One of the largest and most important Celtic cities in Central Europe is in Bavaria. More than 40,000 new finds from this former settlement now provide new details about the life and culture of their residents. Among other things, they clearly show for the first time that the Celts in this oppidum also ate fish and edited iron with hammers. An unusually filigree statuette also testifies to the delicate handicrafts of the bronze cast. In contrast, puzzles still throw up human remains from a fountain.
A former settlement from the Celtic period is located in Manching, Bavarian, southeast of Ingolstadt. The place was settled in the late Iron Age, starting from the end of the fourth century BC, of the so-called La-Tène culture. In the second century BC, this oppidum developed into a well-secured commercial and craft center and thus into a political and economic center north of the Alps. At that time, up to 10,000 people lived on a city area of around 400 hectares. In the first century BC, however, the economy and population shrank for unknown reasons and the large Keltensiedlung gradually lost its importance. When the Romans took over the settlement in 15 BC, it was already left.
Fish dishes and iron production
From 2021 to 2024, archaeologists from the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (BLFD) have now excavated another part of this oppidum of Manching as part of road construction work. In the three years, they released 0.68 hectares of area and brewed more than 40,000 finds. These diverse relics gave the experts new insights into the life of the Celts in Central Europe.
“For the first time we were able to prove fish and scales. According to the finds, the residents of the Celtic city were not only fed by grain products as well as beef and pork, but also on fish. They also kept sheep and goats to use their milk and wool. Horses were mainly kept as farm animals and only slaughtered at old age.
Another realization: “For the first time, we were able to demonstrate hammer strikes and thus a clear reference to iron processing in the Oppidum of Manching,” reports Berg. Iron particles found in the floor come either from iron production made of iron ore or from the wrought welding with iron. Larger iron fragments also suggest that the Celts in Manching also forged iron objects and kept the waste. It was already known that the Celts operated for metal processing and that they also recycled metal and other raw materials such as wood and ceramics to save resources. The finds now show that this also applied to iron.
Mysterious dead in the fountain
The recent excavations also revealed unusual and previously inexplicable finds that raise new questions. “We found remains of at least three human individuals, numerous animal bones of cattle, pigs and sheep, 32 metal finds and remains of more than 50 ceramic vessels in a box fountain,” says Sebastian Hornung from the responsible excavation company. These artifacts date between 120 and 60 BC, as gave age dates. However, why they were thrown into the well at the time is a mystery. The archaeologists suspect that they were placed there in the course of a bloody sacrificial ritual or death cult. Information about this should now provide further X-ray analyzes and restorations of the metal objects.
Artistic metal craft
A total of around 15,000 newly secured metal objects are still waiting for more detailed research. Some have already been freed from rust and dirt, including a small bronze statuette. She was found in a ditch, together with ceramics from the third century BC, and represents a Celtic warrior with a shield and sword. On the head of the figure, a ring of the figure is attached, which suggests that it is a chain trailer. “We already know the Keltensiedlung as a location of remarkable people. But this 75 millimeter high and 55 gram statuette is a particularly complex and delicate work,” emphasizes Thomas Stöckl from the BLFD. Even the long hair and the mustache of the artistically manufactured warrior are recognizable.
X -ray analyzes revealed how the figure came about: “It was produced in the wax outlet process in the bronze full cast,” explains Stöckl. “First of all, a detailed model of wax is shaped, which is then embedded and melted into clay. The melted bronze is then poured into the cavity.” It is still unclear who poured the figure, for what purpose and who it represents.
Source: Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, Celts Römer Museum Manching
