Baltic Flint
(Dresden Region)

Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002

Sampled sites: Klotzsche

General characteristics

Geographical setting:

Dresden, the second largest city after Berlin in Eastern Germany, is located 30 km North of the German-Czech border on the river Elbe. Nested in a wide, cauldron-formed valley, just North of the Ore Mountains and the "Elbsandsteingebirge", it lies at the edge of the land-ice cover of the Elster glacial. The so called flint-line ("Feuersteinlinie" in the German literature), which marks the southernmost dispersion of glacially transported baltic flint, runs across the uplands a few kilometres south of the Elbe-valley. Most glacial deposits in the area are Sandur-sands, the so called "Heidesande" dating to Saale 1 Glacial, that contain hardly any pebbles or blocks and are virtually flint-free. Only in patches older (Elster) and mostly coarser sediments have been preserved, but there are hardly any permanent exposures. In prehistoric times this might have been different, but the region will never have been extremely rich in flint.

Material and colour:

If you wondered why this page took so long to load completely, scroll down, and you'll see the reason. As this is the first page we put up on the subject of Erratic Flint, we wanted to show the complete range of varieties of Baltic material, which is quite wide. Like already pointed out in the introduction, there are four basic types of flint to be found in the European glacial deposits: glassy dark flint, fine-grained lighter material, grey 'cloudy' material and Bryozoic Flint in all its varieties. Below you find the photos of six samples that cover most of the basic range, with the exception of the very homogeneous, black, glassy flint, as this is a type we didn't find in a natural state in the region yet. Most of the material will be of Upper Cretaceous age, but quite a lot of the bryozoic flint comes probably from Danian strata. Although the first bryozoic flints still to be found in a primary position in Denmark date to the Uppermost Maastrichtian, most material of this type is to be found in the first phases of the Lower Paleocene. As you can see from the size of the specimens on this page, the flint mostly occurs as smallish fragments. Nearly all nodules have been broken up and pieces larger than 10 cm are the exception. Most specimens show either parts of completely worn-down cortex or, more frequently, heavily rolled and polished surfaces, but there are exceptions where the chalky cortex its still quite intact. Many nodules are heavily (frost-)fractured, but it is unclear if this is a recent or ancient phenomenon, likely it will be a combination of both.

	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Very fine grained, light coloured flint 2.5Y 5-6/2 (light brownish grey to greyish brown) size: 34 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Medium grained, dark striped material 10YR 4/2 to 5/2 (dark greyish brown to greyish brown) and 10YR 2-3/1 (very dark grey to black) size: 56 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Fine-grained 'cloudy' flint 10YR 4/1 (dark grey), 4/2 (dark greyish brown), 3/1 (very dark grey) and 10YR 6/1 to 7/1 (grey and light grey) size: 38 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Transparent bryozoic flint 10YR 6/2 (light brownish grey) size: 40 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Brown, typical bryozoic Danian flint 7.5YR 4/2 (brown) size: 50 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Typical opaque grey Baltic flint N6 to 5PB 6/1 (grey to bluish grey) size: 42 mm

Other information:

Like already stated in the geographical remarks on the area, the Dresden region is not really rich in flint, and permanent exposures of flint-bearing sediments are very scarce. We do not know very much about the paleogeography of the region, but it is not very likely that the situation will have been very different in more recent (post-glacial) prehistory. The areas where glacial tills and boulder clays, dating to the Elster 1 and 2 Glaciations, have been preserved, mostly towards the South of the city, are covered with (locally very thick) layers of Loess from the Weichsel. Only small patches of boulder-clay (German "Geschiebelehm") come to the surface, but most areas are built-over and there is not a single permanent exposure. Most archaeological lithic assemblages in the region show a high predominance of Baltic/Erratic flint, but it is unclear where the raw material came from. Probably most of it was gathered from streams that cut into flint-bearing deposits, but as parts of (especially Early Neolithic) settlements lie directly on glacial tills, some kind of extraction could have taken place.

Knapping notes:

Due to the mostly quite small size and internal fracturing and flaws of the raw material, the Baltic flint from the Dresden area can hardly said to be a high-quality material. This is reflected in the predominantly small size of prehistoric lithic artefacts in the region. With the exception of the Middle Neolithic Stroked Ware (German "Stichbandkeramik") there is a remarkable scarcity of cores in all assemblages. Most cores have been completely exhausted and have been worked down to sizes of not more than 5-6 centimetres.

Locality:	Dresden-Klotzsche, Saxony, Germany
Synonyms:	FlintSource sample 159.
Geographical description:	The deserted sandpit where the sample was taken is located at the westernmost end of the large wooded area of the 'Dresdener Heide', north of the city of Dresden. It lies 700 metres East of the Königsbrücker Landstrasse across the road from the entrance of "Industriepark Klotzsche" at number 159. According to the geological map of glacially covered regions of Saxony ("Geologische Karte der eiszeitlich bedeckten Gebiete von Sachsen") 1:50 000, sheet 2668 Dresden, the pit was dug into the northern end of a patch of glaciofluvial gravel and sands (unit gfQE2n) dating to the Elster 1 glacial.
Geographical co-ordinates:	Lat. 51° 07' 46" N Long. 013° 48' 22" E approx. 185 m a.s.l. (Mapdatum WGS 84) In cooperation with our technical partner I/O-graph, we offer a transformation-service for the coordinates of the sampled sites. Just click here to send a mail.
Co-ordinate precision:	The coordinates given were taken with a handheld GPS receiver at the southeastern side of the disused sand- and gravel-pit. As the pit measures approx. 200 by 300 metres, they will surely be good enough to get you somewhere into the hole.
Other topographical information:	We can hardly imagine that you will be wanting to visit this thoroughly unspectacular site, but here is how you get there: By public transport, take tram line number 7 that runs from the city-centre towards Weixdorf and get of at the stop "Industriepark Klotzsche". From this point you walk through the woods first in a northeasterly direction until you come to a somewhat larger path running west-east that crosses a small stream. Follow this towards the east, keeping slightly to the left. After about 700 metres you come to the disused sandpit you see in the picture below. By car you follow the B97 in the direction of Königsbrück and Hoyerswerda. You drive past the exit towards the airport, through the quarter of Klotzsche and after passing under the railway-viaduct you see a large sign at your left Industriepark Klotzsche. Enter the area passing under the gate-building, take the first entry left and park your car there. Go back to the through, cross it, and follow the instructions above.
Additional information:	Foto: Rengert Elburg, 2004
	If you never saw a disused sand pit, and always wanted to know how it looks, here you are. The photo was taken in the spring of 2004 from the southwestern end, looking east. The slopes are still quite bare and about ten metres high, but the vegetation is reclaiming the place quickly.
Visitors information:	Dresden is quite a good city for a visit if you are interested in something else than flint. There are several famous musea with world-class collections of art like the Zwinger with the Gallerie Alte Meister (Old Masters), Rüstkammer (Weaponry) and Porzelansammlung (Porcelain), the Albertinum with the Gallerie Neue Meister (Classical Modern Art) and some Classical Greek Art, as well as a dozen or so other museums well-worth a visit. There also is an archaeological museum, the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (State Museum for Prehistory) in the Japanische Palais (Palaisplatz, open every day from 10 AM to 6 PM), but don't expect too much of it. There is no permanent exhibition on the prehistory of Saxony and the temporary exhibitions, mostly characterised by an overkill of design and a complete lack of information, have often only a nominal connection with (prehistorical) archaeology. Eating, drinking and staying is best done in the Neustadt, the "New Town", the part of the city directly to the North of the river Elbe which was spared the fire-storm following the bombing of the city in February 1945. The highest concentration of pubs, restaurants and the like is to be found in the area between the Königsbrücker Straße and the Bautzener Straße, with the Alaunstraße and Louisenstraße being the main arteries of nightlife in Dresden. Here you also can find the Scheune (Alaunstraße 36), the place where you have the highest chance to find those members of the FlintSource project that (still) live in Dresden. They do very reasonable Indian food over here, and have a good range of drinks and in summer you can sit outside in this most German of al institutions, the beer-garden.
Sampling information:	The place was brought to our attention by someone who walked into the Archaeological Service of Saxony, where I was then still working, with an exiting story of finding a site with numerous arrowheads, microliths and stone hammers in the northern part of the city. As Stone Age sites in this area are extremely rare (only one Mesolithic site is known on the sandy soils North of Dresden), I got out the topographic map of the area (sheet 4848 of the 1:25 000 series, for those that might be interested) and had the spot pointed out to me. He told the artefacts were especially numerous at the southern slope of the pit, where microliths could be found by the dozen. I then brought some volumes on Mesolithic artefacts from the library and he pointed out several Late Mesolithic geometric microliths as being very similar to the material he had found in Klotzsche Needless to say I went out there directly the next day, completely tooled up with trowel, shovel, sieves, find bags, and the like, to have a thorough look at this very important site. After a very hot walk I arrived at the half-overgrown pit and went directly to the southern end to find this El Dorado of microliths. What I found were quite a lot of, mostly very small, pieces of flint, some larger fragments, and the usual gravel and cobbles of Scandinavian rocks. I spent another few, again very hot and thirsty, hours walking the steep, ten meter high slopes of loose sand, to finish up with nothing more than a few bags full of unworked flints. Not a single artefact was to be found here. Back in the office, I phoned the guy, and asked if he could bring in the artefacts he had found, still hoping that there might be some kind of archaeological site out there. He promised to come in with his stones, and did so a few days later. After looking through the bags, it became clear that he didn't find anything man-made either, and I told him so. He wasn't disappointed or embarrassed, but clearly doubted my knowledge of lithics. "Look at those pointy stones, they surely must be arrowheads." he said "And look at this nodule, it fits perfectly in my hand. This must have been used as a hammer to kill cattle in the Neolithic." I tried to point out that not everything that looked like an artefact, was in fact man-made or even used, and explained about the characteristics that distinguish flakes from natural fragments, but I didn't get the message through. He left the building very indignant about the fact that the archaeological service was employing people who clearly didn't know the first thing about stone tools. A few months later, a local paper ran a half-page spread about the important new site, publishing the first evidence of unshafted cattle-striking hammers in the German Neolithic. The place is not really a flintsourceres dream, as most material is smallish and internally cracked, and there isn't too much of the material lying round either. We just picked the place as it is one of the very few places in the area where flint can be found at all. The stones lie scattered over the whole area, but mostly on, and at the foot of, the southern sides.

	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 71 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 48 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 37 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 40 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 30 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 55 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 39 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 50 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 30 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 42 mm

	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 56 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 27 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 45 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 32 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 29 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 37 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 43 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 41 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 31 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 41 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 29 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2002   Size: 45 mm