The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a 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 ...
culture of
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 ...
, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of
cremating the dead and placing their ashes in
urns, which were then buried in fields. Over much of Europe, the Urnfield culture followed the
Tumulus culture
__NOTOC__
The Tumulus culture (German: ''Hügelgräberkultur'') dominated Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age ( 1600 to 1300 BC).
It was the descendant of the Unetice culture. Its heartland was the area previously occupied by the ...
and was succeeded by the
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (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 ...
.
[ Some linguists and archaeologists have associated this culture with the ]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 ...
language, or a pre-Celtic language family.
Chronology
It is believed that in some areas, such as in southwestern Germany, the Urnfield culture was in existence around 1200 BC (beginning of Hallstatt A or Ha A), but the Bronze D Riegsee
Riegsee is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in 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 t ...
-phase already contains cremations. As the transition from the middle 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 ...
to the Urnfield culture was gradual, there are questions regarding how to define it.
The Urnfield culture covers the phases Hallstatt A and B (Ha A and B) in Paul Reinecke
Paul Heinrich Adalbert Reinecke (September 25, 1872 – May 12, 1958) was a German prehistorian and archaeologist.
Life and work
Reinecke was born in Berlin. He studied medicine and science under Rudolf Virchow. Interested in prehistory, he also ...
's chronological system, not to be confused with the Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (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 ...
(Ha C and D) of the following 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 mostly ...
. This corresponds to the Phases Montelius III-IV of the Northern Bronze Age. Whether Reinecke's Bronze D is included varies according to author and region.
The Urnfield culture is divided into the following sub-phases (based on Müller-Karpe sen.):
The existence of the Ha B3-phase is contested, as the material consists of female burials only. As can be seen by the arbitrary 100-year ranges, the dating of the phases is highly schematic. The phases are based on typological changes, which means that they do not have to be strictly contemporaneous across the whole distribution. All in all, more radiocarbon and dendro-dates would be highly desirable.
Origin
The Urnfield culture grew from the preceding Tumulus culture
__NOTOC__
The Tumulus culture (German: ''Hügelgräberkultur'') dominated Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age ( 1600 to 1300 BC).
It was the descendant of the Unetice culture. Its heartland was the area previously occupied by the ...
. The transition is gradual, in the pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
as well as the burial rites.[ In some parts of Germany, cremation and inhumation existed simultaneously (facies Wölfersheim). Some graves contain a combination of Tumulus-culture pottery and Urnfield ]sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
s (Kressbronn, Bodenseekreis) or Tumulus culture incised pottery together with early Urnfield types (Mengen). In the North, the Urnfield culture was only adopted in the HaA2 period.
16 pins deposited in a swamp in Ellmoosen (Kr. Bad Aibling, Germany) cover the whole chronological range from Bronze B to the early Urnfield period (Ha A). This demonstrates a considerable ritual continuity. In the Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...
, Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributa ...
, and Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
, certain fords contain deposits from the late Neolithic onward up to the Urnfield period.
The origins of the cremation rite are commonly believed to be in 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 ...
, where it was widespread since the first half of the second millennium BC. The neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture
The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, also known as the Tripolye culture, is a Neolithic–Chalcolithic archaeological culture ( 5500 to 2750 BCE) of Eastern Europe.
It extended from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions, cent ...
of modern-day northeastern Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
were also practicing cremation rituals as early as approximately 5500 BC. Some cremations begin to be found in the Proto-Lusatian and Trzciniec culture
The Trzciniec culture is a Bronze-Age archaeological culture in East-Central Europe (c. 1600 – 1200 BC). It is sometimes associated with the Komariv neighbouring culture, as the Trzciniec-Komariv culture.
History
The Trzciniec culture develop ...
.
Distribution and local groups
The Urnfield culture was located in an area stretching from western Hungary to eastern France, from 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 ...
to near the North Sea.
Local groups, mainly differentiated by pottery, include:
South-German Urnfield culture The South-German Urnfield culture developed in the regions of Southern Germany in the Bronze Age. The culture existed as early as 1000 B.C.E. The culture made Late Bronze Age pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels ...
*Northeast-Bavarian Group, divided into a lower 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 ...
n and an upper Palatinate group
*Lower-Main-Swabian group in southern Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, including the Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximat ...
er, Hanau
Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the ri ...
er, lower Main and Friedberger facies
*Rhenish-Swiss group in Rhineland-Palatinate, 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 ...
and eastern 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 ...
, (abbreviated RSFO in French)
Lower-Rhine Urnfield culture
The Lower-Rhine urnfield culture originated in the area of the Rhine river in the late Bronze Age . It was part of the wider Urnfield culture
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Eur ...
*Lower Hessian Group
*North-Netherlands-Westphalian group
*Northwest-Group in the Dutch Delta region
Middle-Danube Urnfield culture
The Middle-Danube Urnfield culture (c. 1300 BC – 800 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of the middle Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries ...
*Velatice-Baierdorf in 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 ...
and 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 ...
*Čaka in western 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 ...
* Gáva culture
*Piliny culture
The Piliny culture was a Bronze Age culture in northern Hungary and Slovakia that existed from about 1300 to 700 B.C. It was part of the Urnfield culture
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture ...
* Kyjatice culture
*Milavce culture
The Milavce culture was a Bronze Age culture, part of the Urnfield culture. Its type site is Milavče
Milavče is a municipality and village in Domažlice District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants.
Mil ...
in southeastern Bohemia
*Unstrut culture
The Unstrut culture was part of the Bronze Age 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 trad ...
in Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
* Lusatian culture in northern Bohemia, Lusatia and 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 ...
Sometimes the distribution of artifacts belonging to these groups shows sharp and consistent borders, which might indicate some political structures, like tribes. Metalwork is commonly of a much more widespread distribution than pottery and does not conform to these borders. It may have been produced at specialised workshops catering for the elite of a large area.
Important French cemeteries include Châtenay and Lingolsheim
Lingolsheim () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The town lies near Strasbourg.
Geography
Lingolsheim is situated southwest of Strasbourg, being a principal suburb between the city centre and Strasbo ...
(Alsace). An unusual earthwork was constructed at Goloring
The Goloring is an ancient earthworks monument located near Koblenz, Germany. It was created in the Bronze Age era, which dates back to the Urnfield culture (1200–800 BCE.). During this time a widespread solar cult is believed to have existed ...
near Koblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its nam ...
in 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 ...
.
Related cultures
The central European Lusatian culture forms part of the Urnfield tradition, but continues into 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 mostly ...
without a notable break.
The Piliny culture
The Piliny culture was a Bronze Age culture in northern Hungary and Slovakia that existed from about 1300 to 700 B.C. It was part of the Urnfield culture
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture ...
in northern 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 ...
and 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 ...
grew from the Tumulus culture
__NOTOC__
The Tumulus culture (German: ''Hügelgräberkultur'') dominated Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age ( 1600 to 1300 BC).
It was the descendant of the Unetice culture. Its heartland was the area previously occupied by the ...
, but used urn burials as well. The pottery shows strong links to the Gáva culture, but in the later phases, a strong influence of the Lusatian culture is found. In 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 ...
the late Bronze Age Canegrate
Canegrate ( lmo, Canegraa ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan.
The town gave its name to the Canegrate culture
The Canegrate culture was a civiliz ...
and Proto-Villanovan cultures and the early Iron Age Villanovan culture
The Villanovan culture (c. 900–700 BC), regarded as the earliest phase of the Etruscan civilization, was the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy. It directly followed the Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture which branched off from the Urnfiel ...
show similarities with the urnfields of central Europe. Urnfields are found in the French Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
and Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
from the 9th to 8th centuries. The change in burial custom was most probably influenced by developments further east.
The Golasecca culture
The Golasecca culture (9th - 4th century BC) was a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age culture in northern Italy, whose type-site was excavated at Golasecca in the province of Varese, Lombardy, where, in the area of Monsorino at the beginning of the ...
in northern Italy 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 Urnfield culture, in particular the Rhine-Switzerland-Eastern France (RSFO) Urnfield 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 language of at least the RSEF area of the western urnfields was also Celtic or a precursor to it.
Placename evidence has also been used to point to an association of the Urnfield materials with a 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 ...
language group in central Europe, and it has been argued that it was the ancestral culture of the Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
.
The Urnfield layers of the Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (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 ...
, Ha A and Ha B, are succeeded by the Iron Age "Hallstatt period" proper (Ha C and Ha D, 8th-6th centuries BC), associated with the early Celts; Ha D is in turn 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 ...
, the archaeological culture associated with the Continental Celts of antiquity.
The influence of the Urnfield culture spread widely and found its way to the northeastern 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 ...
n coast, where the nearby Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...
of the interior adapted it for use in their cemeteries. Evidence for east-to-west early Urnfield (Bronze D-Hallstatt A) elite contacts such as rilled-ware, swords and crested helmets has been found in the southwest of the Iberian peninsula. The appearance of such elite status markers provides the simplest explanation for the spread of Celtic languages in this area from prestigious, proto-Celtic, early-Urnfield metalworkers.[
]
Migrations
The numerous hoards of the Urnfield culture and the existence of fortified settlements (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 ...
s) were taken as evidence for widespread warfare and upheaval by some scholars.
Written sources describe several collapses and upheavals in the Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia and the Levant around the time of the Urnfield origins:
*End of the Mycenean culture with a conventional date of 1200 BC
*Destruction of Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
VI 1200 BC
*Battles of Ramses III against the Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples are a hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE).. Quote: "First coined in 1881 by the Fren ...
, 1195–1190 BC
*End of the Hittite empire 1180 BC
*Settlement of the Philistines
The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek ( LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, whe ...
in Canaan 1170 BC
Some scholars, among them Wolfgang Kimmig and P. Bosch-Gimpera have postulated a Europe-wide wave of migrations. The so-called Dorian invasion of Greece was placed in this context as well (although more recent evidence suggests that the Dorians moved in 1100 BC into a post Mycenaean vacuum, rather than precipitating the collapse). Better methods of dating have shown that these events are not as closely connected as once thought.
More recently Robert Drews
Robert Drews (born March 26, 1936) is an American historian who is Professor of Classical Studies Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. He received his B. A. from Northwestern College, his M. A. from University of Missouri and his Ph.D. from Johns ...
, after having reviewed and dismissed the migration hypothesis, has suggested that the observed cultural associations may be in fact partly explained as the result of a new kind of warfare based upon the slashing Naue II sword, and with bands of infantry replacing chariots in warfare. Drews suggests that the political instability that this brought to centralised states based upon maryannu chariotry caused the breakdown of these polities.
Ethnicity
The variety of regional groups belonging to this culture makes it possible to exclude the presence of ethnic uniformity. Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas ( lt, Marija Gimbutienė, ; January 23, 1921 – February 2, 1994) was a Lithuanian archaeologist and anthropologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of " Old Europe" and for her Kurgan hypothesis ...
connected the various Central European regional groups to as many proto-populations: proto-Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
, proto-Italics, proto-Veneti, proto-Illyrians and proto-Phrygians (as well as proto-Thracians and proto-Dorians), who would establish themselves later, through migrations, in their historic locations. This migration (disputed by some) occurred during the period called late Bronze Age collapse and was perhaps caused by climate changes. Communities of peasants and herders, led by a warrior aristocracy, introduced the new rite of cremation, new ceramic styles and the mass production of metal objects as well as a new religion and Indo-European languages in various regions of Western and Southern Europe.
Settlements
The number of settlements increased sharply in comparison with the preceding Tumulus culture. Few of them have been comprehensively excavated. Fortified settlements, often on hilltops or in river-bends, are typical for the Urnfield culture. They are heavily fortified with dry-stone or wooden ramparts. Excavations of open settlements are rare, but they show that large 3-4 aisled houses built with wooden posts and wall of wattle and daub
Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...
were common. Pit dwellings are known as well; they might have served as cellars.
Fortified settlements
Fortified hilltop settlements become common in the Urnfield period. Often a steep spur was used, where only part of the circumference had to be fortified. Depending on the locally available materials, dry-stone walls, gridded timbers filled with stones or soil or plank and palisade type ''pfostenschlitzmauer
A ''Pfostenschlitzmauer'' (German for "post-slot wall") is the name for defensive walls protecting Iron Age hill forts and ''oppida'' in Central Europe, especially in Bavaria and the Czech Republic. They are characterized by vertical wooden pos ...
'' fortifications were used. Other fortified settlements used river-bends and swampy areas.
Metal working is concentrated in the fortified settlements. On the Runder Berg near Urach, Germany, 25 stone moulds have been found.
Hillforts are interpreted as central places. Some scholars see the emergence of hill forts as a sign of increased warfare. Most hillforts were abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age.
Examples of fortified settlements include the Bullenheimer Berg, Ehrenbürg
The Ehrenbürg is a double-peaked butte on the edge of the Franconian Jura in Bavaria, Germany. It is in the district of Forchheim in Upper Franconia, in the municipalities of Kirchehrenbach, Leutenbach and Wiesenthau. The north peak is the ...
, Heunischenburg
The Heunischenburg is a stone fortification of the late Urnfield period near the Upper Franconian town of Kronach in Germany. Its heyday was in the 9th century BC, making it the oldest stone fortification north of the Alps that is known and a ...
, Hesselberg
Hesselberg (; 689 m above sea level) is the highest point in Middle Franconia and the Franconian Jura and is situated 60 km south west of Nuremberg, Germany. The mountain stands isolated and far from the center of the Franconian Jura, i ...
, Bürgstadter Berg, Stallberg, Schellenburg, Farrenberg, Glauberg and Ipf in Germany, Burgstallkogel, Thunau am Kamp and the Oberleiserberg in Austria, Corent
Corent is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France.
It sits approximately 2 miles north of Les Martres-de-Veyre on the side of the old volcanic Puy de Corent.
In 2001 excavation began on a Gallic (Ce ...
in France, Hořovice and Plešivec in the Czech Republic, Biskupin
Biskupin is an archaeological site and a life-size model of a late Bronze Age fortified settlement in north-central Poland that also serves as an archaeological open-air museum. When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of a W ...
in Poland, Corneşti-Iarcuri, Sântana and Teleac in Romania, Gradište Idoš in Serbia, and Velem
Velem is a village in Vas county, Hungary. The village is situated on the slopes of Kőszeg Mountains, at the westernmost tip of the county and the region known as Alpokalja (Lower Alps). Velem is notable for its picturesque environment and heal ...
and Csanádpalota–Földvár in Hungary.
The 30.5 ha plateau of the Bullenheimer Berg in Germany was the site of a "large, walled, city-like" settlement in the later Urnfield period. Excavations have revealed a dense settlement across the whole plateau, including courtyard-type buildings located on artificially raised terraces. The fortified settlement on the Ehrenbürg
The Ehrenbürg is a double-peaked butte on the edge of the Franconian Jura in Bavaria, Germany. It is in the district of Forchheim in Upper Franconia, in the municipalities of Kirchehrenbach, Leutenbach and Wiesenthau. The north peak is the ...
, also covering about 30 ha and surrounded by a ''pfostenschlitzmauer''-type wall, was another regional centre during the Urnfield period and the residence of a regional elite. At the 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 ...
of Hořovice near Beroun (Czech Republic), 50 ha were surrounded by a stone wall. Most settlements were much smaller.
Corneşti-Iarcuri in Romania was the largest prehistoric settlement in Europe, at almost 6 km across, with four fortification lines and an inner settlement with a diameter of c. 2 km. Magnetic mapping and excavations have suggested the existence of a dense, well-organised settlement of urban character during the Urnfield period. An estimated 824,00 tonnes of earth had to be moved for the construction of the fortification walls alone.
"Mega forts" such as Corneşti-Iarcuri (and Gradište Idoš in Serbia) were surrounded by numerous smaller settlements, including fortified sites. They formed part of a general movement towards large fortified sites across Europe in the Late Bronze Age, possibly in response to new styles of warfare. The general uniformity in design, material culture, and the density of settlements in Romania and Serbia at this time is "indicative of one or more multilocal societies which must have been organized under a common political framework." Kristiansen and Suchowska-Ducke (2015) describe these mega-sites as "part of a political centralisation process, a complex chiefdom, or archaic state".
Open settlements
Urnfield period houses were one or two-aisled. Some were quite small, 4.5 m × 5 m at the Runder Berg
Runder Berg is a mountain of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The round mountain in Bad Urach is an oval hill (711 m above sea level) in the Swabian Alb
The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alp ...
( Urach, Germany), 5-8m long in Künzig (Bavaria, Germany), others up to 20 m long. They were built with wooden posts and walls of wattle and daub. At the Velatice-settlement of Lovčičky (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 ...
, 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 ...
) 44 houses have been excavated. Large bell shaped storage pits are known from the Knovíz-culture. The settlement of Radonice (Louny) contained over 100 pits. They were most probably used to store grain and demonstrate a considerable surplus-production.
Pile dwellings
On lakes of southern Germany and Switzerland, numerous pile dwellings
Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they also keep out vermin. The ...
were constructed. They consist either of simple houses made of wattle and daub, or log-built. The settlement at Zug, Switzerland, was destroyed by fire and gives important insights into the material culture and the settlement organisation of this period. It has yielded a number of dendro-dates as well.
Material culture
Pottery
The pottery is normally well made, with a smooth surface and a normally sharply carinated profile. Some forms are thought to imitate metal prototypes. Biconical pots with cylindrical necks are especially characteristic. There is some incised decoration, but a large part of the surface was normally left plain. Fluted decoration is common. In the Swiss pile dwellings, the incised decoration was sometimes inlaid with tin foil.
Pottery kilns were already known (Elchinger Kreuz, Bavaria), as is indicated by the homogeneous surface of the vessels as well.
Other vessels include cups of beaten sheet-bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...
with riveted handles (type Jenišovice) and large cauldron
A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...
s with cross attachments. Wooden vessels have only been preserved in waterlogged contexts, for example from Auvernier (Neuchâtel), but may have been quite widespread.
Tools and weapons
The early Urnfield period (1300 BC) was a time when the warriors of central Europe could be heavily armored with body armor, helmets and shields all made of bronze, most likely borrowing the idea from Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland ...
.
The leaf-shaped Urnfield sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
could be used for slashing, in contrast to the stabbing-swords of the preceding Tumulus culture. It commonly possessed a ricasso. The hilt
The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel ...
was normally made from bronze as well. It was cast separately and consisted of a different alloy. These solid hilted swords were known since Bronze D (Rixheim swords). Other swords have tanged blades and probably had a wood, bone, or antler hilt. Flange-hilted swords had organic inlays in the hilt. Swords include Auvernier, Kressborn-Hemigkofen, Erbenheim, Möhringen, Weltenburg, Hemigkofen and Tachlovice-types.
Protective gear like shield
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...
s, cuirass
A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuirac ...
es, greave
A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armour") or jambeau is a piece of armour that protects the leg.
Description
The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to the sk ...
s and helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
s are rare and almost never found in burials. The best-known example of a bronze shield comes from Plzeň
Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabitants.
The city is known worldwid ...
in Bohemia and has a riveted handhold. Comparable pieces have been found in Germany, Western Poland, Denmark, Great Britain and Ireland. They are supposed to have been made in upper Italy or the Eastern Alps
Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in t ...
and imitate wooden shields. Irish bogs have yielded examples of leather shields (Clonbrinn, Co. Wexford). Bronze cuirasses are known since Bronze D ( Čaka, grave II, Slovakia).
Complete bronze cuirasses have been found in Saint Germain du Plain, nine examples, one inside the other, in Marmesse, Haute Marne (France), fragments in Albstadt-Pfeffingen (Germany). Bronze dishes (phalerae) may have been sewn on a leather armour. Greaves of richly decorated sheet-bronze are known from Kloštar Ivanić (Croatia) and the Paulus cave near Beuron
Beuron ( Swabian: ''Beira'') is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Beuron is known for the Beuron Archabbey and the Beuron Art School for religious art.
Geography
Beuron is divided into subdistric ...
(Germany).
Chariots
About a dozen wagon
A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people.
Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
-burials of four wheeled wagons with bronze fittings are known from the early Urnfield period. They include Hart an der Altz (Kr. Altötting), Mengen (Kr. Sigmaringen), Poing (Kr. Ebersberg), Königsbronn (Kr. Heidenheim) from Germany and St. Sulpice (Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...
), Switzerland. In Alz, the chariot had been placed on the pyre, pieces of bone are attached to the partially melted metal of the axles. Bronze (one-part) bits appear at the same time. Two-part horse bits are only known from late Urnfield contexts and may be due to eastern influence. Wood- and bronze spoked wheels are known from Stade
Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...
(Germany), a wooden spoked wheel from Mercurago, Italy. Wooden dish-wheels have been excavated at Courcelettes, Switzerland and the Wasserburg Buchau Wasserburg may refer to:
* Water castle, a castle surrounded by a body of water
Places
* Krausnick-Groß Wasserburg, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany
* Wasserburg am Inn, a town in Upper Bavaria, Germany
** TSV 1880 Wasserburg, a multi-sp ...
, Germany (diameter 80 cm). In Milavče
Milavče is a municipality and village in Domažlice District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants.
Milavče lies approximately north-east of Domažlice, south-west of Plzeň, and south-west of Prague
...
near Domažlice
Domažlice (; german: Taus) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.
Administrative parts
The tow ...
, Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, a four-wheeled miniature bronze wagon bearing a large cauldron
A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...
(diameter 30 cm) contained a cremation. This exceptionally rich burial was covered by a barrow. The wagon from Acholshausen (Bavaria) comes from a male burial.
Such wagons are known from the Nordic Bronze Age
The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC.
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (th ...
as well. The Skallerup wagon, Denmark, contained a cremation as well. At Peckatel (Kr. Schwerin) in Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...
a cauldron-wagon and other rich grave goods accompanied an inhumation under a barrow ( Montelius III/IV). Another example comes from Ystad
Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, a ...
in Sweden. South-eastern European examples include Kanya in Hungary and Orăştie in Romania. Clay miniature wagons, sometimes with waterfowl were known there since the middle Bronze Age ( Dupljaja, Vojvodina, Serbia).
The Lusatian chariot from Burg (Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...
, Germany) has three wheel
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...
s on a single axle, on which waterfowl perch. The grave of Gammertingen (Kr. Sigmaringen, Germany) contained two socketed horned applications that probably belonged to a miniature wagon comparable to the Burg example, together with six miniature spoked wheels.
Bronze spoked wheels from :de:Urnenfelderkultur#Bronzeerzeugnisse, Hassloch and :de:Stader Bronzeräder, Stade (in Germany) have been described as "the most ambitious craft endeavour of all Bronze Age bronze objects", representing "the highest achievement of prehistoric bronze casters in non-Greek Europe ... In terms of casting technique, they are on a par with the casting of a Greek bronze statue."
File:Urnfield culture ceramic vessel with chariot depiction, Slovakia, 14th century BC.jpg, Urn with chariot depictions, Slovakia, 14th century BC
File:Dupljaja.jpg, Cult chariot model from Dupljaja, Serbia, c. 1300 BC.
File:Kesselwagen von Acholshausen — Exponat in der Archäologischen Staatssammlung München.JPG, Bronze wagon model from Acholshausen in Germany c.1000 BC
File:Orastie Celtic cauldron.JPG, Bronze wagon model from Orăştie in Romania
File:ALB - Kultwagen.jpg, Miniature cult wagon model from Burg, Germany
File:Speyer-2009-historisches-museum-142.jpg, Bronze wheels from :de:Urnenfelderkultur#Bronzeerzeugnisse, Hassloch in Germany, 900-800 BC
File:Bronzerad von Stade.JPG, Bronze wheel from :de:Stader Bronzeräder, Stade, Germany, c. 1000 BC
File:Stader Bronzeräder cropped.jpg, Bronze wheels from Stade, Germany, c. 1000 BC
Hoards
Hoards are very common in the Urnfield culture. The custom is abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age. They were often deposited in rivers and wet places like swamps. As these spots were often quite inaccessible, they most probably represent gifts to the gods. Other hoards contain either broken or miscast objects that were probably intended for reuse by bronze smiths. As Late Urnfield hoards often contain the same range of objects as earlier graves, some scholars interpret hoarding as a way to supply personal equipment for the hereafter. In the river Trieux, Côtes du Nord, complete swords were found together with numerous antlers of red deer that may have had a religious significance as well.
Gallery
File:GBM - Urnenfelder 1a Rasiermesser.jpg, Crescent shaped razor from Germany
File:PreistoHan - colier or 01.jpg, Gold necklace, Belgium, 1000 BC
File:Large Brooch MET DP165276.jpg, Large brooch, Germany, 1100–1000 BC
File:Radanhaenger-edited.jpg, Bronze wheel pendants from Switzerland
File:Goldschale Altstetten - 2 von 10.jpg, Gold bowl, :de:Goldschale von Altstetten, Altstetten, Switzerland
File:0371 Waffen von der Bronzezeit zirka 11. Jh. v. Chr..jpg, Bronze Age sword, Naue II swords from Slovakia, 1200-1100 BC
File:Sword, Late Bronze Age, City of Prague Museum, 175563.jpg, Bonze sword from the Czech Republic
File:Casques à crète MAN.jpg, Bronze helmets from France, 1100-900 BC
File:Diadem MET h1 2000.281.1.jpg, Bronze diadem, Hungary, c. 1200 BC
File:Depot de vaudrevange.jpg, Vaudrevange hoard, Germany
File:Bronze shield, Nynice culture, 950 – 750 BC, Museum of Western Bohemia, 187871.jpg, Bronze shield from the Czech Republic
File:Bronze Age Europe Bronze Ornament (28678548611).jpg, Bronze ornament, Slovakia, 13th c. BC
File:Bronze hoard of cups & arm ornaments from Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, c. 1000 BC (28471803770).jpg, Hoard of bronze objects, 1000 BC
File:Bronze Age Europe Gold Band & Necklace (28678594161).jpg, Gold collar and necklace from Austria, 900 BC
File:Diadem, Sichów, okres brązu, Wrocław 1.jpg, Gold diadem from Sichów, Poland
File:Trésor de Blanot musée archéologique Dijon France.JPG, Gold ornaments from :fr:Blanot (Côte-d'Or), Blanot, France.
File:HMB Bronzezeit Wasserfunde Bern.jpg, River and lake finds from Switzerland
File:Amphora from the Bronze Age found at Mariesminde in Funen, Denmark in 1862.jpg, alt=Bronze amphora imported to Denmark from the Urnfield cultural sphere. Photo credit: Lennart Larsen, Nationalmuseet, Danmark, Bronze urn with sun-bird-ship motif.
File:Urnfield greave.jpg, Bronze greave
A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armour") or jambeau is a piece of armour that protects the leg.
Description
The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to the sk ...
, Hungary
File:Central Europe, Bronze Age - Cauldron Ornament - 1996.312 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Bronze ornament with iron rivets, c.1200 BC
File:Hungary, Bronze Age, c. 2500-800 BC - Ritual Cauldron - 1992.64 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Bronze cauldron from Hungary, c. 1000 BC
File:Urnfield culture pottery inlaid with tin foil, Switzerland, c. 1000 BC.jpg, Pottery inlaid with tin foil, Switzerland, c. 1000 BC
File:Museum Quintana - Urnenfelderzeit Gefäß.jpg, Pottery polished with graphite
File:AMK - Urnenfelderzeit Rennweg Urne.jpg, Cinerary urn from Kelheim, Germany
File:Szombathely-savariamuseum-fegyver-0.jpg, Various artefacts, Hungary
File:Caen - Musee de Normandie 01.jpg, Helmets, France
File:Eberswalde 3.jpg, Eberswalde Hoard (replica), Germany
File:KMH - (1) Vasenkopfnadel aus St Johann im Pongau, (2) oberständiges Lappenbeil aus Salburg, Rainberg und (3) Lanzenspitze aus Gröding, Untersberg, Urnenfelderzeit, 1300-800 v. C.jpg, Bronze artefacts from Austria
File:Chain work, Neuffen, Kreis Esslingen, 10th-9th century BC, bronze - Landesmuseum Württemberg - Stuttgart, Germany - DSC02759.jpg, Bronze ornaments, Germany
File:Brooch2a.jpg, Large brooch, Germany
File:Diadema d'oro.jpg, Gold diadem, Hinova Treasure, Romania
File:Età del ferro iniziale, tesoro di hinova, bracciale e frammenti vari, XII sec. ac..JPG, List of hoards in Romania, Hinova Treasure, Romania
Iron
An iron knife or sickle from Ganovce in Slovakia, possibly dating to the 18th century BC, may be the earliest evidence of smelted iron in Central Europe. Another early find is an iron ring from Vorwohlde (Kr. Grafschaft Diepholz, Germany) dating to c. the 15th century BC (Reinecke B). During the late Bronze Age, Iron was used to decorate the hilts of swords (Schwäbisch-Hall-Gailenkirchen, Unterkrumbach, Kr. Hersbruck), knives (Dotternhausen, Plettenberg (mountain), Plettenberg, Germany), pins and some other ornaments. The Carpathian Basin was an early centre of iron technology, with iron artefacts dating from the 10th century BC, and possibly as early as the 12th century BC. Regular use of iron for weapons and tools in Central Europe began with the Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (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 ...
.
Economy
Cattle, pigs, sheep and goats were kept, as well as horses, dogs and geese. The cattle were rather small, with a height of 1.20 m at the withers. Horses were not much bigger with a mean of 1.25 m.
Forest clearance was intensive in the Urnfield period. Probably open meadows were created for the first time, as shown by pollen analysis. This led to increased erosion and sediment-load of the rivers. New crops and more intensive agrarian regimes are introduced, transforming landscapes on a large scale.
Wheat and barley were cultivated, together with pulses and the horse bean. Poppy seeds were used for oil or as a recreational drug use, drug. Millet and oats were cultivated for the first time in Hungary and Bohemia, rye was already cultivated, further west it was only a noxious weed. Flax seems to have been of reduced importance, maybe because mainly wool was used for clothes.
Hazel nuts, apples, pears, sloes and acorns were collected. Some rich graves contain bronze sieves that have been interpreted as wine-sieves (Hart an der Alz). This beverage would have been imported from the South, but supporting evidence is lacking.
In the Lake, lacustrine settlement of Zug, remains of a broth made of spelt and millet have been found. In the lower-Rhine urnfields, leavened bread was often placed on the pyre and burnt fragments have thus been preserved.
Wool was spun (finds of spindle (textiles), spindle whorls are common) and woven on the warp-weighted loom; bronze needles (''Unteruhldingen'') were used for sewing.
There is some suggestion that the Urnfield culture is associated with a wetter climatic period than the earlier Tumulus cultures. This may be associated with the diversion of the mid-latitude winter storms north of the Pyrenees and the Alps, possibly associated with drier conditions in the Mediterranean basin.
Numerals
Large hoards of sickles dating from the Bronze Age have been excavated across central Europe which feature a range of cast markings. An analysis of the Frankleben hoard and other sickle hoards from Germany dating from the Urnfield period found that markings on the sickles constitute a numeral system related to the lunar calendar. According to the Halle State Museum of Prehistory:
The sickles also feature other marks or symbols which Sommmerfeld (1994) suggests may represent 'conceptual signs', or a type of proto-writing. Markings on sickles and tools from across Bronze Age Europe have been interpreted by other authors as ownership marks, sign systems, number systems or "units of information" of unknown meaning.
'Counting marks' have also been identified on bronze armrings and ingots from the Urnfield period, possibly related to trade. Similar markings found on pottery have been interpreted as serving a calendar function.
Golden hats
Four elaborate cone-shaped hats made from thin sheets of gold have been found in Germany and France, dated to 1400-800 BC. It is thought that they may have been worn as ceremonial hats by "king-priests" or oracles.
The Golden hat, gold hats are covered in bands of ornaments along their whole length and extent. The ornaments – mostly disks and concentric circles, sometimes wheels, crescents, pointed oval shapes and triangles – were punched using stamps, rolls or combs. An analysis of the Berlin Gold Hat found that its ornaments form systematic patterns, representing the Metonic cycle of a lunisolar calendar. According to :de:Wilfried Menghin, Wilfried Menghin: “The symbols on the hat are a logarithmic table which enables the movements of the sun and the moon to be calculated in advance.” Similar ornaments are found on the gold bowls of the Eberswalde Hoard, Eberswalde hoard, some of which also contain calendrical information. Astronomical and calendrical interpretations have also been proposed for gold items from the Bullenheimer Berg in Germany, the gold diadem and roundels from Velem
Velem is a village in Vas county, Hungary. The village is situated on the slopes of Kőszeg Mountains, at the westernmost tip of the county and the region known as Alpokalja (Lower Alps). Velem is notable for its picturesque environment and heal ...
in Hungary, and the Trundholm sun chariot from Denmark. The conical gold hats have been linked to the Casco de Leiro from Spain and the Comerford Crown from Ireland, which also bear similar symbols.
In his analysis of the Velem diadem, archaeologist Gabor Ilon writes: "high-ranking members of the elite in Bronze Age Europe were proud owners of gold foil-covered costume adornments and symbols of status and power as well as of golden vessels, objects of social display, decorated with an identical set of symbols ... embodying what was presumably an identical and coherent spiritual background." According to the National Archaeological Museum, France, Musée d'Archaeologie Nationale, "these precious and remarkably executed objects evoke a complex society, undoubtedly strictly hierarchical, with advanced technical and astronomical knowledge, organized around work in the fields".
File:Cappello d'oro di berlino, 1000 ac ca. 01.jpg, Berlin Gold Hat, Neues Museum, Neues museum
File:Cône d'Avanton, musée des Antiquités Nationales, 2010-03-26.jpg, Avanton Gold Hat, National Archaeological Museum, France
File:Gold hat.jpg, Ezelsdorf-Buch Gold Hat, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Germanisches National Museum
File:Goldener hut schifferstadt hist mus speyer.jpg, Schifferstadt Gold Hat, Historical Museum of the Palatinate
File:EzelsdorfBuch Golden Hat schematic.jpg, Ezelsdorf-Buch, schematic depiction of ornamention and stamps.
File:Schifferstadt Golden Hat schematic.jpg, Schifferstadt, schematic depiction of ornamention and stamps.
Funerary customs
Graves
In the Tumulus period, multiple inhumations under barrows were common, at least for the upper levels of society. In the Urnfield period, inhumation and burial in single flat graves prevails, though some barrows exist.
In the earliest phases of the Urnfield period, man-shaped graves were dug, sometimes provided with a stone lined floor, in which the cremated remains of the deceased were spread. Only later, burial in urns became prevalent. Some scholars speculate that this may have marked a fundamental shift in people's beliefs or myths about life and the afterlife.
The size of the urnfields is variable. In Bavaria, they can contain hundreds of burials, while the largest cemetery in Baden-Württemberg in Dautmergen has only 30 graves.
The dead were placed on pyres, covered in their personal jewellery, which often shows traces of the fire and sometimes food-offerings. The cremated bone-remains are much larger than in the Roman period, which indicates that less wood was used. Often, the bones have been incompletely collected.
Most urnfields are abandoned with the end of the Bronze Age, only the Lower Rhine urnfields continue in use in the early Iron Age (Ha C, sometimes even D).
The cremated bones could be placed in simple pits. Sometimes the dense concentration of the bones indicates a container of organic material, sometimes the bones were simply shattered.
If the bones were placed in urns, these were often covered by a shallow bowl or a stone. In a special type of burial (bell-graves) the urns are completely covered by an inverted larger vessel. As graves rarely overlap, they may have been marked by wooden posts or stones.
Stone-pacing graves are typical of the Unstrut group.
Grave gifts
The urn containing the cremated bones is often accompanied by other, smaller ceramic vessels, like bowls and cups. They may have contained food. The urn is often placed in the centre of the assemblage. Often, these vessels have not been placed on the pyre. Metal grave gifts include razors, weapons that often have been deliberately destroyed (bent or broken), bracelets, pendants and pins. Metal grave gifts become rarer towards the end of the Urnfield culture, while the number of hoards increase.
Burnt animal bones are often found, they may have been placed on the pyre as food. The marten bones in the grave of :de:Königsgrab von Seddin, Seddin may have belonged to a garment (pelt).
Amber or glass beads (Pfahlbautönnchen) are luxury items.
Upper-class graves
Upper-class burials were placed in wooden chambers, rarely stone cists or chambers with a stone-paved floor and covered with a Tumulus, barrow or cairn. The graves contain especially finely made pottery, animal bones, usually of pigs, sometimes gold rings or sheets, and in exceptional cases miniature wagons.
Some of these rich burials contain the remains of more than one person. In this case, women and children are normally seen as sacrifices. Until more is known about the status distribution and the social structure of the late Bronze Age, this interpretation should be viewed with caution, however.
Towards the end of the Urnfield period, some bodies were burnt in situ and then covered by a barrow, reminiscent of the burial of Patroclus as described by Homer and the burial of Beowulf (with the additional ship burial element). The :de:Königsgrab von Seddin, grave of Seddin (9th c. BC) has been described as a "Homeric burial" due to its close similarity to contemporary elite burials in Greece and Italy. In the early Iron Age, inhumation became the rule again.
Cult
An obsession with waterbirds is indicated by numerous pictures and three-dimensional representations. Combined with the hoards deposited in rivers and swamps, it indicates religious beliefs connected with water. This has led some scholars to believe in serious droughts during the late Bronze Age.
Sometimes the water-birds are combined with circles, the so-called sun-barque-motif. Moon-shaped clay fire dogs are thought to have a religious significance, as well as crescent shaped razors.
The Kyffhäuser caves in Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
contain headless skeletons and animal bones that have been interpreted as sacrifices. Other deposits include grain, knotted vegetable fibres and hair and bronze objects (axes, pendants and pins). The Ith-caves (Lower Saxony) have yielded comparative material.
Genetics
A genetic study published in ''Nature (journal), Nature'' in March 2015 examined the remains of an Urnfield male buried in Halberstadt, Germany ca 1100-1000 BC. He was found to be a carrier of the paternal haplogroup Haplogroup R1a, R1a1a1b1a2 and the maternal haplogroup Haplogroup H (mtDNA), H23.
A genetic study published in ''Science (journal), Science'' in March 2019 found a significant increase in Northern Europe, north-central European ancestry in Iberia during the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The authors of the study suggested that the spread of the Urnfield culture was associated with this transition, during which the Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...
may have emerged. A Celtiberian male examined in the study was found to be a carrier of the paternal Haplogroup I-M438, haplogroup I2a1a1a.
A genetic study published in ''Science'' in November 2019 examined the remains of a female from the Proto-Villanovan culture buried in Martinsicuro, Italy between ca. 900 BC and 800 BC. She carried the maternal haplogroup Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U5a2b, U5a2b.
See also
*Prehistoric Europe
*Bronze Age Europe
*Beaker culture
*Nordic Bronze Age
The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC.
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (th ...
*Tumulus culture
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The Tumulus culture (German: ''Hügelgräberkultur'') dominated Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age ( 1600 to 1300 BC).
It was the descendant of the Unetice culture. Its heartland was the area previously occupied by the ...
*Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (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 ...
* Lusatian culture
*Solar deity
*Sorothaptic language
References
External links
Bronze age fortresses in Europe
From Dupljaja to Delphi: the ceremonial use of the wagon in later prehistory
The Cult-Wagon of Liptovský Hrádok: First evidence of using the Urnfield cult-wagons as fat-powered lamps
Bibliography
*
*J. M. Coles/A. F. Harding, ''The Bronze Age in Europe'' (London 1979).
*G. Weber, ''Händler, Kieger, Bronzegießer'' (Kassel 1992).
*Ute Seidel, ''Bronzezeit''. Württembergisches Landesmuseum Stuttgart (Stuttgart 1995).
*Konrad Jażdżewski, ''Urgeschichte Mitteleuropas'' (Wrocław 1984)
*Association Abbaye de Daoulas (eds.), ''Avant les Celtes. L'Europe a l'age du Bronze'' (Daoulas 1988).
*
*
*Frans Theuws, Nico Roymans (eds.), ''Land and ancestors: cultural dynamics in the Urnfield period and the Middle Ages in the southern Netherlands'', Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, Amsterdam University Press, 1999, .
{{Authority control
Urnfield culture,
Bronze Age cultures of Europe
Archaeological cultures of Central Europe
Archaeological cultures of Southern Europe
Archaeological cultures of Southeastern Europe
Archaeological cultures of Southwestern Europe
Archaeological cultures of Western Europe
Celtic archaeological cultures
Archaeological cultures in Austria
Archaeological cultures in Belgium
Archaeological cultures in Croatia
Archaeological cultures in the Czech Republic
Archaeological cultures in France
Archaeological cultures in Germany
Archaeological cultures in Hungary
Archaeological cultures in Italy
Archaeological cultures in the Netherlands
Archaeological cultures in Poland
Archaeological cultures in Romania
Archaeological cultures in Slovakia
Archaeological cultures in Slovenia
Archaeological cultures in Spain
Archaeological cultures in Switzerland
Archaeological cultures in Ukraine
13th-century BC establishments
2nd-millennium BC establishments
8th-century BC disestablishments
Italo-Celtic