After the long debate about the demolition of the Aschheim town hall, there is now a vacant lot where the former school building stood for more than a hundred years. This not only opens up possibilities for a modern new building, but also for exciting glimpses into the past of the place. Anja Pütz, studied archaeology, and director of the Aschheim Museum, an impressive collection of local history, and her colleagues examined the building site in the historic town center between May and October and made a number of significant finds.
They found evidence that someone lived on this site in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; Pits and an earth cellar that they were able to excavate testify to the location of at least one farm. Archaeologists also found pottery shards from this period. They also discovered the remains of a well. “The bottom meter consisted of four large wooden panels, the upper part of calcareous tuff,” reports Pütz. Such a tufa fountain, which probably dates from the early Middle Ages, is a special feature in Bavaria according to the current state of knowledge. “Where did people get the tuff from – from the Erdinger Moos, from the Aying/Glonn region? That’s one of the many mysteries here,” says Pütz.
Anja Pütz, the director of the Aschheim Museum, is an archaeologist herself and was involved in the most recent excavations.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
The history of Aschheim goes back to the sixth century. The place name was first mentioned in writing in 756 AD in the minutes of the first Bavarian state synod. Few communities in the area can trace their roots back that far. As early as 1998, when the municipality had an extension built on the old town hall, archaeologists discovered traces of settlements from the early Middle Ages, i.e. the period from the sixth century to the year 1050, as well as from the High Middle Ages, which lasts up to the 13th century. From these finds it was already known that there were already at least two farms and workhouses in the center of Aschheim in front of the town hall, in which the early residents of Aschheim processed textiles, metal and other materials.
The area on which the former town hall stood shows the outlines of pits and pit houses as well as a well from the early Middle Ages.
(Photo: AFD/Pütz)
The finds contain a very important statement for the archaeologist: “Everything we found makes it appear that there was a continuous settlement in the center of Aschheim from the early Middle Ages to the twelfth and 13th centuries,” says Pütz. An incentive for the 40-year-old to look for further clues to complete the trail of the Aschheimers through the centuries to the present day. All the finds from recent and past excavations are presented in the Aschheim Museumin the basement of the cultural building.
The museum is open Monday and Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as every first Sunday of the month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The next free Sunday tour of the exhibition will take place on Sunday, December 11, at 2:30 p.m.