Museum of: Berlin
    Name of the artefact: Drum
   
Drums made of clay and leather were be used during the Walternienburg-Bernburg period as music instruments.
                                 
 
WHERE IS IT AND MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
  
STATE
Department:
Museum for Pre- and Early History
Preservation:
 Very good
Inventory number:
I 1744
Restauration:
 Restored
Name of the artefact:
Drum
Completeness:
 Complete
Object type:
Vessel/Anphora
  
Material:
Clay, leather drum added
Methof of manufacture:
Pottery
Decoration type:
Excision
Distinctive mark:
Vessel in shape of a drum
DIMENSIONS
  
PERIOD OF USE
Length (mm):
-
Epoque:
Neolithic
Heigth (mm):
255
Culture:
Walternienburg-Bernburg culture
Diameter (mm):
170 at the edge
Period:
Upper Neolithic
Width (mm):
-
Face:
-
Thickness (mm):
-
Absolute chronology:
4th mil. BC
Weight (g):
1086
DISCOVERY
Date:
In the museum since 1843
Country:
Germany
District:
Sachsen-Anhalt
Town hall affiliation:
Wolmirstedt
Village:
Ebendorf
Discovery findspot:
Unknown
Condition of discovery:
Chance Discovery
Discovery type:
Deposit
 
ANALYSES – DETERMINATIONS
 
FILLED IN BY
Type:
-
Name:
Dr. Manfred Nawroth
Laboratory:
-
Institution:
Museum for Pre- and Early History
No./Code:
-
Date:
11/11/2005
 
DEEPENINGS

Morphology of the object:
The vessel in form of huge eggcup is of hollow shape. At the upper brim there are seven horizontal eyelets for fixing the covering of the resonance body.

Decoration:
The decoration of the drum is engraved in the so called “Furchenstichtechnik”. In the upper part of the vessel there are twelve vertical motifs in form of the fir-needles placed on one horizontal band of the same kind. In the middle part there are seven horizontal lines engraved. On the bottom of the vessel were some circles stinged into the clay. For fixing the leather with a string on the top of the vessel seven horizontal eyelets were fastened.

Inscription:
-

Analogies:
Decorated drums are proved in the middle of the 4th millennium BC in the Walternienburg-Bernburg culture, the neighbouring Funnel Beaker culture and Salzmünder culture. Most of them were deposited in graves.

Interpretation:
Generally the drums are made of clay. The upper part was originally stringed with the skin of an animal and used as the resonance body of the instrument. The drums were played with bare hands. They served for the musical entertainment and possibly were used by wizards or shamans for ritual activities, dances and obsequies. At the same time they were a medium for the transmission of communication signals.
Bibliography:
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