LATE HALLSTATT PRINCELY FORTS AND THEIR LANDSCAPES

Aerial survey, LIDAR imagery and ground observation

This part of the 'European Landscapes' project will focus in the archaeological micro-landscapes surrounding Late Hallstatt princely hillforts in Southwest Germany. Similar work is being carried out in France outside the Culture 2000 project. Close contacts will be maintained with our French colleagues.

The chosen survey area is defined by hillforts associated with rich grave mounds dating from the 7 th to the 4 th centuries BC. The forts can be seen as the result of a centralisation process in the development of the landscape. Four exemplary micro-landscapes, each surrounding a princely seat, will be mapped systematically by aerial archaeology and the new remote sensing techniques of laser modelling (LIDAR). The chosen hillforts are the Heuneburg, Hohenasperg, Ipf and so-called Münsterhügel in Breisach. A particularly fascinating aspect of LIDAR is its ability to create digital models of areas of interest even in dense woodlands and under water, making it possible to reveal parts of the hillforts' environment which would otherwise remain invisible. This will lead to a new view of the monuments and therefore improve our understanding of the settlement system of the period.

The results of the aerial survey will be complemented by ground-based survey and geophysical prospection undertaken by experts from the LDA Baden-Württemberg. The aerial photographs taken by the allied forces in WWII will also be re-examined. The recent development of the landscape, and its impact on the state of preservation of sites, will form the main objective in this part of the agenda.

The programme of work consists of four steps, spread over the three years of the project.

• Preliminary work has been done on all areas. Basic aerial photographs, along with terrestrial and geophysical survey data, are already available. New and intensive aerial survey, however, can add significantly to our understanding of the micro-landscapes immediately surrounding the hillforts.
• General aerial survey is planned in Year 1, plus analysis of the first part of the LIDAR imagery.
• The main objective in Year 2, in addition to further flying and LIDAR work, will be the verification and (if possible) dating of the sites through ground-observation. It is hoped that 'central' funding in the Culture 2000 scheme, or grants from other sources, will allow a small workshop to be held at this stage.
• Year 3 will basically be one continuation and consolidation, with further flying and the final analysis and summing up of the results. At this stage detailed contributions can be made to the overall Project's international exhibition. A second workshop will also be held if funds allow.

A distinctive aspect of the project, and one which has rarely been attempted elsewhere, will be the close co-ordination between aerial survey and subsequent examination of the recorded sites on the ground. The comparison of the view from above with traditional ground-based methods shortly afterwards will produce evidence that will improve the interpretation of aerial photographs in the future (a fact clearly demonstrated by similar exercises in 2003 during the aerial archaeology training school at Foggia in southern Italy).

Knowledge gained, both from the air and on the ground, about the state of preservation of the hillforts and their surrounding landscapes, where archaeological traces are often virtually levelled by the plough, will make it possible to provide adequate protection in more Templetates.

With a broader knowledge of the archaeological micro-landscapes through the ages the formation of the princely seats and their further development as part of the cultural landscape will also be better understood.

As shown in the Mont Lassois project, combined work by several organisations on the same topic increases output. The LDA Baden-Würtenberg has experience of European co-operations, geophysical survey being part of its own implementation role in the Mont Lassois project. The varying perspectives of researchers coming from different national traditions will give a new impetus to the current work, while the exchange of knowledge and methods and the study of differing heritage recording systems will serve as a basis for future work.

In considering ancient cultural remains of this kind we become acutely aware of the arbitrary structure of modern national state boundaries. Iron Age cultures in particular manifest long-range relationships over wide parts of Europe. The Hallstatt Culture as well as the early Celts belong to the common cultural tradition of several European countries. Cultures like that of the early Celts can only be understood from a trans-border perspective such as that gained from the kind of multinational co-operation created within a Culture 2000 project.

Within the time-frame of the project fieldwork will be done on the Heuneburg, Hohenasperg and Ipf hillforts, in a tightly scheduled programme of work conducted by the LDA Baden-Würtemmberg. The workshops which will hopefully form part of the project will spread the newly acquired knowledge and bring together researchers and specialists using new techniques. The work on the princely hillforts and their surroundings will feature in the international exhibition planned for the Culture 2000 Project as a whole, presenting the results to the public in a way which will make them more conscious of their invisible cultural heritage.

Contributions

The LDA Baden-Württemberg will contribute to the project by providing 15.000 EUR each year for flights by an experienced aerial archaeologist (O. Braasch) and for related treatment and mapping of the resulting photographs (by Büro Gerstner).

Un-costed contributions by the LDA will include geophysical prospection, ground survey and mapping executed by members of the civil service, along with storage and archiving of the photographs and general administrative and financial support.

The Culture 2000 allocation of 12.000 EUR per year will be used to purchase LIDAR imagery of the chosen study areas, in one case using newly developed technology which allows the recording of underwater features as well as those on dry land.

Attachment

Short description of the research areas:

Heuneburg

The Heuneburg hillfort near Hundersingen is the best studied princely seat, but for a long time research concentrated on the settlement up on the fortified hill. The still visible grave mounds were almost the only archaeological heritage known in the surroundings. It was just in recent excavations in the near vicinity of the hillfort that wide-spread traces of settlements and fortification lines were discovered.

Hohenasperg

Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène Grave mounds and settlements in the wider surrounding of the hill of Hohenasperg make it likely that the hill carried a princely seat. The discovery of an enormous rich princely grave under an almost completely levelled mound in 1978 shows, that there might as well be further monuments not yet visible. The knowledge of the landscape around the hillfort is very important because on the Hohenasperg itself medieval and modern buildings inhibit archaeological excavations.

Ipf

The prominent hill of the Ipf lies on the northern edge of the Swabian Alb. Many years of archaeological field work in a settlement near the Ipf revealed a continuous development from Late Hallstatt to the Early La Tène, pointing to the further development of settlement development. A second fortified settlement not far away on the Goldberg evokes the question of the relationship between the two hillforts in the context of the surrounding settlement.

Breisach

In Celtic times the hill of Breisach in the lowlands of the Upper Rhine lay made a princely seat on the Münsterberg probable, but its surroundings are yet not very well known. The long-term agricultural use of the fertile soil may have led to the levelling of possible monuments, which therefore can only be found by aerial photography.