The enigma of the 'water goddess'

In Mönchstockheim (district of Schweinfurt), a sensational discovery was made in 2022: a mysterious ceramic statuette was found in a former waterhole.

A small prehistoric ceramic statuette from Mönchstockheim (municipality of Sulzheim, district of Schweinfurt, Lower Franconia) fascinates scientists and the public alike. Only rarely do archaeological finds such as this human-shaped figurine, which is only 19 cm tall, offer insights into the beliefs of non-written cultures. The archaeology of religion is therefore one of the most fascinating, but also most difficult areas of prehistoric research. Archaeologists are using state-of-the-art methods to decipher the riddle of the cultidol, which attracted a great deal of media attention as the "water goddess".

Meticulous excavation documentation, scientific age determination using C14 dating and stylistic comparisons of finds enable a cultural-historical classification. The interpretation of the content of the statuette is much more problematic: is it the figure of a woman or a man? Who does it represent? Is it a figure of a god or an ancestor? Why was it put down over 2500 years ago? What were the beliefs of the people who performed such acts of worship? The exhibition "The enigma of the water goddess - prehistoric cult in Franconia" attempts to provide answers to these and many other questions and takes us back to a mysterious time of Iron Age cults and sacrificial customs.

Last edited on 21.07.2025