On four field sections, the crop inventory of the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age, Roman times, and the Middle Ages is displayed.
Around 7,500 years ago, crop cultivation and animal husbandry were introduced in Central Europe due to trade and migration. The preferred crops for cultivation were first millet, wheat and barley types, peas, and flax. Later, oats and rye were added, followed by beans and lentils.
Agriculture and animal husbandry influenced the ecological conditions surrounding the settlements. Grains were harvested in the form of ears or panicles until the Iron Age. Only then were the stalks cut off close to the ground and the straw mass thus removed from the fields. This meant that nutrients were taken away. The weeds in pre-historic settlements show that since around the Iron Age, that is, for around 2,500 years, fields have been fertilized.
While first the various forms of wild fruit were gathered, at the latest during Roman times intensive orcharding seems to have been practiced, which slowly expanded to the region outside of the former Roman Empire during the early Middle Ages.
Print version of the complete historical tour (German)
Print version of Stop 9 (German)
Flyer Historical Tour (English)
