Land use, economy and cult in late Iron Age ritual centres: an archaeobotanical study of the La Tène site at Sandberg-Roseldorf, Lower Austria

Abstract

Sandberg-Roseldorf—one of the largest known lowland La Tene settlements in central Europe—is located in a very fertile area favouring cereal cultivation. The site is remarkable for its temple districts and its possible religious significance. A total of 27,252 charred plant remains have been analysed from Temple District 1 and a section of the settlement area, including a burnt granary. Altogether 14 crop plant species have been identified, some of them pointing to contacts with the Mediterranean. The 136 recorded wild plant taxa originate from major habitat types around the settlement, including arable fields, ruderal sites, steppe grassland on loess, dry grassland on acidic soils, mesic grassland on moist valley bottoms, as well as woods and forest steppe complexes. Land use seems to have been quite intensive around Roseldorf. Palaeoeconomic calculations show that the exceptionally rich agrarian environment could have easily supported a sizeable human population, only parts of which had to devote themselves to food production. Ritual contexts yielded rich and some exceptional plant material.