The Chronology of the Hallstatt Period in Moravia. Impact of the Wagon Graves for Synchronisation of East and West Hallstatt Cultures

Bloomery furnaces were the first units for iron smelting. In the Hallstatt period small bowl-type furnaces were used and until the medieval period the size of such furnaces was increasing continuously. Experimental archaeologists reconstruct bloomery furnaces to study the processes of bloom production. In a small bowl-type furnace (Hallstatt period) at Asparn and in a larger shaft-type furnace (medieval period) at Ybbsitz smelting experiments were performed, The samples contained metallic iron and slag. Various amounts of iron in different stages of conglomeration up to larger iron pieces were found. The slag belongs to a fayalitic-type, consisting of wustite (FeO), fayalite (Fe2SiO4) and glass-phase (amorphous Ca-, Al-silicates) in various concentrations. The yield of metallic iron was highly different for the various experiments. In general, more metallic iron was formed in the larger shaft-type furnaces. A large bloom was not obtained.

Two princely graves (numbers 6 and 14) of the Bylany culture from the Hallstatt period were excavated at Prague-Letňany in December 2014. The paper summarises the results of the scientific analysis of grave number 6. The grave inventory contained a four-wheeled waggon, 21 ceramic vessels of variable size and type, one bronze bucket, one iron sword, two iron spits and a variety of animal bones. Dark paint on the outer surface of the bronze bucket was examined using infrared spectroscopy and revealed the presence of beeswax and charcoal. This is unusual as the paint or coatings found on archaeological vessels from numerous periods are generally based on natural resins. Pollen analysis of the organic matter found in the bottom of the bronze bucket showed that it had originally belonged to flowers, probably in the form of a floral tribute. Osteological analysis of the offered parts of one adult sheep, one adult pig and one calf skeleton revealed the specific selection from fleshy parts of the animal bodies. There were no clear signs of roasting on the animal bones. Analysis of the waggon showed that Fagus wood was used for construction of the felloes, Abies/Picea wood for the axle and Ulmus, Acer and Quercus for other parts, suggesting that Modern Age technologies were already in use during the Hallstatt period.

During the 1989–1994 renovation of the Zagreb Town Museum, it became obvious that the area was inhabited in prehistoric times. We 14C dated 40 samples to determine various settlement periods. The ages of the samples span a much longer time than expected, from the Early Iron Age (Hallstatt period) to the 19th century ad. 14C dates on charcoal samples placed the remains of dwelling pits in the Hallstatt period, 8th to 4th century bc. A late La Tène settlement dated between the 4th century bc and the 2nd century ad. Medieval fortifications were identified in the western part of the complex, consisting of a well-preserved wooden structure used for construction of the royal castrum. 14C measurements on wooden planks and posts date the construction of the fortification between the 13th and 15th centuries ad and branches, beams, and tools found below the basement of the Convent of St. Clare span the 16th to the 19th century ad.

Seven amber beads (Fig. 14.1; Table 14.1) were discovered in five graves (0.9% of all graves) at the Świbie cemetery. They differ in the overall shape of the body. Following the typology proposed by M. Chytráček et al. (2017) for amber beads from HaC–D1 found in the Czech Republic, Moravia and Slovakia, one formal type (A2) can be distinguished in the analysed material, and it is represented by three variants (A2a, A2c, A2d); in addition, one specimen does not fit into the classification of M. Chytráček et al. (2017). All variants mentioned are long-lived, found before and after the Hallstatt period. In the Early Iron Age, they are known from present-day Poland, Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia, as well as from lands further south-west, such as Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. In central Europe, amber artefacts of HaC–D1 date are found most abundantly in the areas of Greater Poland (Fig. 14.2), central Silesia, Bohemia, and Moravia. Upper Silesia and western Lesser Poland are very poor in finds of this type (Figs 14.3 and 14.4). The paucity of amber finds in the Częstochowa-Gliwice area cannot be explained by the cremation of the deceased together with their furnishings, as biritual rites prevailed there during the Hallstatt period and inhumation burials predominated over cremations. Other factors (possibly fashion or customs) that influenced the rare furnishing of the deceased with amber ornaments must therefore be taken into account.

Diet and social status during the La Tène period in Bohemia: Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from Kutná Hora-Karlov and Radovesice

Egerhjul og Vogne

This study is first attempt to refine Early Iron Age absolute chronology, specifically the timing of the Hallstatt C-D transition in southern Germany, using Bayesian chronological modelling of radiocarbon (14C) dates. The Hallstatt period (c.800–450 BC) marks the transition from prehistory to proto-history in Central Europe. The relative chronological framework for Hallstatt burials developed by the mid-twentieth century is still used today, but absolute dating is limited by the scarcity of dendrochronological dates and the perception that 14C dating in the Hallstatt period (HaC-HaD) is futile, due to the calibration plateau between c.750 and 400 cal BC. We present new AMS 14C dates on 16 HaC-HaD burials from a stratified sequence at Dietfurt an der Altmühl ‘Tennisplatz’ (Bavaria, Germany). This sequence is situated entirely on the ‘Hallstatt plateau’, but by combining 14C dating with osteological, stratigraphic, and typological information, we demonstrate that the plateau is no longer the ‘catastrophe’ for archaeological chronology once envisaged. Taking into account dendrochronological dating elsewhere, we show that at Dietfurt, the HaC-HaD transition almost certainly occurred before 650 cal BC, and most likely between 685 and 655 cal BC (68.3% probability), several decades earlier than usually assumed. We confirm the accuracy and robustness of this estimate by sensitivity testing. We suggest that it is now possible, and essential, to exploit the increased precision offered by AMS measurement and the IntCal20 14C calibration curve to re-evaluate absolute chronologies in Early Iron Age Europe and equivalent periods in other regions.

A pottery typology covering the Late Bronze Age to the end of the Hallstatt period has been established using data from different sites of the lower Marne valley, from its confluence with the Seine to the limit with the Aisne département. The final phase of the Bronze Age has been divided into an early phase and a classical phase. The Hallstatt has been divided into three: the transitional Late Bronze/ Early Iron Age period, the Early and the Middle Hallstatt periods. The study is based on 580 pots of known diameter, from numerous small contexts. The pottery typology for this period evolves rather slowly, without any major changes, except for the Middle Hallstatt period where new forms are introduced. The end of the Bronze Age can be assimilated to a regional group, whereas the pottery productions of the subsequent phases divide into local groups. The Northern stylistic influences on the local pottery make the Marne valley a buffer zone between the Ardennes in the North and the Southern Seine-et-Marne. Cultural homogeneity on a regional scale reappears only during the Middle and Late Hallstatt period.

The article contrasts two chronologically distinct groups of artifacts: painted ceramics from the Hallstatt period and the so-called white ceramics, produced until the end of modernity. They are related by means of the technique of covering a bright surface with colorful patterns and the stylistic similarity of certain geometric motifs. However, the ideas behind creating these pictorial representations were completely different. In the article, painted vessels from the Hallstatt period and modernity will be the starting point for detailed studies on magical and rational thinking about the world. It was in the Renaissance that, according to the concept of the sociologist and philosopher Max Weber (1864‒1920), a “disenchantment of the world”, took place ‒ e.g. the departure from the magical understanding of reality. Early Iron Age and Modernity ceramics will illustrate this process.

Clay vessels have a wide variety of functions in social activities in the Hallstatt period. In addition to food storage and processing, they were used for ritual purposes and as funerary vessels. The paper presents the results of archaeological and chromatographic studies of 31 vases from two different Hallstatt culture sites in lower Silesia (Poland). The investigations included vessels fragments from the Domasław cemetery and from the Milejowice settlement. The chromatographic analyses focused on fatty acids and biomarkers and made it possible to identify the most likely sources of substances they came into contact with during use. The c-means and hierarchical cluster analyses showed that grave vessels differed from settlement ceramics. Thus, conclusions on the diverse vessel functions could be made.

Textile production during the Hallstatt period was an integral part of everyday life of societies living in Poland. However, discoveries of fabrics are very rare. Textile remains from this period survived primarily in the skeletal bi-ritual graves in the Silesia voivodship. Among preserved fragments of organic finds, remains of clothes and elements of accessories can be distinguished. The best-preserved and well-studied textile remains come from the cemetery in Świbie, Gliwice district. The locality was accidentally discovered in 1930s, but regular excavations started there thirty years later. As a result of the archaeological works, 576 cremation urns and skeletal graves were explored providing a rich set of materials. Grave goods were local products, as well as imports from Southern and Western Europe. Sixty three graves contained remains of textiles. The majority of the surviving fabrics adhered to metal outfits. In addition, research encountered woven tape remains, braided ribbons, threads, and strings. The material acquired from the cemetery in Świbie is the largest textile collection from the Hallstatt period discovered in Poland. It waited in a museum warehouse until the year 2015 when the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Łódź initiated further studies. Despite the fact that most fragments were small and mineralised, all the undertaken analyses led to a better understanding of textile production in the Hallstatt period in Poland with its innovative and traditional elements.

During the Early Iron Age in Europe (EIA), the phenomenon of the Hallstatt culture enveloped a large portion of the European continent. Between the Atlantic Ocean and the River Danube, cultural groups can be roughly divided into two major regions: the Western and the Eastern Hallstatt circle. EIA finds made from organic material decorated with pigments are usually well-preserved only in specific conditions. A good example is the coloured textile found in the salt mines of the eponymous site Hallstatt (AT). Other examples are Scythian finds north and east of the Black Sea, far outside the Hallstatt culture area. This paper presents the results of the analysis of decorated artifacts made from bone or antlers from Jalžabet (NW Croatia). The artifacts were found in two princely burial mounds with incinerated remains: burial mound 1 (Gomila) and burial mound 2. The funerary monuments belong to the Eastern Hallstatt culture and date back to the middle of the 6th century BC, i.e., the end of the Ha D1 period. A group of scientists from Croatia and abroad performed several series of analyses on the selected bone or antler artifacts. The motifs on the artifacts were made by incisions and were filled with black pigment, and there are faint traces of red pigment on the surface. With the help of colourant analysis performed in Brussels and Zagreb (SEM-EDX, MRS, FT-IR), zooarchaeological taxonomic identification, and archaeological determination of a selected group of findings from Jalžabet, we have tried to answer several major questions. The most important question being: are the traces of pigments on artefacts deliberate decoration? If so, can we determine the composition of the paint? What kind of raw materials were used for the production of the artifacts? These questions are important because these kinds of EIA finds are rare and even more rarely analysed. New data would considerably expand our knowledge about the funeral rites of the most prominent members of the Hallstatt nobility in the Drava River valley and Central Europe. Taxonomically, the raw material from which the finds were made was identified to be antlers, probably from red deer (Cervus elaphus). Using methods for colourant analysis, we have successfully proven deliberate application of black paint based on carbon black as a pigment, probably in combination with terpenoid resin. Until now, this composition was only known from much later, Roman-period finds. Also, it was confirmed that the black paint on the artifacts from both burial mounds in Jalžabet is of the same composition. The red pigment on the finds has been identified as hematite. It is highly probable that the red surfaces were deliberate, painted decoration. The probability of extracting the raw material needed for the production of the red paint in the Jalžabet micro-region was also established and requires further research (bog iron ore). The archaeological analysis of the finds supports the idea of the use of various types of decorated plates as inlays, probably on furniture or other luxury everyday items. Smaller finds could have been used as utilitarian objects, parts of attire, and jewellery.

The traditional definition of a Fürstensitz, outlined in 1969 by W. Kimmig, is in need of modification. Greater precision is needed in the interpretation of imported and imitated Mediterranean pottery and élite burials. From our discussion, it becomes clear that both rich settlements and burials underwent crucial changes within the late Hallstatt period: the élite burial rite was becoming increasingly exclusive, and imported or imitated Mediterranean pottery generally appeared on hillforts only after the end of Hallstatt D1. Clearly, a model for the West Hallstatt culture should take account of its dynamic nature. Some important trends are described: (1) the spread of élite burial practices, (2) the foundation of the Fürstensitze, and (3) the ‘concentration of power’ in the late Hallstatt culture north-west of the Alps.The emergence of an élite during the Hallstatt period had an internal logic which did not necessarily require a Mediterranean instigator. The foundation of Massalia in 600 BC has traditionally been seen as providing the impulse for the emergence of the ‘princely’ culture of Hallstatt D. But neither the internal developments of the Hallstatt culture, nor the degree of contact with the Greek colonies in Hallstatt D1, can support this view.Previous emphasis on influence from the Greek colonies in the South of France has obscured the effects of contacts and trade with Italy, although it is certain that the increasing acquaintance with the civilized neighbours across the Alps led to events of historic importance: the Celtic invasion of Italy and the start of the Celtic diaspora. This process of acquaintance must be assigned to the late Hallstatt period (Hallstatt D2/3), when Italic imports became frequent north of the Alps. In fact, the transalpine areas which in the late Hallstatt period had especially close trading relations with Italy (particularly east central France) seem to have been the origin of most of the important contingents of Celtic invaders. The imported or imitated Italic objects in Hallstatt D2/3 and La Tène A reflect the changed political situation before and after the Celtic invasion. Whereas in both phases the Celts imported luxurious feasting equipment, only in the Early La Tène period is Italic influence apparent in Celtic weaponry.

The Late Bronze Age Urnfield Period in Central Europe (BA D, Ha A/B, c.1300 to 800 BC) is characterized by the dominance of cremation as a burial rite. The simple appearance of urn burials give an impression of simplicity, but they are the endpoint of a chain of actions and practices that constitute the funerary ritual, many of which may not be simple at all, but include a large number of people and resources. The washing, dressing, and furnishing of the body as it is laid out prior to cremation leave no traces. The funerary pyre, as spectacular as it may have looked, smelled, and felt during the cremation, preserves only under exceptional circumstances. The rituals and feasts associated with selecting the cremated remains from the funerary pyre and placing them in a suitable organic container or a ceramic urn prior to their deposition do not leave much evidence. The large-scale spread of cremation during the Late Bronze Age has traditionally been explained by the movements of peoples (e.g. Kraft 1926; Childe 1950), or a change in religious beliefs (e.g. Alexander 1979). More recently, a change in how the human body is ontologically understood and how it has to be transformed after death is seen as the more likely underlying cause (Harris et al. 2013; Robb and Harris 2013; Sørensen and Rebay-Salisbury in prep.), although a simple and single reason is rarely the driver of such pan-European developments. This chapter will be concerned with another transition, the change from cremation back to inhumation, several hundred years later during the Early Iron Age, and investigates its background and causes. In Central Europe, cremation is given up as the solitary funerary rite, and a range of different options, including inhumations in burial mounds, bi-ritual cemeteries, and new forms of cremation graves emerge. This change happens at a different pace in the various areas of the Hallstatt Culture and adjacent areas, which will be surveyed here. Despite doubts about the validity of the term ‘Hallstatt Culture’ as a cultural entity (e.g. Müller-Scheeßel 2000), it remains a convenient shorthand to the Early Iron Age in Central Europe, c.800–450 BC, in eastern France, southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and parts of northern Italy.

The Great Heuberg: An Iron Age ritual landscape on the Swabian Jura, SW Germany