diff --git a/SConstruct b/SConstruct
index 974b3d7c9..b2e9d803a 100644
--- a/SConstruct
+++ b/SConstruct
@@ -169,8 +169,6 @@ def defineCmdlineVariables():
         ,PathVariable('INSTALLDIR', 'Root output directory for install. Final installation will happen in INSTALLDIR/PREFIX/... ', '/', PathVariable.PathIsDir)
         ,PathVariable('PKGLIBDIR', 'Installation dir for plugins, defaults to PREFIX/lib/lumiera/modules', '',PathVariable.PathAccept)
         ,PathVariable('PKGDATADIR', 'Installation dir for default config, usually PREFIX/share/lumiera', '',PathVariable.PathAccept)
-        ,PathVariable('SRCTAR', 'Create source tarball prior to compiling', '..', PathVariable.PathAccept)
-        ,PathVariable('DOCTAR', 'Create tarball with developer documentation', '..', PathVariable.PathAccept)
      )
     
     return vars
@@ -314,15 +312,7 @@ def definePackagingTargets(env, artifacts):
     """ build operations and targets to be done /before/ compiling.
         things like creating a source tarball or preparing a version header.
     """
-    t = Tarball(env,location='$SRCTAR',dirs='$SRCDIR')
-    artifacts['src.tar'] = t
-    env.Alias('src.tar', t)
-    env.Alias('tar', t)
-    
-    t =  Tarball(env,location='$DOCTAR',suffix='-doc',dirs='admin doc wiki uml tests')
-    artifacts['doc.tar'] = t
-    env.Alias('doc.tar', t)
-    env.Alias('tar', t)
+    pass
 
 
 
diff --git a/admin/scons/Buildhelper.py b/admin/scons/Buildhelper.py
index f555489dd..2fef49cf3 100644
--- a/admin/scons/Buildhelper.py
+++ b/admin/scons/Buildhelper.py
@@ -231,79 +231,3 @@ def RegisterIcon_Builder(env):
     env.Append(BUILDERS = {'IconRender' : buildIcon})    
     env.AddMethod(IconCopy)
 
-
-
-def Tarball(env,location,dirs,suffix=''):
-    """ Custom Command: create Tarball of some subdirs
-        location: where to create the tar (may optionally include filename.tar.gz)
-        suffix: (optional) suffix to include in the tar name
-        dirs: directories to include in the tar
-        
-        This is a bit of a hack, because we want to be able to include arbitrary directories,
-        without creating new dependencies on those dirs. Esp. we want to tar the source tree
-        prior to compiling. Solution is 
-         - use the Command-Builder, but pass all target specifications as custom build vars
-         - create a pseudo-target located in the parent directory (not built by default)
-    """
-    targetID    = '../extern-tar%s' % suffix
-    versionID   = env['VERSION']
-    defaultName = 'lumiera%s_%s' % (suffix, versionID)
-    nameprefix  = 'lumiera-%s/' %  (versionID)
-    location    = env.subst(location)
-    dirs        = env.subst(dirs)
-    return env.Command(targetID,None, createTarball, 
-                       location=location, defaultName=defaultName, dirs=dirs, nameprefix=nameprefix)
-
-
-def createTarball(target,source,env):
-    """ helper, builds the tar using the python2.3 tarfile lib.
-        This allows us to prefix all paths, thus moving the tree
-        into a virtual subdirectory containing the Version number,
-        as needed by common packaging systems.
-    """
-    name = getTarName( location = env['location']
-                     , defaultName = env['defaultName'])
-    targetspec = env['dirs']
-    nameprefix = env['nameprefix'] or ''
-    print 'Running: tar -czf %s %s ...' % (name,targetspec)
-    if os.path.isfile(name):
-        os.remove(name)
-    tar = tarfile.open(name,'w:gz')
-    for name in targetspec.split():
-        tar.add(name,nameprefix+name)
-    tar.close()
-#
-# old version using shell command:
-#
-#    cmd = 'tar -czf %s %s' % (name,targetspec)
-#    print 'running ', cmd, ' ... '
-#    pipe = os.popen (cmd)
-#    return pipe.close ()
-
-
-
-
-def getTarName(location, defaultName):
-    """ create a suitable name for the tarball.
-        - if location contains a name (*.tar.gz) then use this
-        - otherwise append the defaultName to the specified dir
-    """
-    spec = os.path.abspath(location)
-    (head,tail) = os.path.split(spec)
-    if not os.path.isdir(head):
-        print 'Target dir "%s" for Tar doesn\'t exist.' % head
-        Exit(1)
-    mat = re.match(r'([\w\.\-\+:\~]+)\.((tar)|(tar\.gz)|(tgz))', tail)
-    if mat:
-        name = mat.group(1)
-        ext  = '.'+mat.group(2)
-    else:
-        ext = '.tar.gz'
-        if os.path.isdir(spec):
-            head = spec
-            name = defaultName
-        else:
-            name = tail
-    return os.path.join(head,name+ext)
-            
-