'Findings 561: The dead of Niederpöring' at the Quintana Museum, Germany

"Findings 561" is how the excavators from the district archaeology Deggendorf first described the sensational discovery of a burial of a middle-aged woman from the Neolithic period which was discovered in 2015 during excavations in Niederpöring in the district Deggendorf.

Credit: Museum Quintana - Archäologie in Künzing/Plastische, wissenschaftliche Rekonstruktion einer jungst. 

Frau von W. Schnaubelt & N. Kieser - Atelier WILD LIFE ART, Germany

On her head the 'Dead of Niederpöring' wore a magnificent headband that was originally decorated with about 400 shells of the now rare Danube barge snail. Such jewellery is known, in a simpler version, only from a total of seven other Neolithic graves in southern Germany.

Thanks to the cooperation with the district archaeologist Deggendorf and the archaeologist and Neolithic expert Dr. Joachim Pechtl, this sensational find can now be seen in the Quintana Museum.

Credit: DPA/ Plastische, wissenschaftliche Rekonstruktion einer jungst. Frau von W. Schnaubelt 

& N. Kieser - Atelier WILD LIFE ART, Germany

For the purposes of the exhibition, the mortal remains of the 7,000-year-old burial, which are displayed in their original state in a glass cabinet, were examined using state-of-the-art scientific methods such as DNA and strontium isotope analysis.

This not only allowed the sex of the skeletal remains to be determined, but also the woman's physical appearance and place of origin. Further exciting research results are presented in a vivid and understandable way in a multimedia station with touch screen.

Credit: Museum Quintana - Archäologie in Künzing/Plastische, wissenschaftliche Rekonstruktion 

einer jungst. Frau von W. Schnaubelt & N. Kieser - Atelier WILD LIFE ART, Germany

The highlight of the presentation is a bust of the 'Dead of Niederpöring' with the reconstructed headdress. For the sculpture, a 1:1 model of the woman's original skull was produced using a 3D scan, which then served as the basis for a scientific facial reconstruction as known from criminal cases. The lifelike bust shows what the Niederpöringer could have looked like during her lifetime.

The planning and implementation of the exhibition was supported by the district of Deggendorf, the regional office for non-governmental museums in Bavaria and the Künzing Museum Association.

"Findings 561: The Dead of Niederpöring" is displayed in the Neolithic Section of the Quintana Museum.

Source: Museum Quintana [May 24, 2019]