Who Are These Ancient Celts? The Heuneburg Region
- experiarchaeuwm
- Jun 21, 2019
- 5 min read
Our "Death-Metal" project is based off of objects from a burial mound in the region of the Heuneburg. The following is a excerpt from an article written by UWM graduate students Lauren Jones, Katherine Santell, and Emily Stanton for the Fall 2018 issue of "The Artifact: A Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America - Milwaukee Society."
"An Iron Age hill-fort, the Heuneburg is a remarkable site in the southwest German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located in the Sigmaringen Landkreis, between the Danube and the town of Hundersingen (near Herbertingen). Within a 20km (12.5 miles) radius of the citadel, there is a high concentration of Hallstatt era (800 to c. 380 BCE) hilltop sites. The earliest occupation of the Heuneburg region dates to the Upper Paleolithic, while the hill-fort was likely first occupied during the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) (c. 1500 – 1200 BCE). It was destroyed in a fire and later resettled and refortified in 700 BCE, reaching the height of power between 620 and 530 BCE. The area surrounding the Heuneburg contains settlement locations such as Ensmad, a walled plateau referred to as the Große Heuneburg, the Bettelbühl burial mound complex, and the Alteburg.
The “Settlement and Cultural Landscape Development of the Heuneburg Surroundings during the Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods,” project is conducted by the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg. Dr. Dirk Krausse, State Archaeologist for BadenWürttemberg and a professor at Universität Tübingen, oversees the total operation. Dr. Leif Hansen and Dr. Roberto Tarpini are responsible for organization and analysis of finds. In addition, technicians from the Denkmalpflege instructed the international team of students, including the three authors of this report. Ralf Hartmayer and Mick worked closely with teams at the Große Heuneburg (moving towards the Alteburg after its excavation was concluded), Tarpini and geologist Dr. Volker Sach directed work in Ensmad, and Wilhelm Weiher led the excavation at the Bettelbühl Mound. Alex Petrovich was a senior student supervisor and assisted where needed. Working with an international team of students was one of the most rewarding aspects of the experience. We stayed in a cabin outside of the Heuneburg open-air museum, with students numbering between 7-13 as the weeks progressed. In addition to the three of us from the United States, there were individuals from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Scotland, and Wales. Every evening students cooked communal meals, allowing us to sample a variety of international dishes. Work began at 7:30 in the morning, when we were assigned site locations. Groups changed regularly, allowing us to get to know one another and form close friendships (even creating a monopoly game). There was a break at 10 am for breakfast in the field, and lunch was at 1 pm. The days were concluded at 4:45 pm. After work, people participated in “Feierabend,” which involved conversation, local beer, and feeding the site cat, Gorbi. We were also able to hike in the area, and see sites such as the Danube, and the burial mounds of Baumberg, Hohmichele, and Speckhau, two of which were excavated by a UWM and University of Mississippi team led by Bettina Arnold and Matthew L. Murray between 1999 and 2002.
Students found the different sites to have their own distinctive personalities. Ensmad was very peaceful. The excavation was located in the “town” of the same name (which consisted of three houses, a church, and a goat farm). In a slight depression and surrounded by Swabian forest, it received direct sunlight and a tent was constructed in early May to prevent soil from drying out too quickly. Tarpini revealed that the site was an outer settlement of the Heuneburg region, with findings such as storage pits, ceramics, and intriguingly, one upperclass spindle whorl. The ceramics may have dated to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) or La Tène (500 - 15 BCE). MBA sherds from this region are quite distinctive, since they often contain visible grains of quartz in the coarse ceramic temper. Furthermore, in contrast to the Hallstatt ware in the area, Middle Bronze Age pottery pieces usually had handles. Ensmad may have provided support to the fortified Heuneburg “city,” on the plateau overlooking the Danube. It was likely occupied from the MBA to the La Tène period. While excavating this area, we used trowels and a vacuum, in order to preserve the outlines of the storage pits and post holes. The site was very rocky, as there were deposits from the formation of the Alps.
The hilltop settlement called Große Heuneburg, or the “Great Heuneburg” is located in the steep, rocky, wooded hillsides near Zweifalten-Upflamör in Reutlingen County. This site is divided into two nearly square-shaped areas, separated by a bank-and-ditch system. Krausse believes that it is likely that Große Heuneburg had fortification walls, despite the unique topography of the area. Our work at Große Heuneburg focused mainly on the drystone (un-mortared) bank-andditch system at the edges of the two areas of the site, which had been partially excavated in the 1920s by German archaeologist Gerhard Bersu. One notable difference in practice from US-based archaeology, was the use of a Kreutzhacke (cross-axe). Because of the rocky soil composition, this was used as a more efficient method for leveling a planum or removing tree roots. On a typical day at Große Heuneburg though, we were tasked with lowering the planum and cleaning profiles. While troweling, we uncovered a few small features such as charcoal flakes or burnt sandstone, the latter likely indicating a hearth. Once we had dug down past the plow zone, we began to find ceramic sherds. At this site, most of the sherds date to the Hallstatt and La Tène eras.
The Bettelbühl burial mounds are located near the Danube river and can be seen from the hilltop fort of the Heuneburg. Excavations at the site have been dated to roughly 583 BC. One of the most notable burials at the Bettelbühl was that of a “Celtic princess”. The burial included the remains of what is believed to be a high-ranking woman, an apparently lower ranking woman, and child, in addition to a mix of gold, bronze, and amber jewelry. For our excavation, we opened a trench in one of the smaller mounds. Although the depression in the center of the mound indicates that it may have been previously looted, Krausse believes that it is a natural formation and it is still worth excavating. This was later corroborated by the taking of a core that revealed organic material. There were two groups working on either end of the trench and one of the most notable aspects was the odd soil color changes that did not present a clear stratigraphy."
The Heuneburg region continues to provide a wealth of information on Iron Age Celtic culture.
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