by Oliver Dietrich, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte

Artistic reconstruction of the Bad Dürrenberg Shaman wearing her feather-decorated ornate. Credit: Karol Schauer, State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt

The approximately 9,000-year-old grave of the shaman from Bad Dürrenberg (Saalekreis district) is one of the most spectacular finds in Central European archaeology. Excavated under considerable time pressure in 1934, subsequent investigations at the site from 2019 onwards allowed for the recovery of remains of the burial pit, which were then removed as a block and examined under laboratory conditions. These investigations revealed a series of new insights. Microscopic evidence has now been obtained of feathers that likely belonged to an elaborate headdress.

In the Mesolithic period, around 9,000 years ago, a woman between 30 and 40 years old was buried there, with a child of about 6 months in her arms. Among other things, a headdress made of a deer antler and pendants of animal teeth indicate the deceased woman’s special position as a shaman, the spiritual leader of her group.

Discovered by chance during the laying of a water pipe in 1934, shortly before the opening of the spa park, the grave goods had to be recovered within a single afternoon. Since December 2019, excavations have been taking place in the area of the suspected site of the shaman’s grave in the spa park of Bad Dürrenberg in preparation for the State Garden Show. The site of the burial was located. Because the original excavation had only involved a narrow trench, parts of the grave pit, which was interspersed with red ochre, remained undisturbed.

Numerous finds overlooked in 1934 were recovered, and the remains of the grave pit were examined by an international research team using the latest scientific methods. The Bad Dürrenberg grave can be considered one of the best-studied finds in Central European archaeology. New insights have now emerged regarding a group of finds that are not normally recorded in burials due to their perishability: feathers.

Feather fragments from Bad Dürrenberg: A) Unidentified barbule; B) waterfowl, probably goose (Anserinae) barbule with its diagnostic triangular nodes; C) songbird (Passeriformes) barbules; D) Galliformes-type barbule. Credit: Tuija Kirkinen

Nests of feathers in the shaman grave

While it is widely assumed that feathers played a significant role as ornamentation on clothing or headdresses in parts of prehistory, proof is difficult to obtain. Under normal preservation conditions, they decompose in the soil. However, tiny parts of feathers, sometimes measuring less than 1 millimeter, known as barbules, or fragments thereof, can survive. The barbules are located on the barbs that extend laterally from the quill and, by interlocking, provide the feather with strength.

Tuija Kirkinen (University of Helsinki), an internationally leading researcher in this field, was commissioned to examine samples from the Bad Dürrenberg burial. She presented her findings in a scientific article at the 17th Archaeological Conference of Central Germany in September of 2024.

Under the microscope, feather fragments were indeed detected. The discovery of goose feathers in the shaman’s head area is particularly interesting. They likely came from a headdress. The research findings excellently confirm the scientific reconstruction created years ago by the artist Karol Schauer for the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle. Based on ethnological comparisons, he had concluded that the headdress likely consisted of feathers.

Besides the shaman’s grave, feathers also play a role in another find. During subsequent excavations, a pit containing two antler masks was discovered in front of the actual grave.

Bast, feathers, deer antlers: An offering for a powerful woman?

Immediately in front of the burial pit, another pit was discovered, likely created about 600 years after the burial. It was also recovered as a single block and examined under laboratory conditions in the workshops of the State Museum. This led to a surprising discovery: The pit contained two masks made from deer antlers. Apparently, the shaman was so important that valuable offerings continued to be placed at her grave for centuries after her death.

The examination of feathers in a sample taken directly from one of the antlers revealed evidence of songbird feathers from Passeriformes and Galliformes (capercaillie, black cock or snow grouse). Remnants of bast fibers were found on the second antler. This clearly demonstrates that the deer antlers were part of elaborate, likely mask-like, headdresses.

In addition to the feathers, research in recent years has yielded numerous other new findings about the grave of the shaman from Bad Dürrenberg. These will be presented to the public from March 27, 2026 to November 1, 2026, as part of a major special exhibition at the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle.

Provided by Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte

Citation: With feathers into the afterlife: New results on the Bad Dürrenberg shaman burial (2025, December 11) retrieved 11 December 2025 from https://phys.org/news/2025-12-feathers-afterlife-results-bad-drrenberg.html

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