Brotlaibidols Article Consultation Reading To process Edit source text Show history Tools hide Actions Rename General Links to this page Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page data Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Edit language links Print/Export Create book Download as PDF Print version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item Appearance hide Text Small Standard Big Page width Standard Full width Color (beta) Automatic Light Dark From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Brotleibidol from Mangolding, Regensburg Brotlaibidolen (from German : 'bread idols') or tavolette enigmatiche (from Italian : 'enigmatic tablets') are tablets from the Bronze Age , specifically the Early and Middle Bronze Age (2100 BC – 1400 BC), found in Central Europe and Northern Italy . [ 1 ] They are usually made of lightly baked or air-dried clay and somewhat resemble a loaf of bread. They are usually only a few centimetres long and decorated with geometric patterns. The function of these tablets is unknown, but the term ' idol ' derives from their possible ritual use. Another theory suggests that they were used as a kind of seal, similar to the Canarian pintadera . [ 2 ] Description Brotlaibidols are elongated, round, oval, almost rectangular, stamp-shaped, flat or convex objects of small size, made of stone or baked clay, with decoration on one or both sides. [ 3 ] The decoration consists of one or more motifs of geometric figures and impressions of natural objects, such as shells. The geometric figures consist of notches, holes and scratches at different depths and occur in different combinations. In most tablets one or more longitudinal or transverse lines are scratched that run parallel to the edges of the tablet. Usually additional patterns are incorporated into the course of the lines. These patterns can be applied before, after or during the setting of the lines. However, the decorations can also occur alone and are then often applied more or less regularly to the object. In some finds, such as in Lepenski Vir, inlay was also used. [ 4 ] In a specimen from Banatska Palanka, red pigment residues were found on the pattern side. [ 1 ] [ 4 ] Northern Italy In Northern Italy , in the Lake Garda region , the highest density of finds and the greatest variety of motifs are found. Here, both tablets decorated on both sides and stone tablets (12.5% ​​of the total finds in Northern Italy [ 1 ] ) were found more often than in other areas. Typical features of the Northern Italian tavolette enigmatiche are circular and double spiral patterns, as well as pearl string and cross patterns. [ 1 ] 3 Brotlaibidols from the Palafitta di Polada site Southwest Germany and Inner Alps A smaller group of finds comes from southwestern Germany, in the Hegau region and around Lake Constance . Tablets from this region are recognizable by the rectangular patterns, which also occur in northern Italy. A few other objects, also found at sites in the Inner Alps ( Matrei am Brenner ) in combination with ceramic finds in North Italian style (Matrei am Brenner, Singen am Hohentwiel ) or cast crucibles ( Bodman-Schachen I ) similar to those from Lake Ledro and Lake Garda suggest a north-south connection through the Alps. Both the Brenner Pass and the Reschen Pass are seen as possible routes to reach southwestern Germany from northern Italy. [ 1 ] Middle and Lower Danube Region The Brotlaibidols from the Middle and Lower Danube region are mainly characterised by radial indentations, a decoration that also occurs to a lesser extent in Northern Italy. Although Northern Italian motifs occur more frequently further west in the Middle Danube region, there is no evidence that the connection between the cultures along the Danube and those in south-west Germany ran via Southern Bavaria, which lies between these areas. The trade routes more likely ran from the Middle Danube region through the Alps to south-west Germany or south of the Alps to Italy. [ 1 ] South Bavaria In 1975, the first brotleibidol in southern Bavaria was found on the Domberg in Freising. New discoveries in 2025 bring the total to eight tablets found in southern Bavaria. [ 5 ] Nevertheless, the groups in southern Bavaria, like the communities southwest of the Rhine, seem to play a rather limited role in the cultural exchange surrounding the brotlaibidols. Tisza area and northwestern Romania Also east of the Middle Danubian Groups, a large number of tablets have been found in the Tisza basin in northwestern Romania . The typical decorations consist mainly of linear or apparently systemless engraved patterns and thus differ from the typical radial decorations of the Danubian region. [ 1 ] Sources, notes and/or references ( de )Köninger, Joachim(1998). Gemusterte Tonobjekte aus der Ufersiedlung Bodman-Schachen 1 : Zur Verbreitung und Chronologie der sogenannten "Oggetti enigmatici". . Marie Leidorf, p. 429-468. ISBN 3896463837 . ( de ) Şandor-Chicideanu, Monica (2003). Neue "Brotlaibidole" Aus Ton Aus Dem Becken Der Unteren Donau , Baia Mare, p. 413-428. ISBN 9738638678 . Archived on February 26, 2011 . ( de ) Lauermann, Ernst (2003). Studien zur Aunjetitz-Kultur im Nordlichen Niederösterreich: 1-2. . Habelt, Bonn. ISBN 978-3-7749-3207-4 . ( de )Trnka, Gerhard(1992). Neues z den "Brotlaibidolen" . Habelt, Bonn. ( the ) David, Wolfgang (2025). Brotlaibidole der spaten Frühbronzezeit aus Bavaria. 50 Jahre nach der ersten Entdeckung in Freising. . Bavarian Archaeology 1