The Ipf is a primarily treeless mountain ( high), near
Bopfingen
Bopfingen (Swabian: ''Bopfeng'') is a small city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Ostalbkreis, between Aalen and Nördlingen. It consists of the city Bopfingen itself and its suburbs Aufhausen, Baldern, Flochberg, Kerkinge ...
,
Ostalbkreis
The Ostalbkreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach, Donau-Ries, Heidenheim, Göppingen and Rems-M ...
,
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
,
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 betwe ...
with a prehistoric
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
on its top.
The fort is situated on an
isolated hill, with a flattened summit surrounded by a stone wall,
ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...
and large
counterscarp
A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications th ...
(outer bank). The overall diameter is about . Extensive
ramparts traverse the slopes to protect a large enclosed area and entranceway. There is evidence of occupation from 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 prin ...
(
Urnfield culture
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...
) through the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
to the early
Celtic
La Tene period, a span of almost a thousand years (1200 BC – 300 BC). The summit was already levelled, fortified and densely settled in the Urnfield period. During the early Iron Age
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 ...
period and into the early
La Tène period the Ipf was an important 'princely seat' – a regional centre of power and aristocratic residence with long-distance trade connections, including with Greece and Italy.
See also
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Urnfield culture
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...
*
Hallstatt culture
*
La Tene culture
*
Heuneburg
The Heuneburg is a prehistoric hillfort by the river Danube in Hundersingen near Herbertingen, between Ulm and Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, in the south of Germany, close to the modern borders with Switzerland and Austria. It is considered ...
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Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave
The Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave is a richly-furnished Celtic burial chamber near Hochdorf an der Enz (municipality of Eberdingen) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, dating from 530 BC in the Hallstatt culture period. It was discovered in 1968 by an ...
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Hohenasperg
Hohenasperg, located in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart, Germany, of which it is administratively part, is an ancient fortress and prison overlooking the town of Asperg.
It was an important Celtic oppidum, and a number o ...
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Glauberg
The Glauberg is a Celtic oppidum in Hesse, Germany consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds, "a princely seat of the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods." Archaeological discoveries in the 1990s place the site among ...
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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 ...
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Burgstallkogel
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Ipf bei Bopfingen German-language wikipedia page with more information
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Alte Burg (Langenenslingen)
Alte Burg is a large Celtic hilltop fortification, or hillfort, that may have been used as a cult or assembly site for the regional population. It is located 9 kilometers from a major settlement of the Hallstatt and early La Tène period, the Heu ...
*
Magdalenenberg
Magdalenenberg is the name of an Iron Age tumulus near the city of Villingen-Schwenningen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is considered the largest tumulus from the Hallstatt period in Central Europe with a volume of 33.000 cubic meters.
His ...
*
Lavau Grave
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Oppidum of Manching
The Oppidum of Manching (german: Oppidum von Manching) was a large Celtic proto-urban or city-like settlement at modern-day Manching, near Ingolstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. The Iron Age town (or oppidum) was founded in the 3rd century BC and exis ...
External links
Mount Ipf in southern Germany. The fortification, spatial organization and territory of a “Princely Seat” of the Early Iron Age (Krause 2021)Crossing the Alps: Early Urbanism between Northern Italy and Central Europe (900-400 BC), Edited by Lorenzo Zamboni, Manuel Fernández-Götz & Carola Metzner-Nebelsick (2020)Includes a visual reconstruction of the Ipf hillfort.
References
Archaeological sites in Germany
Buildings and structures in Baden-Württemberg
Former populated places in Germany
Mountains and hills of Baden-Württemberg
Hill forts in Germany
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