The Goethehügel Tumulus

Around Sessenheim, it is very likely that tribes settled between 2000 and 900 BCE, as evidenced by the tumulus located east of the village, at a place called Ebersberg. Goethe, who named it "Frederikenuhe," made it an emblematic site of his memories with Frédérique. In 1880, Professor Ernst Martin from Strasbourg conducted excavations at this site. He discovered several graves, some already looted, but the oldest was intact. It contained, among other things, female jewelry and an oenochoe, a wine jug in very poor condition, difficult to restore. According to Professor Martin, these remains date back to a period before the arrival of the Romans. The oenochoe is thus dated to the 2nd century BCE, and a copper denarius was also uncovered during the excavations.