The Hallstatt culture was the predominant
Western and
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
an
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
of Late
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
(Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early
Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to 6th centuries BC, developing out of the
Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC (
Late Bronze Age) and followed in much of its area by the
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defi ...
. It is commonly associated with
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celt ...
populations. Older assumptions of the early 20th century of
Illyrians
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...
having been the bearers of especially the Eastern Hallstatt culture are indefensible and archeologically unsubstantiated.
It is named for its
type site,
Hallstatt
Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...
, a lakeside village in the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n
Salzkammergut southeast of
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
, where there was a rich salt mine, and some 1,300 burials are known, many with fine artifacts. Material from Hallstatt has been classified into four periods, designated "Hallstatt A" to "D". Hallstatt A and B are regarded as Late Bronze Age and the terms used for wider areas, such as "Hallstatt culture", or "period", "style" and so on, relate to the Iron Age Hallstatt C and D.
By the 6th century BC, it had expanded to include wide territories, falling into two zones, east and west, between them covering much of western and central Europe down to the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
, and extending into northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Parts of
Britain and
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese language, Aragonese and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a pe ...
are included in the ultimate expansion of the culture.
The culture was based on farming, but
metal-working was considerably advanced, and by the end of the period long-range trade within the area and with
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
cultures was economically significant. Social distinctions became increasingly important, with emerging elite classes of chieftains and warriors, and perhaps those with other skills. Society was organized on a
tribal basis, though very little is known about this. Only a few of the largest settlements, like
Heuneburg in the south of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, were towns rather than villages by modern standards.
Chronology
According to
Paul Reinecke's time-scheme from 1902, the end of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age were divided into four periods:
Bronze Age Urnfield culture:
* HaA (1200-1050 BC)
* HaB (1050-800 BC)
Early Iron Age Hallstatt culture:
* HaC (800-620 BC)
* HaD (620-450 BC)
Paul Reinecke based his chronological divisions on finds from the south of Germany.
Already by 1881
Otto Tischler had made analogies to the Iron Age in the Northern Alps based on finds of brooches from graves in the south of Germany.
Absolute dating
It has proven difficult to use
radiocarbon dating for the Early Iron Age due to the so-called
"Hallstatt-Plateau", a phenomenon where radiocarbon dates cannot be distinguished between 750 to 400 BC. There are workarounds however, such as the
wiggle matching technique. Therefore dating in this time-period has been based mainly on
Dendrochronology and
relative dating.
For the beginning of HaC wood pieces from the Cart Grave of
Wehringen (Landkreis Augsburg) deliver a solid dating in 778 ± 5 BC (Grave Barrow 8).
Despite missing an older Dendro-date for HaC, the convention remains that the Hallstatt Period begins together with the arrival of the iron ore processing technology around 800 BC.
Relative dating
HaC is dated according to the presence of Mindelheim-type swords, binocular brooches, harp brooches, and arched brooches.
Based on the quickly changing fashions of brooches, it was possible to divide HaD into three stages (D1-D3). In HaD1 snake brooches are predominant, while in HaD2 drum brooches appear more often, and in HaD3 the double-drum and embellished foot brooches.
The transition to the La Tène Period is often connected with the emergence of the first animal-shaped brooches, with
Certosa-type and with
Marzabotto-type brooches.
Hallstatt type site
In 1846,
Johann Georg Ramsauer (1795–1874) discovered a large
prehistoric cemetery near
Hallstatt
Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(), which he excavated during the second half of the 19th century. Eventually the excavation would yield 1,045 burials, although no settlement has yet been found. This may be covered by the later village, which has long occupied the whole narrow strip between the steep hillsides and the lake. Some 1,300 burials have been found, including around 2,000 individuals, with women and children but few infants.
[Megaw, 26] Nor is there a "princely" burial, as often found near large settlements. Instead, there are a large number of burials varying considerably in the number and richness of the grave goods, but with a high proportion containing goods suggesting a life well above subsistence level.
The community at Hallstatt was untypical of the wider, mainly agricultural, culture, as its booming economy exploited the
salt mines in the area. These had been worked from time to time since the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
period, and in this period were extensively mined with a peak from the 8th to 5th centuries BC. The style and decoration of the grave goods found in the cemetery are very distinctive, and artifacts made in this style are widespread in Europe. In the mine workings themselves, the salt has preserved many organic materials such as textiles, wood and leather, and many abandoned artifacts such as shoes, pieces of cloth, and tools including miner's backpacks, have survived in good condition.
Finds at Hallstatt extend from about 1200 BC until around 500 BC, and are divided by archaeologists into four phases:
Hallstatt A–B (1200–800 BC) are part of the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
Urnfield culture. In this period, people were cremated and buried in simple graves. In phase B,
tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...
(barrow or
kurgan) burial becomes common, and
cremation
Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...
predominates.
The "Hallstatt period" proper is restricted to HaC and HaD (800–450 BC), corresponding to the early
European Iron Age. Hallstatt lies in the area where the western and eastern zones of the Hallstatt culture meet, which is reflected in the finds from there.
Hallstatt D is succeeded by the
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defi ...
.
Hallstatt C is characterized by the first appearance of iron swords mixed amongst the bronze ones.
Inhumation
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
and cremation co-occur. For the final phase, Hallstatt D, daggers, almost to the exclusion of swords, are found in western zone graves ranging from c. 600–500 BC.
[Megaw, 40] There are also differences in the pottery and
brooches. Burials were mostly inhumations. Halstatt D has been further divided into the sub-phases D1–D3, relating only to the western zone, and mainly based on the form of brooches.
Major activity at the site appears to have finished about 500 BC, for reasons that are unclear. Many Hallstatt graves were robbed, probably at this time. There was widespread disruption throughout the western Hallstatt zone, and the salt workings had by then become very deep.
[Megaw, 48–49] By then the focus of salt mining had shifted to the nearby
Hallein Salt Mine, with graves at
Dürrnberg
Dürrnberg, also named Bad Dürrnberg, is an Austrian village part of the municipality of Hallein, in Hallein District (Tennengau), Salzburg (state), Salzburg State. It is the location of the Hallein Salt Mine (''Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg'').
Histor ...
nearby where there are significant finds from the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods, until the mid-4th century BC, when a major landslide destroyed the mineshafts and ended mining activity.
Much of the material from early excavations was dispersed,
and is now found in many collections, especially German and Austrian museums, but the
Hallstatt Museum in the town has the largest collection.
File:Alice Schumacher NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 133 6.jpg, Bronze vessel with cow and calf, Hallstatt
File:Andreas W. Rausch PA NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 61 1.tif, Wood and leather carrying pack from the mine
File:Museum Hallstatt 31.JPG, Bronze artefacts from Hallstatt
File:Andreas W. Rausch PA NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 108 oben.tif, Textile fragment from the salt mine
File:A-Hallstatt-Gräberfeld-3.jpg, Hallstatt grave reconstruction
File:Destral decorada de bronze, 800 - 750 aC, Hallstatt (cropped).JPG, Ha C axehead, Hallstatt
File:A-Hallstatt-salzw-treppe.jpg, Preserved wood stairs from the Hallstatt salt mine
File:Linz Schlossmuseum - Hallstadt Gehängefibel 1.jpg, Fibula
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity ...
brooch with animal figures
File:Hallstatt cemetery 6.jpg, Tools and weapons from the Hallstatt cemetery
File:Museum Hallstatt 35.JPG, "Antenna hilt" Hallstatt 'D' swords, from Hallstatt
File:Alice Schumacher PA NHM Wien Abb Salz-Reich 2008 Seite 131 1.jpg, Sword hilt inlaid with ivory and amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...
.
File:Hallstatt cemetery 1.jpg, Finds from the Hallstatt cemetery
File:Hallstatt cemetery 3.jpg, Finds from the Hallstatt cemetery
File:Hallstatt beltplates.jpg, Gold and bronze beltplates from Hallstatt
Culture and trade
Languages
It is probable that some if not all of the diffusion of Hallstatt culture took place in a
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
-speaking context. In northern Italy the
Golasecca culture developed with continuity from the
Canegrate culture.
[ Canegrate represented a completely new cultural dynamic to the area expressed in pottery and bronzework, making it a typical western example of the western Hallstatt culture.][
The Lepontic Celtic language inscriptions of the area show the language of the Golasecca culture was clearly ]Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
making it probable that the 13th-century BC precursor language of at least the western Hallstatt was also Celtic or a precursor to it. Lepontic inscriptions have also been found in Umbria, in the area which saw the emergence of the Terni culture, which had strong similarities with the Celtic cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène. The Umbrian necropolis of Terni
Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It i ...
, which dates back to the 10th century BC, was virtually identical in every aspect to the Celtic necropolis of the Golasecca culture.
Trade
Trade with Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
is attested by finds of Attic black-figure pottery in the elite graves of the late Hallstatt period. It was probably imported via Massilia ( Marseilles). Other imported luxuries include amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...
, ivory (as found at the Grafenbühl Grand Tomb) and probably wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...
. Red kermes dye was imported from the south as well; it was found at Hochdorf. Notable individual imports include the Vix krater
The Vix Grave is a burial mound near the village of Vix in northern Burgundy. The broader site is a prehistoric Celtic complex from the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds.
...
(the largest known metal vessel from Western classical antiquity), the Etruscan lebes from Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine
Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine (, literally ''Sainte-Colombe on Seine'') is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.
Population
Iron Age and Antiquity
Located not far from the site of the Vix grave, Sainte-Colombe is on a very ri ...
, and the Grächwil Hydria.
Settlements
The largest settlements were mostly fortified, situated on hilltops, and frequently included the workshops of bronze-, silver-, and goldsmiths. Major settlements are known as 'princely seats' (or ''Fürstensitze'' in German), and are characterized by elite residences, rich burials, monumental buildings and fortifications. These central sites are described as urban or proto-urban by numerous scholars, and as 'the first cities north of the Alps' by some authors. Typical sites of this type are the Heuneburg on the upper Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
surrounded by nine very large grave tumuli, Mont Lassois in eastern France near Châtillon-sur-Seine with, at its foot, the very rich grave at Vix, and the hill fort at Molpír in Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
. However, most settlements were much smaller villages. The large monumental site of Alte Burg may have had a religious or ceremonial function, and possibly served as a location for games and competitions.
At the end of the Hallstatt period many major centres were abandoned and there was a return to a more decentralized settlement pattern, prior to the emergence of urban centres across temperate Europe in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC during the La Tène period.
Burial rites
In the central Hallstatt regions toward the end of the period (Ha D), very rich graves of high-status individuals under large tumuli are found near the remains of fortified hilltop settlements. Tumuli graves had a chamber, rather large in some cases, lined with timber and with the body and grave goods set about the room. There are some chariot or wagon burials, including (possibly) Býčí Skála,[Megaw, 28] Vix and Hochdorf. A model of a chariot made from lead has been found in Frögg, Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
, and clay models of horses with riders are also found. Wooden "funerary carts", presumably used as hearses and then buried, are sometimes found in the grandest graves. Pottery and bronze vessels, weapons, elaborate jewellery made of bronze and gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
, as well as a few stone stelae (especially the famous Warrior of Hirschlanden
The ''Warrior of Hirschlanden'' (''Krieger von Hirschlanden'' in German) is a statue of a nude ithyphallic warrior made of sandstone, the oldest known Iron Age life-size anthropomorphic statue north of the Alps. It was a production of the Hallstatt ...
) are found at such burials. The daggers that largely replaced swords in chief's graves in the west were probably not serious weapons, but badges of rank, and used at the table.
Social structure
The material culture of Western Hallstatt culture was apparently sufficient to provide a stable social and economic equilibrium. The founding of Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
and the penetration by Greek and Etruscan culture
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rough ...
after c. 600 BC, resulted in long-range trade relationships up the Rhone valley which triggered social and cultural transformations in the Hallstatt settlements north of the Alps. Powerful local chiefdoms emerged which controlled the redistribution of luxury goods from the Mediterranean world that is also characteristic of the La Tène culture
The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defi ...
.
The apparently largely peaceful and prosperous life of Hallstatt D culture was disrupted, perhaps even collapsed, right at the end of the period. There has been much speculation as to the causes of this, which remain uncertain. Large settlements such as Heuneburg and the Burgstallkogel were destroyed or abandoned, rich tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...
burials ended, and old ones were looted. There was probably a significant movement of population westwards, and the succeeding La Tène culture developed new centres to the west and north, their growth perhaps overlapping with the final years of the Hallstatt culture.
Technology
Occasional iron artefacts had been appearing in central and western Europe for some centuries before 800 BC (an iron knife or sickle from Ganovce in Slovakia, dating to the 18th century BC, is possibly the earliest evidence of smelted iron in Central Europe). By the later Urnfield (Hallstatt B) phase, some swords were already being made and embellished in iron in eastern Central Europe, and occasionally much further west. Initially iron was rather exotic and expensive, and sometimes used as a prestige material for jewellery. Iron swords became more common after c. 800 BC, and steel was also produced from c. 800 BC as part of the production of swords. The production of high-carbon steel is attested in Britain after c. 490 BC.
The remarkable uniformity of spoked-wheel wagons from across the Hallstatt region indicates a certain standardisation of production methods, which included the use of lathe-turning. Iron tyres were also developed and refined in this period, leading to the invention of shrunk-on iron tyres without nails in the later La Tène period. The potter's wheel
In pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in the shaping (known as throwing) of clay into round ceramic ware. The wheel may also be used during the process of trimming excess clay from leather-hard dried ware that is stiff but malleable, ...
appeared towards the end of the Hallstatt period.
The extensive use of planking and massive squared beams indicates the use of long saw blades and possibly two-man sawing. The planks of the Hohmichele burial chamber (6th c. BC), which were over 6m long and 35cm wide, appear to have been sawn by a large-timber-yard saw. The construction of monumental buildings such as the Vix palace further demonstrates a "mastery of geometry and carpentry" that was capable of freeing up vast interior spaces.
File:Funerary chariot in the archeological museum of Strasbourg.jpg, Funerary wagon, Strasbourg Museum
File:2015071307 musée 01.JPG, Wagon wheel, Vix Grave
The Vix Grave is a burial mound near the village of Vix in northern Burgundy. The broader site is a prehistoric Celtic complex from the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds.
...
, France
File:2015071307 musée 02.JPG, Wagon wheel hub from the Vix Grave
The Vix Grave is a burial mound near the village of Vix in northern Burgundy. The broader site is a prehistoric Celtic complex from the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds.
...
File:Gefässe Hohmichele.jpg, Pottery from Heuneburg, Germany
File:Magdalenenberg collier.jpg, Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...
necklace from the Magdalenenberg
File:Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine Bracelets.jpg, Gold bracelets from Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine
Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine (, literally ''Sainte-Colombe on Seine'') is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.
Population
Iron Age and Antiquity
Located not far from the site of the Vix grave, Sainte-Colombe is on a very ri ...
File:Chatillon-sur-Seine - Musée du Pays chatillonnais - Cratère de Vix - 012 (cropped).jpg, The Vix krater
The Vix Grave is a burial mound near the village of Vix in northern Burgundy. The broader site is a prehistoric Celtic complex from the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds.
...
, imported from Greece
File:Hallstatt 'C' Swords in Wels Museum, Upper Austria.jpg, Hallstatt 'C' swords in Wels Museum, Austria.
File:Linz Schlossmuseum - Antennendolch 2.jpg, Dagger with "antenna hilt"
File:Landesmuseum Württemberg, Kelten 010.2.jpg, Ceramics and sword with gold hilt from Gomadingen
File:Archaeology Museum of Graz 07.jpg, Metal vessels from Kleinklein
File:Necklaces and bracelets.jpg, Gold artefacts from the Heuneburg
File:Vorstengraf Oss - bronzen situla met inhoud en zwaard - 700 v Chr - RMO.png, Burial goods from Oss
OSS or Oss may refer to:
Places
* Oss, a city and municipality in the Netherlands
* Osh Airport, IATA code OSS
People with the name
* Oss (surname), a surname
Arts and entertainment
* ''O.S.S.'' (film), a 1946 World War II spy film about ...
, Netherlands
File:Char-gaulois-d-apparat.jpg, Cult wagon from La Côte-Saint-André
La Côte-Saint-André () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.
Populations
Personalities
*Hector Berlioz was born here. His birthplace is now a museum: Musée Hector-Berlioz.
* Philippe du Contant de la Molette was bo ...
, France.
Art
At least the later periods of Hallstatt art from the western zone are generally agreed to form the early period of Celtic art.[Megaw, 30] Decoration is mostly geometric and linear, and best seen on fine metalwork finds from graves (see above). Styles differ, especially between the west and east, with more human figures and some narrative elements in the latter. Animals, with waterfowl a particular favourite, are often included as part of other objects, more often than humans, and in the west there is almost no narrative content such as scenes of combat depicted. These characteristics were continued into the succeeding La Tène style.
Imported luxury art is sometimes found in rich elite graves in the later phases, and certainly had some influence on local styles. The most spectacular objects, such as the Strettweg Cult Wagon, the Warrior of Hirschlanden
The ''Warrior of Hirschlanden'' (''Krieger von Hirschlanden'' in German) is a statue of a nude ithyphallic warrior made of sandstone, the oldest known Iron Age life-size anthropomorphic statue north of the Alps. It was a production of the Hallstatt ...
and the bronze couch supported by "unicyclists" from the Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave are one of a kind in finds from the Hallstatt period, though they can be related to objects from other periods.
More common objects include weapons, in Ha D often with hilts terminating in curving forks ("antenna hilts"). Jewellery in metal includes fibulae
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity i ...
, often with a row of disks hanging down on chains, armlets and some torcs. This is mostly in bronze, but "princely" burials include items in gold.
The origin of the narrative scenes of the eastern zone, from Hallstatt C onwards, is generally traced to influence from the Situla art of northern Italy and the northern Adriatic, where these bronze buckets began to be decorated in bands with figures in provincial Etruscan centres influenced by Etruscan and Greek art. The fashion for decorated situlae spread north across neighbouring cultures including the eastern Hallstatt zone, beginning around 600 BC and surviving until about 400 BC; the Vače situla
Vače (; german: Waatsch''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 96.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Litija in central Slovenia. The a ...
is a Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
n example from near the final period. The style is also found on bronze belt plates, and some of the vocabulary of motifs spread to influence the emerging La Tène style.
According to Ruth and , "Situla art depicts life as seen from a masculine viewpoint, in which women are servants or sex objects; most of the scenes which include humans are of the feasts in which the situlae themselves figure, of the hunt or of war". Similar scenes are found on other vessel shapes, as well as bronze belt-plaques. The processions of animals, typical of earlier examples, or humans derive from the Near East and Mediterranean, and Nancy Sandars finds the style shows "a ''gaucherie'' that betrays the artist working in a way that is uncongenial, too much at variance with the temper of the craftsmen and the craft". Compared to earlier styles that arose organically in Europe "situla art is weak and sometimes quaint", and "in essence not of Europe".
Except for the Italian Benvenuti Situla, men are hairless, with "funny hats, dumpy bodies and big heads", though often shown looking cheerful in an engaging way. The Benevenuti Situla is also unusual in that it seems to show a specific story.
File:Linz Schlossmuseum - Uttendorf Halsreifen.jpg, Late Halstatt gold collar from Austria, c. 550 BC
File:Hochdorf golden shoes ornaments.jpg, Gold shoe plaques from Hochdorf
File:Hochdorf dagger with gold foil.jpg, Dagger with gold foil from Hochdorf
File:Kultwagen Strettweg.jpg, The Strettweg Cult Wagon
File:Krieger von Hirschlanden.jpg, Replica of the Warrior of Hirschlanden
The ''Warrior of Hirschlanden'' (''Krieger von Hirschlanden'' in German) is a statue of a nude ithyphallic warrior made of sandstone, the oldest known Iron Age life-size anthropomorphic statue north of the Alps. It was a production of the Hallstatt ...
File:Laténium-brassard-bronze.jpg, Armband with engraved decoration
File:NHM - Byci Skala Stier.jpg, Bull from Býčí skála Cave, Czech Republic
File:Situle (musée national de Slovénie, Ljubljana) (9428277598).jpg, Detail from the Vače situla
Vače (; german: Waatsch''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 96.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Litija in central Slovenia. The a ...
, Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
File:Keltenwelt Frög Bleiwagen.jpg, Wagon model from Frög, Austria
File:GNM - Hallstatt Trinkhorn.jpg, Drinking horn from Tuttlingen, Germany
File:Totenliege-Hochdorf-by-1rhb-cr.jpg, Bronze recliner from Hochdorf
File:D-BW-KN-Singen - Archäologisches Hegau-Museum - Keramik 001.jpg, Pottery from Hegau
The Hegau is an extinct volcanic landscape in southern Germany extending around the industrial city of Singen (Hohentwiel), between Lake Constance in the east, the Rhine River in the south, the Danube River in the north and the Randen—as the s ...
, Germany
File:LBM - Hallstattzeit Stiergefäß.jpg, Ceramic vessel from Donnerskirchen, Austria
File:NHM - Keramik Sopron 1.jpg, alt=Pottery of the Sopron group, 7th century., Pottery from Hungary, 7th century BC.
Geography
Two culturally distinct areas, an eastern and a western zone are generally recognised. There are distinctions in burial rites, the types of grave goods, and in artistic style. In the western zone, members of the elite were buried with sword (HaC) or dagger (HaD), in the eastern zone with an axe. The western zone has chariot burial
Chariot burials are tombs in which the deceased was buried together with their chariot, usually including their horses and other possessions. An instance of a person being buried with their horse (without the chariot) is called horse burial.
Fin ...
s. In the eastern zone, warriors are frequently buried with helmet and a plate armour
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, ...
breastplate. Artistic subjects with a narrative component are only found in the east, in both pottery and metalwork. In the east the settlements and cemeteries can be larger than in the west.
The approximate division line between the two subcultures runs from north to south through central Bohemia and Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
at about 14 to 15 degrees eastern longitude, and then traces the eastern and southern rim of the Alps to Eastern and Southern Tyrol.
Western Hallstatt zone
Taken at its most generous extent, the western Hallstatt zone includes:
*northeastern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
: Champagne-Ardenne
Champagne-Ardenne () is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of the ...
, Lorraine, Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
*northern Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
: Swiss plateau
* Southern Germany: much of Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
and Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
*western Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
: Bohemia
*western Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
: Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzkammergut
More peripheral areas were:
*Central and North Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regio ...
: Po valley, Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, Venetia, Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
, Abruzzo, Friuli
*northern, western and central Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
: Galicia, Asturias, Extremadura, Castile, Cantabria
*northern and north-central Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
: Minho, Douro, Tras-os-Montes, Beira Alta Beira Alta may refer to:
* Beira Alta Province, a province in the north of Portugal
* Beira Alta (region)
Beira Alta was one of the 13 regions of continental Portugal identified by geographer Amorim Girão, in a study published between 1927 and 19 ...
While Hallstatt is regarded as the dominant settlement of the western zone, a settlement at the Burgstallkogel in the central Sulm valley (southern Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered ...
, west of Leibnitz, Austria) was a major centre during the Hallstatt C period. Parts of the huge necropolis (which originally consisted of more than 1,100 tumuli) surrounding this settlement can be seen today near Gleinstätten, and the chieftain's mounds were on the other side of the hill, near Kleinklein. The finds are mostly in the Landesmuseum Joanneum at Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...
, which also holds the Strettweg Cult Wagon.
Eastern Hallstatt zone
The eastern Hallstatt zone includes:
*eastern Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
: Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
, Upper Styria
*eastern Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
: Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The ...
*southwestern Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
: Danubian Lowland
*western Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
: Little Hungarian Plain
*eastern Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
: Hallstatt Archaeological Site in Vače (at the border between Lower Styria
Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy o ...
and Lower Carniola regions), Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered ...
*northern Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
: Hrvatsko Zagorje, Istria
*northern and central Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
*parts of southwestern Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
*northern and western Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
Trade, cultural diffusion, and some population movements spread the Hallstatt cultural complex (western form) into Britain, and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
.
Genetics
A genetic study published in ''Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'' in May 2018 examined the remains of a male and female buried at a Hallstatt cemetery near Litoměřice, Czech Republic between ca. 600 BC and 400 BC. The male was found to be a carrier of the paternal haplogroup R1b and the maternal haplogroup H6a1a. The female was a carrier of the maternal haplogroup HV0.
A genetic study published in the '''' in June 2020 examined the remains of 5 individuals ascribed to either Hallstatt C or the early La Tène culture. The sample of Y-DNA extracted was determined to belong to haplogroup G2a
Haplogroup G (M201) is a human Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is one of two branches of the parent haplogroup GHIJK, the other being HIJK.
G-M201 is most commonly found among various ethnic groups of the Caucasus, but is also widely distributed ...
, while the 5 samples of mtDNA extracted were determined to belong to the haplogroups K1a2a, J1c2o, H7d, U5a1a1 and J1c-16261. The examined individuals of the Hallstatt culture and La Tène culture displayed genetic continuity with the earlier Bell Beaker culture, and carried about 50% steppe-related ancestry
In archaeogenetics, the term Western Steppe Herders (WSH), or Western Steppe Pastoralists, is the name given to a distinct ancestral component first identified in individuals from the Eneolithic steppe around the turn of the 5th millennium BCE, ...
.
A genetic study published in iScience in April 2022 examined 49 genomes from 27 sites in Bronze Age and Iron Age France. The study found evidence of strong genetic continuity between the two periods, particularly in southern France. The samples from northern and southern France were highly homogenous, with northern samples displaying links to contemporary samples form Great Britain and Sweden, and southern samples displaying links to Celtiberians. The northern French samples were distinguished from the southern ones by elevated levels of steppe-related ancestry. R1b was by far the most dominant paternal lineage, while H was the most common maternal lineage. The Iron Age samples resembled those of modern-day populations of France, Great Britain and Spain. The evidence suggested that the Celts of the Hallstatt culture largely evolved from local Bronze Age populations.
See also
* Basarabi culture
* Bronze- and Iron-Age Poland
* Celtic warfare
* Iron Age sword
* Irschen
* Noric steel
*Prehistoric France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area e ...
* Zollfeld
Citations
Sources
*Barth, F.E., J. Biel, et al. ''Vierrädrige Wagen der Hallstattzeit'' ("The Hallstatt four-wheeled wagons" at Mainz). Mainz: Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum; 1987.
*
*
*
*
*Laing, Lloyd and Jenifer. ''Art of the Celts'', Thames and Hudson, London 1992
*McIntosh, Jane, ''Handbook to Life in Prehistoric Europe'', 2009, Oxford University Press (USA),
* Megaw, Ruth and Vincent, ''Celtic Art'', 2001, Thames and Hudson,
*Sandars, Nancy K., ''Prehistoric Art in Europe'', Penguin (Pelican, now Yale, History of Art), 1968 (nb 1st edn.)
Further reading
*
Documentary
* Klaus T. Steindl: MYTHOS HALLSTATT - Dawn of the Celts. TV-Documentary subjecting new findings and state of archeological research (2018)
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallstatt Culture
Archaeological cultures of Central Europe
Archaeological cultures of Southeastern Europe
Archaeological cultures of Southern Europe
Archaeological cultures of Southwestern Europe
Archaeological cultures of Western Europe
Archaeological cultures of West Asia
Iron Age cultures of Europe
Celtic archaeological cultures
Iron Age of Slovenia
Archaeological cultures in Austria
Archaeological cultures in Belgium
Archaeological cultures in Bulgaria
Archaeological cultures in Croatia
Archaeological cultures in the Czech Republic
Archaeological cultures in England
Archaeological cultures in France
Archaeological cultures in Germany
Archaeological cultures in Hungary
Archaeological cultures in Portugal
Archaeological cultures in Romania
Archaeological cultures in Serbia
Archaeological cultures in Slovakia
Archaeological cultures in Slovenia
Archaeological cultures in Spain
Archaeological cultures in Switzerland
Archaeological cultures in Turkey
World Heritage Sites in Austria
8th-century BC establishments
6th-century BC disestablishments
States and territories established in the 8th century BC
States and territories disestablished in the 6th century BC