The Mathematics of the Viereckschanzen of the La Tène Culture

Abstract

The development of script-using ancient civilizations and their achievements in sciences such as astronomy and mathematics have been well researched. Illiterate cultures were able to attain an adequate level of knowledge and transferred this knowledge to succeeding generations via oral tradition and mnemonic artefacts. The constructions of the square ditched enclosures (Viereckschanzen) of the last phase of the La Tene period (LT D, 150-1 BC) are documentations of the mathematical knowledge of this culture and served as a kind of mnemonic artefact. The constructions comprise the application of Pythagorean theorem (in terms of Pythagorean triangles) and square-root approximation triangles. Via these types of triangles, convex quadrangles are constructed (i.e., trapezium, parallelogram, rectangle, kite, lozenge, and square). The constructions were laid out in the terrain on the basis of a consistent ‘Babylonian/Egyptian’ metrology.