The Goloring |
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What is the Goloring? |
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Digital Surface Model of the Goloring, original can be found here |
The Goloring is a cultural, spiritual, legal,
and social monument of
iron
age era, which dates back to the
urnfield
culture (1200-800 B.C.). During this time a widespread
solar cult existed in Central Europe.
The name "Golo"-ring dates back to the Genovefa Legend, which was first written down in 1472 but probably dates back to the time of the Crusades. The Goloring consists of a circular ditch of 175 meters of diameter with an outside embankment extending to 190 meters. The outside embankment is approx. 7 meters wide and 80 cm high. The ditch has an upper width of 5-6 meters and is approx. 80 cm deep. In the interior one can find a roughly round earth platform, which rises 1 - 1.5 meters high. It was stacked up and has a diameter of 95 meters. In the middle of this earth platform remnants of a 50 cm thick wooden posts were excavated, which is thought to have been about 8 - 12 meter high. The Goloring is thought to be one of the most significant Celtic cultural relics in central Europe. It is often compared to Stonehenge in England. Interestingly, its diametric proportions are quite similar to that of the famous Stonehenge monument. |
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Where to find the Goloring? |
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Goloring, Kobern, Germany  |
The Goloring can be found near Koblenz, Germany. It is located within the boundaries of a former military dog training camp, but was acquired by the town of Kobern-Gondorf in June of 2004. Unfortunately, the Goloring is currently not accessible to the general public. However, there are plans under way to build a historic park with the Goloring at its center. There are efforts under way to add the Goloring to the Eifelpark and make it a regional park. Moreover, there are now several groups (links below) that are working to make this monument accessible to the general public.
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History of and Questions about the Goloring |
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As with the Henge types on the British island different graveyards with the so-called hill graves surround the Goloring. The parallels to Stonehenge (the oldest arrangement with the so-called Aubry holes) suggest that the Goloring was used for the prediction of the summer solstice and light / dark cycles. The Goloring was located in an area previously used by the military as a quarantine station for dogs, which may explain its excellent state. Some have pointed to the links between the Goloring and spiritual practices of the Pre-Christian and Viking Age North (see here). Several questions have been raised about the Goloring:
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Pictures of the Goloring |
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Goloring: a
circular ditch surrounded by an outer and inner wall |
The Goloring consists of a circular ditch with
a diameter of 175 Meters (574 feet), which is surrounded by an outer and
inner wall (Sarsen circle). Its outer wall has a diameter of 190
Meters (623 feet). The outer wall is approximately 7 Meters (23 feet) wide
and 80 cm (2.6 feet) high. The ditch is about 5-6 Meters (18 feet)
wide and 80 cm deep.
In the center of the Goloring is a plateau. In the center of the plateau, investigators discovered a hole, which is thought to have contained a center pole. The archaeological and scientific investigation of the Goloring has been limited. There are two individuals, Dr. Josef Röder and Dr. Wolfgang Zäck, who have written about the role of the Goloring in Celtic culture. However, due to the lack of written history, these accounts are filled with speculations.
Dr. Röder investigated the Goloring between 1940-48 and wrote a book about it entitled "The Goloring An iron-temporal sanctum of the Henge character in the Koberner Forrest", which is currently out of print. I have roughly translated portions of it (see here), which were available in German on the web here. |
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Goloring: picture from center plateau
towards East at approximately 7:10 am |
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Goloring: why the circle? |
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Goloring:
another segment of the circular ditch, both walls are covered by trees. |
It is thought that the Goloring was a meeting
place of druids (Celtic religious and cultural leaders). During
these meetings druids conducted both religious and secular meetings to
settle legal disputes or determine seeding and harvesting times.
Dr. Röder proposed that the function of the circular enclosure of the plateau was to "cut out a piece of land from the profane to make it holy". Thus, creating the separation between the every-day outside and the refuge of the holy inside. In comparison, Dr. Zäck speculates that the Goloring is a giant solar clock, which is used to help identify dates for optimal seeding and harvesting. |
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Goloring: picture of center plateau with small pole indicating the likely location of the center pole.
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Goloring: because the area surrounding the Goloring is forested now (but presumably was bare at the time of the Celtic cultural activities), one cannot see towards the South-East from the plateau. This picture was taken next to the Goloring site facing South-East.
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New Photos from the Goloring (Spring 2006) - Change is coming! |
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A short MPEG taken from the elevated platform in the center of the Goloring(be careful this is a 25 Mbyte file)
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Links and Websites that write about the Goloring |
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The Goloring by Josef Röder [rough translation in English] |
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