The Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave is a richly-furnished

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic burial chamber near Hochdorf an der Enz (municipality of Eberdingen) in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, dating from 530 BC in the

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...

period. It was discovered in 1968 by an amateur archaeologist and excavated from 1978 to 1979 by the State Historical site office known as the Baden-Württemberg Landesdenkmalamt under the direction of German archeologist Jörg Biel with association from excavation technician Fritz Maurer. By then, the burial mound covering the grave, originally in height and about in diameter, had shrunk to about in height and was hardly discernible due to centuries of erosion and agricultural use. HochdorfAusblick

A man, roughly 50 years of age and tall, was laid out on an exceptionally richly decorated bronze recliner with eight wheels inside the burial chamber. Judging by other objects found there, this man probably had been a Celtic chieftain: He had been buried with a gold-plated

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...

on his neck, a bracelet on his right arm, a hat made of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

, a gold-plated

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

made of bronze and iron, rich clothing,

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

jewelry, a razor knife, a nail clipper, a comb, fishing hooks, arrows, and most notably, thin embossed gold plaques which were on his now-disintegrated shoes. At the foot of the couch was a large

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, 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 r ...

decorated with three lions around the brim, originally imported from

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

but subsequently altered. This cauldron was originally filled with about of

mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...

Hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

was also found in the Hochdorf grave. The east side of the tomb contained an iron-plated wooden four-wheeled wagon holding a set of bronze dishes—along with the

drinking horn A drinking horn is the horn (anatomy), horn of a bovid used as a cup. Drinking horns are known from Classical Antiquity, especially the Balkans. They remained in use for ceremonial purposes throughout the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period ...

s found on the walls enough to serve nine people. The whole burial chamber was lined with elaborate textiles. Krausse (1999) has argued that the material in the Hochdorf burial may denote the combined position of a chief and a priest, or ''Sakralkönig'' (sacred king). According to Gaspani (1998) the diagonals of the rectangular burial chamber were aligned with the major lunar standstill, which occurs every 18.6 years. The Hochdorf grave is located within sight of the Hallstatt-era fortified settlement and 'princely seat' of the

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 of ...

, which is surrounded by other elite burials such as the Grafenbühl grave and the Kleinaspergle. Following the excavations of the grave the burial mound was reconstructed to its original height. The Keltenmuseum Hochdorf was subsequently built nearby and opened in 1991. During the construction of the museum the foundations of an ancient Celtic village were found, possibly the one to which the chieftain belonged. These were incorporated into the museum.

Gallery

File:Keltischer Fürst aus Hochdorf 34.jpg, Reconstruction with gold ornaments and dagger File:Kelten-Ausstellung Landesmuseum Württemberg (07).jpg, Gold artefacts File:Hochdorf golden shoes ornaments.jpg, Golden shoe ornaments File:Hochdorf dagger with gold foil.jpg, Dagger with gold foil File:Landesmuseum Württemberg Kelten 012.8.jpg, Cauldron and gold bowl File:Kelten-Ausstellung Landesmuseum Württemberg (06).jpg, Cauldron with

s File:Gold bowl, Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave, Germany, c. 550 BC.jpg, Gold serving bowl File:Totenliege-Hochdorf-by-1rhb-cr.jpg, Bronze recliner File:Landesmuseum Württemberg Kelten 022.8.jpg, Figurine supporting the bronze recliner File:Kelten-Ausstellung Landesmuseum Württemberg (03).jpg, Funerary wagon reconstruction and display File:Hochdorf bronze container, greek lion, detail.jpg, Bronze lion File:Hochdorf bronze container, greek lion, detail 2.jpg, Bronze lion File:Aufbau der keltischen Gesellschaft.jpg, Depiction of Celtic social structure from the Landesmuseums Württemberg File:Keltenmuseum in Hochdorf - panoramio.jpg, Reconstructed buildings from the Celtic village at Hochdorf

References

Sources

*James, Simon. 1993. ''Exploring the World of the Celts''. London: Thames & Hudson : pp. 26–27. *. This 1986 BBC documentary refers to the Hochdorf chieftain as "The Man with the Golden Shoes".

External links

Celtic Museum at Hochdorf

The Hochdorf Cauldron and the DagdaWagons and Wagon-Graves of the Early Iron Age in Central Europe (Pare 1992)Textile symbolism in Early Iron Age burials
{{Authority control Celtic archaeological sites Tumuli in Germany Celtic art Archaeology of Baden-Württemberg Chariot burials Ancient Celtic metalwork Drinking horns

Gallery

See also

References

Sources

External links