Fortified settlements, places of worship and monumental buildings: The famous Celtic city “Heuneburg” was embedded in a system of neighboring buildings and settlement structures, emerges from excavations in recent years. In the early Iron Age, these elements together formed the mysterious Celtic center of power on the upper reaches of the Danube, the archaeologists say.
It is considered the oldest known city complex north of the Alps: the Heuneburg once enthroned on a plateau near the Danube in today’s Upper Swabia. The Celtic royal seat was, according to data, around 620 BC. Chr. And around 450 BC for unknown reasons. BC was abandoned again. The extensive investigations of the site have shown the size and importance of the settlement in recent decades. The fortified city therefore housed several thousand inhabitants in its heyday. Many finds also document the national significance of the Heuneburg: there were connections to the cultures of the Mediterranean.
The Heuneburg was in an impressive neighborhood
For a long time, the investigations focused on the monumental structures on the plateau as well as the outer bailey and the settlement’s outskirts. However, since 2014 the archaeologists of the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments (LAD) in the Stuttgart regional council have been systematically devoting themselves to the wider area of Heuneburg. The focus is on several previously hardly researched archaeological sites on neighboring heights, where apparently there were once also monumental structures. The LAD has now presented a summary of the results of the first six years of the research project.
As the archaeologists report, they made new discoveries at the “Old Castle”. This site is located around nine kilometers northwest of Heuneburg on the southern edge of the Swabian Jura. Current archaeological research has confirmed that this 340 meter long and 50 to 60 meter wide mountain plateau in the 8th to 6th centuries BC. BC completely transformed by human hands and expanded into a monumental complex. As can be seen from the information, the archaeologists say that it was probably an important place of worship and assembly for the early Celts.
Another impressive facility was once located about twelve kilometers northwest of Heuneburg near Zwiefalten-Upflamör in the Reutlingen district, the team reports. The investigations of recent years have shown that it was a monumental fortification. According to the new findings, it consisted of a main castle of more than five hectares, which was fortified by a 3.60 meter wide stone wall, and a walled outer bailey. The facility also protected an eight to nine meter wide marl wall and a 2.60 meter deep ditch. According to the dates, these structures also date from the 8th to 6th centuries BC. BC – they existed simultaneously with the Heuneburg.
A complex cultural landscape is emerging
Buses – the “sacred mountain of Upper Swabia” near Uttenweiler-Offingen in the district of Biberach – obviously also belonged to the complex system of economic, political and religious centers in the Heuneburg area. According to archaeologists, excavations from last year show that this place was also important during the Heuneburg period. As documented, among other things, grave finds at the foot of the mountain, the roots of this place of worship go even deeper into history than those of the Celtic city, which is about 16 kilometers away.
The new findings from the surrounding area of Heuneburg are rounded off by the traces of an open rural settlement near Langenenslingen-Emerfeld in the Biberach district on the southern edge of the Swabian Jura. According to the findings, it was an extensive settlement area in which numerous similarly oriented floor plans of post structures and pit structures can be seen. According to the dates, they also date from the 9th to 6th centuries BC. Chr.
From the research results to date, it is already clear that in early Celtic times, the Heuneburg, together with the cult or meeting place on the old castle, the other large fortifications, the buses and the open rural settlements in the area must have formed a single large settlement system, the archaeologists summarize. It will be interesting to see which traces of the former center of power will reveal their future excavations.
Source: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council