Hallstattzeit

The subject of this presentation is a distinctive corpus of prehistoric imagery from central and eastern Europe. It consists of bird images that are associated with metalwork dating from the 13th to the first half of the 5 th century century BC. In chronological terms, that period covers both the Late Bronze Age, or Urnfield period, and the Early Iron Age, or Hallstatt Period. During this time rather different bird images also occur on pottery, which for the sake of simplicity I shall not discuss this evening. However, later in the presentation, I will briefly point out some interesting differences between metal and clay bird imagery. Why is Bronze Age bird imagery so interesting for prehistoric archaeology? One reason is rather obvious. Bird images were widely distributed across central and eastern Europe, and within that area they were actually the most prominent figurative motif for much the Bronze Age. At the same time the title of this presentation hints at another reason why such images are rather intriguing. It suggests that bird imagery was part of a distinctive process in European prehistory: the evolution of religious branding.

Die Grabkeramik von Hallstatt
Referat im Seminar: Das weiße Gold der Kelten: Prof. Dr. Heinz-Werner Dämmer
Am 23.9. 2006 vorgetragen von
Manfred Bundschuh
Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Köln
Inhalt:         Seite
•1. Zum Referat, Thema und Vorgehen 1
•2. Zur Forschungsgeschichte der Gräber von Hallstatt 2
•3. Grabkeramik anderer hallstattzeitlicher Ausgrabungen 2
•4. Verbreitungskarte 6
•5. Absolute und relative Chronologietabelle 7
•6. Typische Befunde 7
•7. Typische keramische Funde 8
•8. Umwelt und Wirtschaft – nicht explizit Thema dieses Referats 11
•9. Aktuelle Fragen zur Forschung 11
•10. Literaturverzeichnis 12

Funde von Kugelkopfnadeln und Spiralröllchen in Gräbern von Hallstatt sowie bildliche Darstellungen besonders der Situlenkunst waren Ausgangspunkt für experimentalarchäologische Versuche, die eine Rekonstruktion der Haar- und Schleiertracht in der Hallstattzeit zum Ziel hatten. Dazu wurden in mehreren Experimentanordnungen verschiedene Frisuren mit und ohne Schleier gestaltet und auf ihre Vergleichbarkeit mit den Originalfunden überprüft.

During 1970-72 two tumuli were excavated near the long-known prehistoric hilltop settlement of Tihany-Óvár. Its significance is reflected by the fact that it was populated from the late Urnfield period to the
Hallstatt Age, hence in this sense it is comparable with the most widely known sites of the Early Iron Age in Western Hungary, such as the Somló and the Ság Hill, Szalacska, Zalaszántó, Süttő and Sopron. Contrary to them, however, no burials from Tihany have been entirely published so far. This paper aims to change this situation. The features found under Tumulus I strongly suggest that the comparison between Tihany and the aforementioned sites is well-founded based chiefly on the ceramic vessels and the remarkable structure of the barrow. On the other hand the mound seems to fit into a broader picture of the eastern Hallstatt zone with regard to the burial customs and rituals identified based on tumuli dated to the Ha C2-D1 phases from Styria to the northeastern part of Transdanubia. Secondly, a stone-lined grave is presented. Considering the grave form and the vessels comprising the grave goods it shows an utterly different picture than Tumulus I. Consequently, a certain chronological distance between the two burials seems to be conceivable, i.e. the urn grave seems to date to the Ha C1-C2 phases. In addition, the example of the stone-lined grave raises the question whether other graves besides the tumuli might be reckoned with.

This volume takes as its area of study the periphery of the core areas of Hallstatt culture in Baden-Wurttemburg and Bavaria, including the so-called ‘princely residences’. Through the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS), a tool well suited to the field of settlement research sites, the author explores the relationship between the inhabitants and their environment, and especially their ability to expoit environmental preconditions. The book (with CD) includes an extensive catalogue of sites and finds.

Abstract:
The Alb-Hegau pottery of South-West Germany, which is decorated with incised lines, stamps and chipcarvings, has been the subject of scientific research several times in the past. This included not just the chronological but also the chorographical classification of this type of pottery.
As the name suggests, the Alb-Hegau pottery can mainly be found in the Swabian Jura, the Albvorland as well as the area between Lake Constance and the upper Rhine valley. The elaborate ornaments consisting of geometric patterns as well as red paint and graphite are typical for this type of pottery. With its fragility and complex ornamentation the Alb-Hegau pottery holds a special place within the canon of Early Iron Age pottery. The technically complex pottery is mostly found in burial or ritual contexts.
One has to question the significance of these elaborately decorated vessels within the sacred rituals of the Hallstatt culture. As important part of death rituals and sacrifices, they most likely were not just vessels, but also served as religious symbols and information medium.
Research shows there are different regions in the dispersal area of the Alb-Hegau pottery, which clearly differ from each other in their ornamentation. Most likely, these regions do not show regional workshops, but instead regional cultures and identities.

Zusammenfassung:
Die ritz-, stempel- und kerbschnittverzierte Alb-Hegau-Keramik Südwestdeutschlands war bereits in der Vergangenheit mehrfach Gegenstand wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen. Diese betrafen nicht nur die chronologische sondern auch die chorologische Gliederung dieser Tonware.
Wie ihr Name bereits sagt kommt die Alb-Hegau-Keramik vor allem auf der Schwäbischen Alb, im Albvorland sowie im Bereich zwischen Bodensee und oberem Rheintal vor. Typisch ist die kunstvoll gestaltete Ornamentik aus geometrischen Mustern sowie die Bemalung mit roter Farbe und Graphit. Hinsichtlich ihrer Fragilität und komplexen Verzierung nimmt die Alb-Hegau-Keramik eine gesonderte Stellung im Kanon der früheisenzeitlichen Tonware ein. Technisch aufwändig gearbeitet, tritt sie vor allem im Grab- und Ritualkontext in Erscheinung.
Zu hinterfragen ist daher, welche Bedeutung den aufwändig verzierten Gefäßen im Rahmen einer hallstattzeitlichen Sakralkultur beigemessen werden darf. Als wichtiger Bestandteil des Toten- und Opferrituals übernahmen sie wohl nicht nur die Rolle von Behältnissen, sondern dienten selbst als religiös aufgeladenes Symbolgut und Informationsträger.
Verschiedene Untersuchungen zeigen darüber hinaus, dass im Verbreitungsgebiet der Alb-Hegau-Keramik einzelne Regionen existieren, die sich deutlich anhand ihrer Ornamentik voneinander unterscheiden. Bei ihnen handelt es sich sehr wahrscheinlich nicht nur um regionale Werkstattkreise sondern vielmehr um die gezielte Darstellung räumlich begrenzter Kulturgruppen und Identitäten.

Fleischer et alii 2012 : F. FLEISCHER, M. LANDOLT, M. ROTH-ZEHNER, Les inhumations à l’intérieur des structures d’ensilage. Körperbestattungen in Vorratsgruben, dans A. BRÄUNING, W. LÖHLEIN, S. PLOUIN (dir.), Die frühe Eisenzeit zwischen Schwarzwald und Vogesen. Le Premier âge du Fer entre Forêt-Noire et Vosges, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg, 2012, p. 260-261 (Archäologische Informationen aus Baden-Württemberg, 66).

This study deals with graves of Vekerzug culture, which contained weapons and horse harness. These graves reflect an evident social differentiation of Vekerzug society. Special attention in the study was paid to the most accurate geographic and cultural determination of the origin of individual weapon types and horse harness components in the context of new knowledge about Vekerzug culture and answering the question to what extent these finds reflect its interregional contacts. Important is also definition of possible armament schemes of Vekerzug culture and their comparison with armament schemes in the neighbouring cultural regions, especially with the forest-steppe Western Podolian group, Ciumbrud culture and Ferigile culture. Cultural and spatial analyses of individual types of weapons and horse harness as well as of the armament schemes of Vekerzug culture show that the problem of interregional contacts of this culture, mainly the eastern ones, must be considered more differentially than it has been previously presented in scientific literature. At the same time, they confirm the recent knowledge that the effect of eastern influences on Vekerzug culture is in scientific literature without a reason constantly overestimated.
Keywords: Eastern Hungary, Southern Slovakia, Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, Vekerzug culture, weapons, horse harness, graves, armament schemes, interregional contacts, innovations.

Die Auswertung der eisenzeitlichen Siedlungsstrukturen der Mikroregion „Langenauer Becken“ im Alb-Donau-Kreis ergibt für die frühe Hallstattzeit eine Vielzahl an ländlichen Siedlungen, die sich v. a. im Kernbereich, der sog. Langenauer Mulde, versammeln. Außerhalb dieses Siedlungszentrums befindet sich ein ‚Herrenhof‘, der sich durch seine aufwändige Ausgestaltung und Mehrphasigkeit hervorhebt. Im Laufe der späten Hallstattzeit und frühen Latènezeit löst sich das Siedlungszentrum in der ‚Langenauer Mulde‘ auf, denn es werden bevorzugt die Hanglagen der Schwäbischen Alb aufgesucht; und im Laufe der Latènezeit streuen die Siedlungen weitläufig über das gesamte ‚Langenauer Becken‘. Funde und Befunde zeugen von der landwirtschaftlichen Prägung dieser Mikroregion, die über die Donau überregional angebunden war. Die religiöse Sphäre wird durch Deponierungen und einen möglichen Kultplatz sichtbar.

We are indebted to various sources for our knowledge of the pre-Roman Iron Age textile production on the territory of Austria (800-15 BC), such as well-preserved textiles, grave finds, textile tools, archaeological evidence in settlements and depictions of textile producers and their products.
We can find evidence of their activities in each settlement, where they lived and worked. Spindle whorls, loom weights and needles in graves may indicate that the deceased who were accompanied by these tools were textile workers, and furthermore point to a special social status these persons occupied in their communities. Particularly during the early Iron Age  predominantly women have textile tools in their graves, sometimes even being accompanied by tool sets (e.g. spindles and knifes or spindles and needles). Depictions of textile work, such as on the Sopron Urn and the Bologna tintinnabulum, illustrate different stages of the textile production process from spinning to weaving.
The two case studies of Hallstatt and Dürrnberg demonstrate that textile production in Iron Age Austria was organised in different ways, providing diverse archaeological evidence concerning the producers, consumers and traders of textiles.

There is now a general scholarly consensus that the concentration of rural people into settlements in Western Europe (as opposed to dispersed or scattered habitations across the countryside) occurred in various stages between the eighth and twelfth centuries, though with regional divergences in precise timing, speed, formation, and intensity. What is clear from the literature is that a “one-size fits all” model for settlement development across Western Europe is not possible. Concentrated settlements appeared in certain parts of Europe for different reasons. This article discusses the strengths and limitations of four of the most influential frameworks for explaining patterns of medieval settlement concentration and their relation to social and economic change. The frameworks under analysis emphasize, respectively, power, coercion and lordship; communalism and territorial formalization; fieldsystems and resource-management; and urbanization and market-integration.

Il existe maintenant un consensus général érudit que la concentration des habitations en Europe occidentale
(par opposition à des habitations dispersées et éparpillées dans les campagnes) se fit par diverses
étapes entre le huitième et le douzième siècle, avec quand même des divergences régionales quant au moment précis, à la rapidité, la mise en place et l’intensité. Ce qu’on sait maintenant avec
certitude, tirant une conclusion de la documentation, c’est que le modèle « taille unique » n’est pas possible lorsqu’on considère le développement des implantations en Europe de l’Ouest. Des agglomérations concentrées firent leur apparition dans certaines régions de l’Europe pour des raisons différentes les unes des autres. Dans cet article, nous examinons les mérites et les limites des quatre cadres les plus persuasifs qui expliquent les modes de concentration de ces implantations médiévales et leur rapport aux changements sociaux et économiques. Pour expliquer le processus de la concentration de ces habitations, ces cadres soulignent respectivement : le pouvoir, la contrainte et la
seigneurie; la formalisation des territoires et communautés; la gestion des ressources et le système des champs; et, finalement, l’urbanisation et l’intégration des marchés.