaean palaces, and the first representation of a face outside hostile representations obtained from only geometric patterns. The face itself is reminiscent of Schliemann's famous so-called Mask of Agamemnon. Their provenance is a mystery and their development within the domestic environment has all but been ruled out, attributed instead to either a a group of foreign residents in the area or from the Mycenaean sphere of influence itself. Whilst the production technique found in the decoration of the gold jewellery is probably by a local craftsman or artist, both the use of gold as well as the type of design is arguably only possible through direct contact with the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean world with its trading relations throughout the Levante area. The discoveries therefore lead to an increasingly clearer picture of the effects of the Mycenaean civilisation on what had always been considered barbaric ancient Europe. Here, for example, is Mussolini attacking the Germans for having been "wholly illiterate" when Italy had "Caesar, Virgil and Augustus" in a 1934 speech in Bari:
Thirty centuries of history allow us to look with utter disdain on certain doctrines from the other side of the Alps which are espoused by the descendants of people who were illiterate at a time when Rome had Caesar, Virgil and Augustus.
Bernstorf now appears almost to be like an outpost of the Carpathian basin and the upper Adriatic Sea region, if not of Mycenae itself.
Gold was found in 1998 and amber in 2000
Selection of gold found and the find site
Sheet-metal belt sections- note the triangular designs throughout
Supposed miniature Diadem with supporters
Possible armband fragment; again, note triangular designs
Supposed needle
Supposed staff. 14C dating has it dating from 1400-1100 BCE
The oldest gold crown found in Europe?
Crown diadem; again, note triangular device
The crown X-rayed
Organic material found within the crown, shown at 35x magnification, which appears to be resin obtained from the Styracaceae plant family. Styrax is a natural resin obtained from the wounded bark of Liquidambar orientalis located in Asia Minor. Mnesimachus, Aristoteles, Theophrastus in his Historia Plantarum, Herodotus, and Strabo are the first ones to mention the styrax tree and its balsam.
Arabia is the last of inhabited lands towards the south, and it is the only country which produces frankincense, myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and ledanum. The Arabians do not get any of these, except the myrrh, without trouble. The frankincense they procure by means of the gum styrax, which the Greeks obtain from the Phoenicians; this they burn, and thereby obtain the spice. For the trees which bear the frankincense are guarded by winged serpents, small in size, and of varied colours, whereof vast numbers hang about every tree. They are of the same kind as the serpents that invade Egypt; and there is nothing but the smoke of the styrax which will drive them from the trees.Herodotus, Histories
In ancient Greece, styrax also denoted the spike at the lower end of a spearshaft. Pliny in his Historia Naturalis describes the use of styrax as a perfume, whilst Scribonius Largus drank wine flavoured with styrax. Ciris mentions storax as a fragrant hair dye. Dioscorides in De materia medica reports its use as incense, similar to frankincense, having expectorant (as in medication that helps bring up mucus and other material from the lungs, bronchi, and trachea) and soothing properties.
To put this find in context, Schliemann had discovered only two small amber beads during his work at Troy. Even the wreck of a sunken Uluburun ship from the 14th century BCE off the Turkish coast only revealed five amber beads - this within a fabulously wealthy shipment containing ten tonnes of copper, a tonne of tin and precious objects from all the surrounding countries (including a golden scarab with the seal of Nefertiti).
Amazingly, it is claimed that an amber necklace found among the grave treasure of Tutankhamen was made here!
To put this find in context, Schliemann had discovered only two small amber beads during his work at Troy. Even the wreck of a sunken Uluburun ship from the 14th century BCE off the Turkish coast only revealed five amber beads - this within a fabulously wealthy shipment containing ten tonnes of copper, a tonne of tin and precious objects from all the surrounding countries (including a golden scarab with the seal of Nefertiti).
Amazingly, it is claimed that an amber necklace found among the grave treasure of Tutankhamen was made here!
Sample of pierced amber found at the site in 2001
Reconstruction of the jewellery found at Bernstorf
More (reconstructed) artefacts found at the site from 2001-2005
Most remarkable are these finds from 2000
The face of a Bronze Age ruler?
The
so-called "Amber face" is a roughly triangular piece of amber with
engravings on the front and back. With his inscrutable smile, the "amber
face" recalls the gold masks from the graves at Mycenae and is perhaps the face of a ruler. The reverse shows three
symbols: on the left is a long line with a triangular extension like a spear; the centre shows a cross within a circle; the right showing a symbol comprising a
trapezoid and a vertical line - possibly symbols for "flame" or "lance" and known from the Mycenaean as a "double axe", which in turn is a sign of
cereals. It could thus have served as a seal of authority, trade and supply, or possibly as a passport for protection, free trade and suppliers. It
is possible that it correlates with the syllables "do-ka-me" of the Linear B script, the
oldest readable language of the Greeks. 
Pa-nwa-ti,
an archon at the time of the Argonauts?
The second piece of amber is engraved with four characters divided into two zones: three adjacent characters over a graphic symbol extending across the entire width. The top three characters are argued to correspond to three characters of the Linear B script in the
upper zone. If so, it would read "pa-nwa-ti",
exactly the opposite as a seal impression, "tin-wa-pa." The character
set is not yet occupied in texts, but probably the syllable sequence
"Tinwa" as part of their name in Pylos. The sign in the lower zone shows
despite shorter headband is a similarity with the crown-like gold
diadem of Bernstorf, but also Mycenaean representations of ships look
similar. The Greek chronicler Georgios Sygkelos reported in 2002 that
the name "pa-nwa-ti" in the period in which the Argonauts went to
Colchis, as the name of a "archons" that is a noble man, ruler, perhaps a
wealthy merchant, occurs. The Argonauts BC was v of fragments of much
older sources in the 3rd century. Fully written down. Of Apollonius
Rhodius and shows alongside the legendary action pride and knowledge of
the Mycenaeans from the knowledge of the Black Sea, the Danube and the
Adriatic Sea.
Comparison with gold found in Mycenaean Crete
Mycenae was, as it were, the geographical
centre of the known world. The exchange of luxury goods blossomed and through its
trade in gold, silver, bronze, amber and ivory, brought wealth to it. The
incipient process of a regulated exchange of traffic was facilitated by the
emergence of a new upper class continent-wide which traded with itself similar objects - swords, battle axes, precious vessels
and even similar crown-like headgear made of gold. In
Europe, large settlements emerged as a focal points in trade routes and as production sites. Such profound changes and innovations are in evidence today not only in Knossos, Mycenae
and Troy, but across the whole of Europe up to the city
gates of Munich today. From the Aegean Sea to the North Sea, settlements such as Bernstorf were important intermediate stations, as shown by the
gold and amber finds and the size of the settlement itself with its 14 acres within its walls. This suggests the rich and powerful rulers it had to build such a strategically located fortification on a hillside above the Amper, right at the
intersection of trade routes.
Far from living in the wild, clad in bear skins, the inhabitants of Bernstorf lived in settlements with over an hundred wooden houses, trading through its agriculture and raw materials jewellery, weapons
and tools. These raw materials were brought as a precursor to the
introduction of money from increasingly greater distances thanks to its coveted bronze.
In front of two examples of Mycenean "tholos" tombs on the Panagitsa Hill at Mycenae, constructed during the Bronze Age around 1250 BC.
The left shows the so-called Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon. Its lintel stone above the doorway weighs 120 tonnes, with approximate dimensions 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.2m, making it the largest in the world. The tomb was used for an unknown period. Mentioned by Pausanias, it was still visible in 1879 when the German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the shaft graves under the 'agora' in the Acropolis at Mycenae. The tomb has probably no relationship with either Atreus or Agamemnon, as archaeologists believe that the sovereign buried there ruled at an earlier date than the two; it was named thus by Heinrich Schliemann and the name has been used ever since. The tomb perhaps held the remains of the sovereign who completed the reconstruction of the fortress or one of his successors. The grave is in the style of the other tholoi of the Mycenaean World, of which there are nine in total around the citadel of Mycenae and many more in the Argolid. However, in its monumental shape and grandeur it is one of the most impressive monuments surviving from Mycenaean Greece. With an interior height of 13.5m and a diameter of 14.5m, it was the tallest and widest dome in the world for over a thousand years until construction of the Temple of Hermes in Baiae and the Pantheon in Rome. Great care was taken in the positioning of the enormous stones to guarantee the vault's stability over time in bearing the force of compression from its own weight. 
This obtained a perfectly smoothed internal surface, onto which could be placed gold, silver and bronze decoration. The tholos was entered from an inclined uncovered hall or dromos, 36 metres long and with dry-stone walls. A short passage led from the tholos chamber to the actual burial chamber, which was dug out in a nearly cubical shape. The entrance portal to the tumulus was richly decorated with half-columns in green limestone with zig-zag motifs on the shaft, a frieze with rosettes above the architrave of the door, and spiral decoration in bands of red marble that closed the triangular aperture above an architrave. Segments of the columns and architraves were graciously removed by Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century and are now protected by the British Museum. The capitals are influenced by ancient Egyptian examples, and one is in the Pergamon Museum as part of the Antikensammlung Berlin. Other decorative elements were inlaid with red porphyry and green alabaster, a surprising luxury for the Bronze Age. 
More information
From German publications
Bronzezeit Bayern Museum
The Bronzezeit Bayern Museum was only opened in 2014 given the difficulty in obtaining insurance for such valuable items. The brainchild of Dr. Moosauer, after intensive efforts he managed to establish and organise the necessary resources for the small but equipped with audiovisual facilities Museum of which he serves as the current museum coordinator. It is located on the Pantaleon hill in Kranzberg upon which once stood a Wittelsbacher castle.
The castle building were destroyed in 1632 during the Thirty Years' War, in a destructive action of fifty Swedish riders. No ruins are to be seen today as farmers from Kranzberg managed to transport 459,035 bricks from the ruins to Munich from in the period from July 12 to September 18 1660 for the construction of stables.
It wasn't until 1938 that the 2,500 square foot hilltop was built upon again- for the Nazis. The plans here were published in the October 1938 issue of Der Baumeister (333)
The museum today accompanied by Dr. Moosauer and the view from its parking lot
The film room, showing a remarkable documentary in 3D
The entrance and information centre with information about the museum, the sponsors and the use of audio guides. Through a beamer, a film about the fire of the fortification walls is projected.
The information in the museum has been translated into English thanks in part to my students at the Bavarian International school.
Section about the development of bronze with a model of a kiln and, around the corner, a glass showcase with exhibits from the Bronze Age. In two drawers the casting process is explained with more bronze objects (cast mould, axe) for our Grade 7 students to touch. On the wall screen is projected animation about the history of bronze.
This section on cultural groups shows colour scale time-differentiated areas outlining the dissemination of Bronze Age cultural groups. The flaps shown open to feature pictures, animations, and audiovisual info for each group.
Through the notches in two sections Grade 7s can playfully learn about ten different areas of archaeological methodology consisting of text and images through transmitted light images or digital frames. Among these applied scientific methods:
- Aerial Archaeology / Aerial Photography - Airborne Laser Scanning
- Radio carbon methodology
- Thermoluminescence measurement - dendrochronology
- Anatomical Wood identification
- 3D Laser Scanning
- 3D scanning strip light
- 3D X-ray computed tomography - neutron tomography
-. Div method for determining the firing temperatures
- Mössbauer spectroscopy (nuclear physics research)
- Aerial Archaeology / Aerial Photography - Airborne Laser Scanning
- Radio carbon methodology
- Thermoluminescence measurement - dendrochronology
- Anatomical Wood identification
- 3D Laser Scanning
- 3D scanning strip light
- 3D X-ray computed tomography - neutron tomography
-. Div method for determining the firing temperatures
- Mössbauer spectroscopy (nuclear physics research)
Interactive 3D model of Burgberg of Bernstorf with a touchscreen-controlled projector and screen upon which the information is conveyed.
Historical overview of the Bronze Age featuring wall projections, 3D
models and vertical drawers with transmitted light images of castles in
Central Europe.
Inserted into the wall are six 3D glasses with 3D slides (like the old ViewMaster reels we had as kids) showing reconstructed settlement features with different types of houses, and exterior and interior reconstructions. A display case with findings on the subject showing ceramics, spindles et cet..
Section on the remarkable amber finds outlined above. A glass cabinet features copies of the signet and head which can be seen rotating via small motors to appear to float in the dark. The objects are shown and the characters explained.
Grave models showing the archaeological findings (flat grave, grave hills, stone box, urn, grave hill) with sliding doors providing models of funeral scenes.
Finally, in the central showcase is the model of the cult image as well as the gold itself displayed in a showcase with further information on a monitor.
Visiting the site being excavated. There have been serious doubts about the authenticity of the finds however, dating since October 2013. Because of the unusual purity of the gold jewelry, Ernst Pernicka, Professor of Archaeometry in Heidelberg, expressed his doubts whilst presenting the results of his analysis for the first time at the 6th Central German Archaeologists' Day from October 17- 19, 2013 in Halle (Saale), whereupon the authenticity of the finds was intensively discussed. He argued that gold of this degree of purity can only be produced by electrolysis, making them modern imitations. On the other hand, the head of the Archaeological State Collection in Munich, Rupert Gebhard and Frankfurt-based archaeologist Rüdiger Krause, who was responsible for the Bernstorf excavation, said these gold sheets were authentic gold objects from the Middle Bronze Age, justifying the degree of purity with the fact that gold was already refined by cementation in ancient times. Chemically, the Bernstorfer find is similar to the gold decoration on the so-called coffin of Akhenaten. Nevertheless Pernicka's analyses using laser ablation and mass spectrometry revealed a fineness of 99.99 % for the Bernstorf gold sheets, which does not occur naturally, and an average of 104 μg/g silver. This puts it very close to modern Degussa-Gold containing exactly 102 μg/g silver at a purity of 99.99%. No authentic gold object from antiquity was found to have anything like this high degree of purity, even when cemented with common salt. In the case of the Akhenaten coffin, the silver and copper content is orders of magnitude higher, which alo applies to Roman coins. The copper content of less than 0.02% is a clear indication of modern electrolysis, because it cannot be reduced to such an extent using prehistoric processes. Small variations in the silver content indicate the presence of microsegregations, as they also occur in modern commercial gold from the Degussa company.To this Gebhard and Krause's defence initially consisted in doubting Pernicka's measurement results leading the Archaeological State Collection to commission the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing to issue an arbitration report, for which the gold objects were again analysed using the latest technology. The results of the report were published online in the journal Archaeometry in December 2016, and the printed version of the article (conveniently in English) finally appeared in October 2017. The publication ended up fully confirming the measurement results published by Ernst Pernicka in 2014. In addition, it refuted false conclusions from earlier measurements that there are unusual trace elements such as antimony, bismuth, sulfur and mercury in the Bernstorf objects. Even after the publication of this arbitration report, Gebhard and Krause confirmed their hypothesis of unequivocal authenticity in the "Focal point/Goldfund Bernstorf" of the journal Archäologie in Deutschland. Without discussing the new spectrometric analysis, they concluded that there is "not a single conclusive evidence of falsification of the gold and amber finds."
At a specialist conference in October 2014, well-founded doubts were expressed about the authenticity of the engraved amber objects found in Bernstorf and about the age of their sediment coating. A technical paper on the amber analyses presented there was published in 2017. An anthology on the subject, edited by Gebhard and Krause, was presented in January 2017. It was designed as a long-prepared refutation of the allegations of forgery. However, even after this volume was published, the authenticity of the finds was the subject of controversial debate. In September 2017, various essays and reviews were published dealing with the Bernstorf finds and their presentation in the anthology of the Archaeological State Collection in which several experts disagreed with the conclusions of the anthology and explicitly damed what was described as a bad forgery and even "tinkering by amateurs."
Such condemnation was further supported by the determination of the manufacturing technique by neutron scattering at the Technical University of Munich. All artifacts showed a texture typical of many cold-rolled and then annealed and recrystallised fcc metals. By comparison with laboratory-made reference samples, hammering with or without subsequent annealing or cross-rolling to produce the gold foils could be ruled out. The rolling of gold has only been documented since the Middle Ages. In summary, today the finds apear dubious given their very unusual material composition and production techniques unknown at the time in question.
However, he later registered his serious concerns:
What one looks for in a site that has been excavated since the 1990s is not a collection of artifacts, but ground plans and profiles of archaeological trenches, squares, and other units. Professional archaeologists produce -- first and foremost -- photographs, maps and drawings of the site. If this were a professional dig, there would also be articles from the soils scientists, the paleobotanists, the zooarchaeologists, the palynologists, and the laboratories that analyzed the materials. It looks like a blatant fake to me. And if it really is a Bronze Age site in Bavaria, then it's a crime that it is being excavated by amateurs.
