Goseck circle

The Goseck circle is a Neolithic structure in Goseck in the Burgenlandkreis district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.Its construction is dated to approximately the 49th century BC, and it seems to have remained in use until about the 47th century BC. It may thus be the oldest and best known of the circular enclosures associated with the Central European Neolithic. More controversially, it also may be one of the oldest Solar observatories in the world. However, the site is currently officially presented by the state archaeologists and the local association that looks after it as a ritual or cult structure.The circle consists of a concentric ditch 75 metres across and two palisade rings containing entrances in places aligned with sunrise and sunset on the solstice days.The existence of the site was made public in August 2003, and it was opened for visitors in December 2005.GeographyLocationThe site is located on farmland near Goseck, in the Burgenlandkreis of Saxony-Anhalt, between Naumburg and Weißenfels. The circle sits on a piece of land that gradually rises towards the south, not far from where the Unstrut flows into the Saale, at the border of the region known as Leipzig Bay.HistoryDiscovery and excavationThe circle was discovered in 1991 by Otto Braasch on an aerial survey photograph that showed circular ridges under a wheat field. The cropmarks were easy to see in a season of drought. The structure's visibility also indicated an advanced state of erosion.