Station: [3] The oldest proof of human settlement in our region
Mirtschin:
Ah! The flint blade! How nicely they’ve presented it here. So you can admire it from all sides…
An exceptionally handsome piece … and one of the oldest objects in our collection.
I remember as if it were yesterday … I was called to Hirschstein by my respected colleague Herbert Knoll …
Ruth:
Herr Mirtschin, Herr Mirtschin! Hello there!
Mirtschin:
You’re Ruth, are you? Your teacher told me you’ve found something?
Ruth:
Yes, I have, sir. The skull of an animal, over there in the gravel pit… But it isn’t a cow or a sheep… and it looks very old. So I thought perhaps you’ll be interested…
Mirtschin:
Indeed, indeed I am! It’s a good thing you had them call me. Hmm... in the gravel pit, you say? Let’s have a look…
Ruth:
It was somewhere around here.
Mirtschin:
Who knows what else is hidden down here. Perhaps we’ll find more bones from the same animal…
What’s that?
Ruth:
What?
Mirtschin:
Look here…
Ruth:
A longish bit of stone.
Mirtschin:
But if you just touch this edge with the tip of your finger … careful now…
Ruth:
… it’s very sharp. Almost like a knife.
Mirtschin:
Exactly right! Ruth, I do believe we just made a very special discovery. This is a blade made of flint, knapped by a human hand … hmm… obviously from the Palaeolithic…
Ruth:
From the Palaeo – what now?!
Mirtschin:
Well, I’ll need to check. But to judge from the location of the find…
Under the blade, there’s gravel from the Ice Age before last – the one we now call the Saale Ice Age. The layer of loess above it (that’s the sandy loamy material) is probably from the last glacial period, what we call the Weichsel Ice Age.
Ruth:
So that means the blade is incredibly ancient!
Mirtschin:
Well, a hundred thousand years old, by my estimation. (feierlich) And that would make it the oldest evidence of a human settlement in the region of North Saxony.
Ruth:
Amazing!
Mirtschin:
And you and I found it together. Great stuff!
And your animal skull…
Ruth:
… was lying right next to it!
Mirtschin:
… so it’s probably the same age.
Ruth:
My goodness! When I tell the others at school about this tomorrow, nobody’s going to believe me…
Mirtschin:
Aye, that’s how it happened back then, in … what year was it again? Oh yes, 1932 …
But what does it say here? “The flint blade was re-examined a few years ago. With the latest technology …” hmm… hmmm….and they came up with a new date. (feststellend) It’s between 150,000 and 200,000 years old.
Stone a crow! Well, I was out by a mile! But I was right about one thing: the flint blade really is the oldest evidence of a human settlement in the region of North Saxony (so far, anyway).
That much is certain!