Citizens' Campus: Burial mounds and high pastures - on the prehistoric development of the Thuringian cultural landscape

With the introduction of agriculture more than 7000 years ago, man began to fundamentally structure and shape the landscape for his own purposes. Numerous settlements and burial monuments from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages have been archaeologically investigated in recent decades and have given us a picture of the succession of cultures. For a few years now, new methods have been available which, in addition to these selective investigations, provide extensive information, including airborne laser scanning technology. On the basis of the resulting images and in conjunction with aerial photographs and historical maps, new conclusions can be drawn about the early development of the cultural landscape. Using this data, the lecture will trace the connection between livestock farming, the development of paths and the creation of memorial landscapes.

Prof. Dr. Michael Köhler was Professor of Physical Chemistry at the TU Ilmenau until his retirement in 2023.

He is the author of numerous publications on cultural history. His book "Grabmale und Ahnenlandschaften: Grabhügel und vorgeschichtliche Nekropo- lenareale in Thüringen" was published in 2023.

Admission: 5€