Quelques remarques sur la mobilité de l’architecture de la civilisation hallstattienne : des constructions elliptiques en Europe centrale

International audienceDuring the analysis of the Hallstatt period settlement at Praha-Miškovice a new type of building structure has been identified. It consists of an exactly elliptical foundation trench for a wooden palisade. This elliptical construction from Praha-Miškovice has three striking parallels in Kuřim in Moravia, in Unterradlberg in Lower Austria and in Kösching in Southern Bavaria. For the first time, a type of monumental architecture independent from Early Iron Age fortifications and grave architecture can be established. The almost identical construction of elliptical monuments over great distances proves either the existence of a group of specialists or the transfer of special knowledge. This group –be they builders or architects– distinguished itself by remarkable mobility which has already been recognized for other craftsmen for a long time

Work on the cutting edge: metallographic investigation of Late Bronze Age tools in southeastern Lower Austria

AbstractThis paper analyses 20 Late Bronze Age (ca 1080–800 BC) copper alloy objects to discern their manufacture and the skills of local craftsmen. Several tools and jewellery were studied that originated from a bronze workshop located immediately next to the Prigglitz-Gasteil copper ore mining site and several contemporaneous sites in the surrounding area. The samples were studied with optical microscopy (microstructurally), and SEM-EDXS and XRF (chemical analyses). Our analyses are part of a larger study and suggest that the Prigglitz region’s bronze production was not standardized. Particular alloys do not seem to have been chosen for object types or due to their intended use-function. Notably, approximately 20% of the objects contain unalloyed copper inclusions, which are most likely a result of the incomplete mixing of scrap metals and alloys during their production.</jats:p

Cattle Make the Difference: Variations and Developments of Animal Husbandry in the Central European La T&egrave;ne Culture

The first part of our research focuses on the analysis of animal remains (&gt;6000 identified specimens, NISP) from the Middle La T&egrave;ne central settlement Haselbach in Lower Austria, one of the largest investigated archaeozoological assemblages of present-day Austria. Based on the age and sex profiles, the faunal assemblage from Haselbach shows characteristics of urbanization and centralization and bears striking similarities to the archaeozoological material of the central settlement of Roseldorf (Lower Austria), some 35 km northwest of Haselbach. The second part of our research discusses the historical and regional context of the archaeozoological results from Haselbach and compares them with other sites, based on a detailed review of published archaeozoological data from the La T&egrave;ne period (c. 450 BC to the end of the first century BC). In total, 55 faunal assemblages from 46 sites in nine countries in Central Europe, representing different types of sites (lowland settlements, hilltop settlements, central settlements, oppida, assemblages of ritual activity, and mining sites) were examined. The synthesis of the archaeozoological data exhibits different husbandry strategies and suggests major changes, especially during the Middle La T&egrave;ne period indicating agricultural intensification. The differences in the biological profiles of the major domesticated species are of crucial importance to better understand aspects of socio-economic organization; especially in the case of cattle, age and sex profiles are used to distinguish different patterns of cattle husbandry. Finally, morphometric and recent genetic analyses on cattle bones and teeth from La T&egrave;ne sites in Central Europe provide new insights into the complex socio-economic behavior as well as long-distance networks, involving animal supply and mobility in an exciting period of change involving centralization and increasing influence from the South during the pre-Roman late Iron Age

Les bâtiments à module porteur : réflexions sur un plan type du second âge du Fer

Les bâtiments à module porteur central sont souvent considérés comme un type architectural unique. Les fouilles des dernières décennies ont montré, au contraire, l’existence d’une grande variété de plans. Cinq grands types peuvent être mis en évidence. Ils s’appuient sur plusieurs critères : la présence ou l’absence de la tranchée de paroi, sa forme en particulier au niveau des angles, mais aussi l’existence de poteaux porteurs périphériques, ou encore l’écartement de la paroi par rapport au module central. Ces caractéristiques débouchent sur deux conceptions architecturales fort différentes au niveau de la statique : dans l’une, la très grande majorité du poids de la charpente repose sur la seule structure porteuse formée de quatre ou six poteaux ; dans l’autre, le poids se répartit au contraire entre les poteaux internes et la paroi, qui peut reposer sur une sablière basse ou s’appuyer sur des poteaux périphériques porteurs.Buildings with central supporting posts are often considered as a unique architectural type. On the contrary, the excavations of recent decades have shown the existence of a wide variety of plans. Five main types can be highlighted. They are based on several criteria: the presence or absence of the wall trench, its shape, particularly at the corners, but also the existence of peripheral supporting posts, or the distance of the wall from the central posts. These characteristics lead to two very different architectural designs in terms of statics: in one case, the vast majority of the weight of the structure is based on the single supporting structure of four or six posts; in the other, the weight is distributed between the internal posts and the wall, which can be supported on a sill beam or on peripheral supporting posts

Melting, smelting, and recycling: A regional study around the Late Bronze Age mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, Lower Austria

This paper presents a study on copper production and distribution in Lower Austria’s southeastern region during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1350–800 BC), with the focal point being the chemistry and isotopic character of artifacts from a small copper mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil on the Eastern Alps’ easternmost fringe. Ores, casting cakes, and select objects from the Late Bronze Age mining site at Prigglitz-Gasteil, Lower-Austria, and within 15 km of its surroundings, were chemically and isotopically analysed using XRF, NAA, and MC-ICPMS. The importance of Prigglitz-Gasteil as a local mining and metal processing center is evaluated based on the produced data, and the distribution and sourcing of copper-producing materials found at the site are discussed. Special attention is paid to the mixing of scrap and source materials early in the metal production process. The most salient discussions focus on the variability of the chemistry and Pb isotopic ratios of the studied objects, which seem to constitute a multitude of source materials, unlike the pure chalcopyrite-source copper produced from the Prigglitz-Gasteil mine itself. The analytical data suggests that copper alloys were mainly imported from materials originating in the Slovakian Ore Mountains, which were subsequently mixed/recycled with relatively pure locally produced copper. The purity of the copper from Prigglitz-Gasteil was fortuitous in identifying imported copper that contained measurable amounts of Pb and other chemically distinct characteristics. The chaîne opératoire of metal production at the site is mentioned; however, it is clear that additional information on the region’s geochemistry is required before any finite conclusions on the ore-to-metal production can be made.</jats:p