Münster-Buchberg

Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2001

Sampled sites: Münster-Buchberg

General characteristics

(In part adapted from Binsteiner 1990b and Weißmüller 1996) 
 

Geographical setting:	Foto: Rengert Elburg, 2000
	Münster-Buchberg is a slight rise on the Northern edge of the floodplain of the Danube, North of Straubing in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is the most western occurrence of the limestones with chert of the so called "Ortenburger Kieselnieren-Kalke", literally "siliceous kidneys chalk", to which also the sites further in the East at Flintsbach and others in the Ortenburger Jura belong. All of these sites represent the rests of a once continuous sedimentation of Jurassic limestones of the Oxfordian Malm β formations. In the picture above you get an impression of the very nice exposure in a disused quarry at the Western side of the Buchberg
Material and colour:	The material from the Ortenburger Kieselnieren formations is predominantly light grey in colour with numerous inclusions of broken fossils. The chert from Münster-Buchberg is no exception: here the material is exclusively (very) light grey (between N8 and 5Y 6/1), medium grained with matte fracture surfaces and quite opaque. The frequent inclusions consist of (ghosts of) fossils and small patches of crystalline quartz, probably recrystallised fossils too. The nodules are embedded in a very coarse, fossil rich, in patches very sandy limestone and mostly have a thick, chalky and therefore quite soft cortex which is sharply delineated from the chert in the core.
Other information:	Apart from the exposure at the Buchberg, there seems to be another abandoned quarry at the Helmberg, a bit over a kilometer to the East, where the same strata are uncovered, but which we didn't visit yet.
Knapping notes:	The numerous inclusions, coarse texture and frequent internal irregularities give the chert a quartzite-like quality. No problem for large flakes, at least as soon as you get rid of the thick and soft cortex, but far from ideal for finer flaking and blades.
Archaeological description:	As the layers with flint are quite close to the surface and will have been accessible at the sides of the Buchberg even in Prehistory and the region is none too rich in flint or like material, this chert will certainly have been used in prehistory. No data on use or distribution, least of all on possible mining of the material, are known at the moment, but with the extensive prehistoric, especially Neolithic, settlement of the region, this type of chert lies probably waiting in the storerooms of the local archaeological service to be recognized.

Locality:	Münster-Buchberg, Straubing-Bogen district, Bavaria, Germany.
Synonyms:	FlintSource sample 99. Geotop number 278A008 of the Bavarian Geological Service.
Geographical description:	The Buchberg is a not too high but conspicious hill in the so-called "Falkensteiner Vorwald" between Münster and the main motorway A3 which leads from Regensburg to Deggendorf in the South. The sampling site is a derelict quarry on the southwestern side of the hill (access strictly forbidden).
Geographical co-ordinates:	Lat. 48° 56' 54" N Long. 012° 34' 08" E (Mapdatum WGS 84) click on the image for a detailed topographical map (24 KBytes).
Co-ordinate precision:	Co-ordinates taken with a hand held GPS receiver directly at the cliff. Due to the blocking of the horizons not too accurate, but within 20 meters of the actual spot.
Other topographical information:	The site is easily reached by car, Münster lies directly north of the main motorway A3, quite exactly between the exits 105 "Kirchroth" in the West and 106 "Straubing" in the East and can be found on every road map. In Münster you can't miss the Buchberg as it is the only hill between the village and the motorway to the south and a narrow road leads directly towards it. The exposure lies at the Western side of the hill, but is fenced off and not directly legally accessible.
Additional information:	Foto: Rengert Elburg, 2000
	The picture above gives you an impression what the parent rock looks like. Every bump in it is a small chert nodule. As the scattering of the silicious concretions is so dense and irregular and the matrix is so coarse, we suspect that the whole situation might be a secondary deposit. It could be possible that the finer material was eroded away, leaving only a jumble of chert nodules and larger (bio-)clasts.
Visitors information:	As we did our sampling on the way from Regensburg towards the Ortenburger Jura, we didn't inspect the local infrastructure very thouroughly, but in nearly every village in the region you can find an inn or at least a bakery to get yourself a bite of something.
Sampling information:	The sample was taken during our major excursion in Southern Germany in the spring of 2000. There is enough material lying around eroded out of the rock, so you don't have to hack into the parent stone. Like said above, the site is fenced in and getting the stones involves some tresspassing, but we didn't see anybody around who could mind one doing so. As in all quarries, watch out for falling stones, especially as the parent rock is quite loose.

	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2001   Flake of fine, light coloured chert size of flake: 85 mm	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2001   Piece with inclusions and very rough cortex width: 40 mm
	Foto: Matthias Rummer, 2001   Typical nodule from Münster-Buchberg size of nodule: 50 mm