Posted on 06/12/2003 9:34:38 AM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
MAGDEBURG, Germany (Reuters) - German archeologist Babette Ludowici always knew she was on to something big when digging at a site in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
But the discovery of a dusty skeleton was all the proof she needed to confirm that she had found one of the most important churches in medieval history -- a cathedral built by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great in the 10th century.
"This is one of the biggest finds in recent years in the history of medieval archeology," Ludowici, an archeologist from the Central European History and Culture institute in Magdeburg, told Reuters.
Many historians regard Otto I, king of the Germans from 936 to 973, as the architect of the Holy Roman Empire, ruling an area encompassing modern Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, eastern France and northern Italy.
Ludowici, with her fellow archeologist Rainer Kuhn from the state office for archeology, uncovered the foundations of the once-proud building in Magdeburg, where Otto founded an archbishopric and built a cathedral in 968 to consolidate church power in the East.
Later destroyed, a new cathedral was built in its place.
Ludger Koerntgen, lecturer in medieval history at the University of Tuebingen, said the cathedral was central to the establishment of Christianity in what is now eastern Germany, lands previously occupied by heathen Slavonic tribes.
"The cathedral was designed as the centerpiece of Otto's power base and thus a key element to the empire's structure which proved to be so enduring," Koerntgen said.
The received wisdom had been that the current archeological site, a neighboring section of which was excavated in the 1960s, contained the remains of one of Otto's palaces.
Historians had long believed that Otto's cathedral was sunk under the current cathedral building, completed in 1520.
Ludowici disagreed. Her research indicated that the old cathedral lay buried some 50 yards from its successor.
"Previous wisdom said the cathedral was one of Otto's palaces, but our findings show that people who are prepared to put in the research get rewards for their efforts," she said.
Kuhn said the skeletal remains of a man recently unearthed in a tomb found within the walls of the excavated building were the final proof it could only be a church. And the costly marble and mosaic recovered there indicated a very special kind of church.
"The lavish decoration and the building's 41 meter (yard) width invite the conclusion that the church must be a cathedral. That is, the cathedral of Otto the Great," said Kuhn.
The cathedral's dimensions alone make it one of the largest to have been found from that period in Western Europe, and the discovery is of prime importance to art historians.
"Architectural finds of this order are so scarce that it will definitely challenge the preconceptions of art historians about monumental buildings from this period," said Ludowici.
CLOSER EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
At a time when closer integration in Europe tops the political agenda, Otto's legacy strikes a familiar chord.
He inherited the eastern part of an empire founded by the Frankish king Charlemagne, who reinstated the office of the emperor as the secular head of the church with his coronation in Rome in 800 after becoming master of Western Europe.
After his death the empire split between east and west, and it was Otto's forebears, the dukes of Saxony, who eventually emerged as Charlemagne's successors in the East.
In 962 Otto was the first German king in almost a century to be crowned emperor by the pope. The power base he secured proved the foundation for the office of Holy Roman Emperor which would endure until its abolition by Napoleon in 1806.
Little of the actual masonry of Otto's cathedral remains, as most was removed to build the new building when the old one was torn down, most likely after a fire in the city in 1207.
Work will continue in the 20-by-165-foot dugout until June 22, when it will be filled in, but exhibits from the excavation will be displayed in local museums.
Founded in the 9th century, Magdeburg has had a history of misfortune since its medieval heyday. An early center of Protestantism, it was besieged and destroyed in the Thirty Years War in 1631. Large areas were flattened by bombing in World War II.
Ludowici says the discovery has given a welcome boost to self-esteem in a city where unemployment runs at 20 percent.
"The discovery has helped the city's population rediscover its rich heritage," she said. "In Otto's day, the city was one of the main cultural centers in Europe. People forget that."
I was hoping the article would explain the significance of the remains.
Archeology fascinates me, and this discovery sounds like it would be fun to study.
It's good to see these historical sites being excavated, and gaps in the record filled in.
But of course, Reuters must insert their own angle...
CLOSER EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
At a time when closer integration in Europe tops the political agenda, Otto's legacy strikes a familiar chord.
Before World War I, school children in Germany would learn the nursery rhyme "Jeder Schuss ein Russ', jeder Stoß ein Franzos'" (A Bullet for Every Russian, A Bayonet Charge for Every Frenchman). It's wonderful that for the Germans and French, the time of killing each other is over. I'm not happy, however, at the unsubtle agenda of creating some kind of "Carolingian Empire 2.0" at the expense of smaller European countries and as a "counterweight" to the United States.
I also like bar-b-que. Do you have an address?
Thank you! This is very interestng -- a 7-bit binary language!
gcruse -- do you prefer mild or spicy?
Should be 7-bit OR binary language.
I've got to quit thinking about ribs -- its hours until lunch.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.