Carola Metzner-Nebelsick | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (original) (raw)

Books by Carola Metzner-Nebelsick

This volume offers the first comprehensive overview of the urbanisation processes that took place... more This volume offers the first comprehensive overview of the urbanisation processes that took place south and north of the Alps during the early first millennium BC, highlighting the interactions between the different geographical areas.
The 26 chapters included in this book provide a combination of theoretical and methodological insights into urbanisation processes, regional overviews, and up-to-date evidence from key archaeological sites. The latter comprise both well-established names such as the Heuneburg, Vix-Mont Lassois, Verucchio, Marzabotto, and Spina, as well as other sites that are less well-known but equally relevant for the understanding of centralisation processes during the Iron Age.
In particular, this volume brings together, for the first time, the rich archaeological evidence for urban and proto-urban sites in northern Italy, a region that has traditionally been neglected or underestimated in accounts on Iron Age urbanisation. Thus, the book transcends previous barriers in scholarship and helps to readdress one of the most attractive topics of current archaeological research: the multiple and nonlinear pathways towards urbanisation.

Vorgeschichtliche Vorschungen Bd. 23, 2002

Einblicke in die Vorgeschichte Grünwalds. Ergebnisse eines archäologischen Pilotprojekts., 2016

Rituale in der Vorgeschichte, Antike und Gegenwart. Interdisziplinäre Tagung vom 1.–2. Februar 2002 in Berlin, 2003

M. Bležić/M. Črešnar/B. Hänsel/A. Hellmuth/E. Kaiser/C. Metzner-Nebelsick, Scripta praehistorica in honorem Biba Teržan. Situla 44 (Ljubljana 2007).

Xpóvoç. Beiträge zur prähistorischen Archäologie zwischen Nord- und Südosteuropa. Festschrift für Bernhard Hänsel

Archaeological, Cultural and Linguistic Heritage. Festschrift for Erzsébet Jerem in Honour of her 70th Birthday, 2012

Bronze Age Studies by Carola Metzner-Nebelsick

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2022

Feuergruben sind ein prähistorisches Kulturzeugnis, das Norddeutschland und Skandinavien verbinde... more Feuergruben sind ein prähistorisches Kulturzeugnis, das Norddeutschland und Skandinavien verbindet. Der Artikel stellt unterschiedliche Erklärungsmodelle vor, welchem Zweck die häufig in Reihen oder Gruppen angelegten Feuergruben gedient haben mögen. Die schwierige Quellenlage macht ganz unterschiedliche Theorien möglich.
Fire pits are an archaeological feature that connects prehistoric northern Germany and Scandinavia. The article tries to explain what purpose these pits, which were arranged in rows or clusters, may have served and why they were erected?

Bayerische Archäologie, 2022

High above the Danube. A "Cyclopean" stone fortification of the Middle Bronze Age on the Stättebe... more High above the Danube. A "Cyclopean" stone fortification of the Middle Bronze Age on the Stätteberg near Oberhausen. Bayerische Archäologie 2022/4, 14-25.
Since 2019 an international team of archaeologists is engaged in an ongoing excavation on the Stätteberg near Ingolstadt, Bavaria, a hardly known, huge fortification covering a total of 86 ha with a separate enclosure. It is one of the most spectacular fortifications of the European Bronze Age north of the Alps.
A section of the “Cyclopean" wall, built of large limestone blocks and dating from around 1400 BC, that surrounds the acropolis was completely excavated this year. It is the earliest and largest of its kind north of the Alps. Similar walls protect the palace of the legendary kings of Mycenae. Two wall shells, originally about two metres high and made of massive limestone blocks, were filled with small stones and rammed earth. Massive wooden posts attached to the front and rear façades held this construction together and formed the foundation of a battlement built of wood. In a raging inferno, this wall was burnt down along its entire length at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, after which the stronghold was probably razed to the ground following a successful siege and never repopulated. Our investigations show on the one hand, and this is a unique feature of the Stätteberg, that the large boulders of the wall were broken immediately in front of it. This is the oldest known stone quarry in Central Europe. Furthermore, our investigations this year have shown that a second older wall situated 25 metres in front of the large fortification was similarly constructed, although it was less thick. This wall was not destroyed by fire, but systematically quarried. Presumably, the stones of this older fortification, probably built around 1600 BC, were incorporated into the imposing Cyclopean wall during the later Middle Bronze Age.
Excavations in the rear part of the wall have also yielded exciting results. In addition to pottery shards, animal bones were deposited there, which are the remains of meals, but possibly also evidence of sacrifices. If the latter assumption is true this may be linked to presence of a large sanctuary, a so-called burnt-offering place, on the highest point of the hill, where burnt animal sacrifices and crushed pottery were offered to divine powers. Human bones were also found, but it remains to be clarified whether these were siege victims or ritual deposits.

B. Baragli, A. Dietz, Zs. J. Földi, P. Heindl, P. Lohmann & S. P. Schlüter (eds.), Distant Worlds and Beyond. Special Issue Dedicated to the Graduate School Distant Worlds (2012-2021). Distant Worlds Journal Special Issue 3, Heidelberg, Propylaeum, 2021

This article reconsiders the use and meaning of chariots in the 2 nd millennium BCE during the Br... more This article reconsiders the use and meaning of chariots in the 2 nd millennium BCE during the Bronze Age in the Carpathian lands. Up to now, evidence for the use of chariots with four-spoked wheels in this region, has been dated to the 14 th to 12 th c. BCE, based on pictorial representations and artefacts from hoard finds. A new find from western Ukraine of a double burial of bridled horses dating to the first half of the 2 nd millennium BCE, makes it probable that chariots were used within the Carpathian Basin at an even earlier date since the horse gear in this burial is of Carpathian type. This find also makes it likely that the custom of horse burials as a substitute for chariots was inspired by the Sintashta-Petrovka cultural complex in the Ural region and Kazakhstan. I argue that the use of chariots conveyed a highly symbolic meaning and was not primarily used in warfare. The lack of evidence for the use of chariots in the Bronze-Age in central and western Europe supports this argument. Finally, it is suggested that the custom of horse burials and the presence of two-wheeled vehicles in the eastern Carpathian Basin in the Iron Age may represent an aspect of long durée cultural memory and revival of a probably religiously connoted custom.

Considering Creativity: Creativity, Knowledge and Practice in Bronze Age Europe , 2018

Creativity is clearly a strong force affecting material culture in general. Nonetheless, when one... more Creativity is clearly a strong force affecting material culture in general. Nonetheless, when one considers
Bronze Age artefacts, it is surprising that over a long course of time certain artefact types in fact change very
little. They are thus easily identified as belonging to the Bronze Age - a period lasting nearly for 1500 years. In
this contribution I focus on two aspects of creativity: the aesthetic and the technical. I also try to address the
phenomenon of traditionalism, which in my view is a prominent feature of the Bronze Age. Tradition is marked
by a group of artefact types which, in contrast to creativity and innovation, retain their form and function over
centuries within the otherwise changing aesthetic concepts of Bronze Age cultures in Europe. These traditional
aspects can, in part, be seen as deliberate and therefore as a taboo concerning creative approaches towards
materials and artefacts. I try to explore why these patterns and this obvious dichotomy exist.
In order to better understand what is special about creativity in Late Bronze Age Central and Southeast
Europe I want to begin by reviewing developments in the Early and Middle Bronze Age.

Bronzezeit. Europa ohne Grenzen, 2013

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2017

Einleitung in das AiD-Titelthema "Burgen der Lausitzer Kultur". Kurze Darstellung der Lausitzer K... more Einleitung in das AiD-Titelthema "Burgen der Lausitzer Kultur". Kurze Darstellung der Lausitzer Kultur.
Short introduction about the Lusatian Culture

Mitteilungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte Bd. 24, 2003

Iron Age in Europe by Carola Metzner-Nebelsick

S. v. Schnurbein (ed.), Atlas der Vorgeschichte. Europa von den ersten Menschen bis Christi Geburt., 2009

On the basis of distribution maps, this book chapter of an 'Atlas of Prehistory' in Europe offers... more On the basis of distribution maps, this book chapter of an 'Atlas of Prehistory' in Europe offers an overview of the European Iron Age focussing on important innovations, technologies, characteristic practices and cultural expressions of the manifold cultural units of the period between 800 BCE until the beginning of the common era.

Vorgeschichtliche Vorschungen Bd. 23, 2002

Einblicke in die Vorgeschichte Grünwalds. Ergebnisse eines archäologischen Pilotprojekts., 2016

Rituale in der Vorgeschichte, Antike und Gegenwart. Interdisziplinäre Tagung vom 1.–2. Februar 2002 in Berlin, 2003

M. Bležić/M. Črešnar/B. Hänsel/A. Hellmuth/E. Kaiser/C. Metzner-Nebelsick, Scripta praehistorica in honorem Biba Teržan. Situla 44 (Ljubljana 2007).

Xpóvoç. Beiträge zur prähistorischen Archäologie zwischen Nord- und Südosteuropa. Festschrift für Bernhard Hänsel

Archaeological, Cultural and Linguistic Heritage. Festschrift for Erzsébet Jerem in Honour of her 70th Birthday, 2012

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2022

Bayerische Archäologie, 2022

Considering Creativity: Creativity, Knowledge and Practice in Bronze Age Europe , 2018

Bronzezeit. Europa ohne Grenzen, 2013

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2017

Mitteilungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte Bd. 24, 2003

S. v. Schnurbein (ed.), Atlas der Vorgeschichte. Europa von den ersten Menschen bis Christi Geburt., 2009

Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, 2022

Zamboni, L.; FERNÁNDEZ-GÖTZ, M. and Metzner-Nebelsick, C. (2020): Early Urbanism South and North of the Alps: An Introduction. In L. Zamboni, M. Fernández-Götz and C. Metzner-Nebelsick (eds.), Crossing the Alps: Early Urbanism between Northern Italy and Central Europe. Sidestone, Leiden: 11-18.

Godišnjak/Jahrbuch Centar za balkanološka ispitivanja/Zentrum für Balkanforschungen Sarajevo, 2018

Atlas der Vorgeschichte, 2009

Th. Lachenal, C. Mordant, Th. Nicolas and C. Véber (eds.), Le Bronze moyen et l'origine du Bronze final en Europe ocidental (XVIIe-XIIIe siècle av. J.-C.), 2017

The Middle Bronze Age tumulus cemetery of Geisenfeld-Ilmendorf in the Danube valley near Ingolsta... more The Middle Bronze Age tumulus cemetery of Geisenfeld-Ilmendorf in the Danube valley near Ingolstadt, Bavaria in Germany was excavated in the course of a training excavation at the Institut für Vor- u. Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie & Provinzialrömische Archäologie at LMU Munich. Various digital documentation methods were involved. The excavation and that of a previous rescue excavation revealed several barrows dating to the Bronze Age periods B and C. A comparatively high proportion of cremation burials and a variety of elaborately furnished grave assemblages were discovered. Next to the cemetery a settlement of late Early Bronze Age date and features and finds belonging to the Latène period were excavated.

Bewegte Zeiten Archäologie in Deutschland, 2018

The article gives a short report of the rib ingot hoard of Oberding in southern Bavaria dating to... more The article gives a short report of the rib ingot hoard of Oberding in southern Bavaria dating to the late Early Bronze Age. It is the largest known hoard of this type, containing 796 ingots with almost 82kg in weight. The ingots were deposited in bundles of ten, each weighing around one kilogram. This may hint at a decimal system but certainly accounts for weight standards in the Early Bronze Age.

Der Aufbruch zu neuen Horizonten. Neue Sichtweisen zur europäischen Frühbronzezeit, 2019

The main argument of this contribution is the proposition that the funeral behavior of the centra... more The main argument of this contribution is the proposition that the funeral behavior of the central German Únětice culture was highly selective.On the basis of the known number of graves one can assume that only certain members of society had the right to be buried. This pattern mirrors a normative social practice. For the communities of the central German Únětice culture, the entombment in a grave even without any grave goods can be regarded as a privilege and feature of social distinction, whereas the major part of the population is not visible in the context of graves. Below the level of chieftains, i.e. regional rulers and a small group of specialists, there is no further representation of social rank by means of dress accessories or other equipment in the Únětice culture in the context of death. Women remain largely invisible in grave contexts as well.

H. Meller, F. Bertemes, H.-R. Bork, R. Riesch (Hrsg.), 1600- Kultureller Umburch im Schatten des Thera-Ausbruchs ? 4. Mitteldeutscher Archäologentag vom 14.-16. Oktober 2011, 2013

"Irreguläre" Betsattungen in der Urgeschichte: Norm, Ritual, Strafe ...? Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 19, 2013

Bewegte Zeiten. Archäologie in Deutschland, 2018

Bewegte Zeiten Archäologie in Deutschland. Begleitband zur Ausstellung, Gropius Bau Berlin, 2018

Preliminary report about the largest early Bronze Age rib ingot hoard in Europe.

M. Wemhoff, M. Rind (eds.), Bewegte Zeiten Archäologie in Deutschland. Katalog zur Ausstellung, 2018

A. Bălărie/B. Heeb/C. Metzner-Nebelsick/L. Nebelsick (eds.), Culture Contact or Migration. The Pottery of Cruceni - Belegiş - Gáva Type as a Cultural Marker in Southeast Europe during the Late Bronze Age, 2023

The article introduces some results of the excavation and interdisciplinary research project at t... more The article introduces some results of the excavation and interdisciplinary research project at the well-known Late Bronze Age site of Lăpuş in Maramureş county, northwest Romania. Mound 26 of the site was excavated completely. It revealed a multi-layered sequence of large buildings up to over 32 meters in length, all deliberately destroyed by fire and afterwards covered by a clay mantle. This process resulted in the erection of an artificial mound. The stratigraphic sequence of three halls situated above each other offered ideal conditions for the reconstruction of ritual activities such as re-occurring feasting events and the application of Bayesian statistical modelling of 14C-dates. Due to a sequence of radiocarbon dates from secure stratigraphic contexts, we are able to present absolute dates for the beginning and life span of channelled pottery (so-called Gáva-Style or Lăpuş II pottery) in Lăpuş in northwest Romania. The feasting events, including acts of deliberate fragmentation of large amounts of pottery, could - among other observations - be detected from multi-layered depositions outside the intentionally burnt-down buildings. The results of the excavation of mound 26 are further compared to the other monuments of the site, representing dwellings and burials. Additionally, it is argued that the house type of the latest phase of the building could be a potential prototype for later buildings in Dark Ages Greece, like the so-called Leaders Dwelling from Lefkandi.

Die GÀVA - Kultur in der Theißebene und Siebenbürgen, 2012

S. Scharl & B. Gehlen (eds.), Mobility in Prehistoric Sedentary Societies , 2017

The paper give a first insight into an interdisciplinary project seeking to determine mobility of... more The paper give a first insight into an interdisciplinary project seeking to determine mobility of people in Bavaria and North Tyrol during the late Bronze Age Urnfield Period between 1300-800 BC via Strontium and Lead stable isotope analysis of cremated human bones. We are furthermore looking at differences in the equipment of cremation burials especially in southern Bavaria in order to determine patterns of social inequality, and touch on specific aspects of ritual behavior during the burial process.

Anteaus Communicationes ex Instituto Archaeologico Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 2016

Abstract The early Urnfield period grave 159 from Sopron-Krautacker – a contribution to gold as p... more Abstract
The early Urnfield period grave 159 from Sopron-Krautacker – a contribution to gold as part of Urnfield costumes
This article introduces an Urnfield period cremation grave of the cemetery of Sopron-Krautacker in northwest Hungary at the foot of the Sopron hills (Soproni-hegység). This Urnfield Period cemetery was excavated in the mid1970s by Erzsébet Jerem of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in the course of a rescue excavation. Although the cemetery was already partly destroyed by building activities, it was possible to excavate 150 cremation graves or remains of disturbed internments. Some of the disturbed graves may have been violated as early as in the late Hallstatt and early Latène period itself, as a biritual cemetery was then located at the site of the Urnfield period cemetery. Additionally it is not clear if all the borders of the Bronze Age necropolis were reached by the excavation so that the original number of graves remains unclear. This cremation cemetery was founded in the early Urnfield period (BzD-HaA1: 13th/12th c. B.C.) and continued to be used until the late Urnfield period (HaB2-3: 9th c. B.C.). Its existence is partly contemporary with an Urnfield period lowland settlement located nearby. The Urnfield period cemetery of Sopron-Krautacker contains some of the most interesting grave inventories of the HaA and HaB1 periods of the Middle Danubian Urnfield Culture. Grave 159 is one of these graves.
This burial contained the scattered cremated bones of an adult individual and a child according to the anthropological analysis. Judging from the present dress accessories the adult was very likely to have been a woman. The grave only contained a few grave goods, a conical cup and a footed small bowl. Both were placed at the bottom of the grave pit between the cremated bones and a few dress accessories: a bronze tutulus, a small bronze ring and a coiled band of gold wire, which we interpret as part of a diadem or the surviving metal ornament of a leather or cloth hair-band. Furthermore the burial contained a couple of sherds of different pottery vessels, some of which showed traces of secondary burning.
Two sets of pottery can thus be distinguished in this grave: one functioning as real grave goods – the cup and the footed bowl - and a second, which can again be divided into two different groups: firstly a so-called pyre-pottery-set of seemingly random composition and secondly a set of pots which were destroyed without being thrown into the fire. This fragmentary “set” is composed of the fragments of a large, dark coloured double conical vessel (“Doppelkonus”) and a small one of the same type with light red colour. Double conical vessels are typical for the early period of the Middle Danubian Urnfield Culture. The different size of the ones in grave 159 may reflect the presence of two individuals of different age buried in the tomb. It is tempting to assume that the fragmented double-conically vessels in the grave represents the older woman (big double conical vessel) and the childe (small double conical vessel). Maybe even the different colours of the pots carried some symbolical meaning as such that the light red colour of the small vessel stood for the colour of life (blood) in contrast to the very dark colour of the large specimen as a symbol of death. Still it cannot be excluded that this may be the result of a coincidental happening by exposure to different burning environments on the pyre. The selection of the cremated bones up to only a few grams however can definitely be regarded as a deliberate choice. Cremation graves with the scattered burnt bones of the deceased are common in Sopron-Krautacker and other cemeteries of the Middle Danubian Urnfield Culture. In Sopron the aspect of ritual violence in regard to the pottery which was used during a cremation ceremony can still be observed in the HaB1 period, thus representing continuity of a specific custom, which in contrast is for example not attested in contemporary burial grounds of the Vál group. Only in the later stage of the HaB period urn burials with an intact pottery-set of pots - possibly containing food offerings - placed around the urn is introduced in Sopron-Krautacker.
The secondarily burnt sherds of the so-called secondarily burnt or pyre-pottery set were also intentionally smashed and only selectively deposited in the grave pit. They are interpreted as the remains of libation or drinking activities in the course of the burial ceremony. The destruction of those vessels attests ritual violence and matches the destruction of the body of the deceased including the dress accessories in the cause of cremation.
The article furthermore emphasises the importance of the rare piece of a prestigious headdress or diadem-like hair-band and compares it with parallels among hoard finds of golden regalia such as the one from Velem St. Vid and another gold hoard, supposedly originating from Obúda near Budapest in western Hungary. Within a wider cultural context golden attire in female graves of the early Urnfield Period (13th-12th B.C.) reflects an important part of female status and identity, which is a complementary facet to the warrior-hero ideology of this period which is otherwise so obviously reflected in grave assemblages, hoards and other media such as rock carvings. None the less golden dress accessories or jewellery in women’s graves of the Urnfield period is very scares. The most important or wide spread gold objects in women’s graves are small ornamented bronze discs covered with gold sheet foil, which were worn as pendants of complex necklaces in the western Urnfield culture and specifically in the north alpine as well as Inn-Valley cemeteries in Tyrol. The very close stylistic comparisons for the Sopron hair-band with the Velem St. Vid ornate-hoard on one hand and the typologically clearly early Urnfield period pottery (BzD/HaA1) in grave 159 on the other may help to date the Velem hoard, which is otherwise difficult to date on its own accord.

Budapest Régiségei 36. Budapest Történeti Múzeum, 2002

der Artikel stellt eine ungewöhnliche Grabausstattung mit Waffenbeigabe der jüngeren Urnenfelderz... more der Artikel stellt eine ungewöhnliche Grabausstattung mit Waffenbeigabe der jüngeren Urnenfelderzeit (HaB1) aus dem Brandgräberfeld der Mitteldanubischen Urnenfelder Kultur von Sopron-Krautacker, Westungarn, vor und beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema rituelle Gewalt im bestattungskontext.
The article introduces a weapon grave of the 10 c. BC from the Urnfield culture cemetery of Sopron-Krautacker in western Hungary and addresses the question of ritual violence in late Bronze Age burial rituals.

J. Kunow (Hrsg.), Das "Königsgrab" von Seddin in der Prignitz. Arbeitsberichte zur Bodendenkmalpflege in Brandenburg. Heft 9 (Wünsdorf 2003) 35-60, 2003

In: K. Schmotz (Hrsg.), Vorträge des 23. Niederbayrischen Archäologentages, 2005

In: B. Horejs/ R. Jung/ E. Kaiser/ B. Terzan (Hrsg.), Interpretationsraum Bronzezeit, 2005

Das Ende des 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr. auf der Theiß - Ebene und Siebenbürgen. Symposium Satu Mare 18 - 19 Juli 2008, 2010

Ancestral Landscapes. Burial Mounds in the Copper and Bronze Ages, 2011

Gräberlandschaften der Bronzezeit , 2012

Ausgrabungen in Berlin, 1986

Arheološki vestnik, 2023

The majority of the Early Iron Age cremation graves of women near the Danube in northeast Croatia... more The majority of the Early Iron Age cremation graves of women near the Danube in northeast Croatia and northwest Serbia – in the cemeteries of Dalj, Batina, Doroslovo, Vukovar, and Sotin – contained an urn, a set of ceramic vessels, and sometimes costume accessories and additional jewellery items such as hair bands, pendants, or fibulae. This paper uses interdisciplinary analysis and interpretation to examine the chronology of graves 101 and 105 from the cemetery of Batina and the role of the women in the community that lived in Batina in the Early Iron Age.

Archäologie in Deutschland 1/2003, 2023

Zwischen Italien und Skandinavien – Der hallstattzeitliche Bronzegefäßfund aus dem Schinderfilz-Moor bei Uffing a. Staffelsee, Oberbayern, 2021

Two bronze vessels, a cordoned cist and a cauldron were found in a raised bog called the Schinder... more Two bronze vessels, a cordoned cist and a cauldron were found in a raised bog called the Schinderfilzmoos near Uffing, Upper Bavaria, in 1865. The best parallels of the type 1 cist belong to the Certosa group focussed on and probably made in Bologna and dated between c. 510 and 380 BC, focusing on the HaD3 period. The cauldron can be assigned to the type Hallstatt was in use at the close of the Hallstatt Period. Comparative finds make it likely that the two bronze vessels, which also have a uniform patina, were originally deposited together in the bog in or shortly after Ha D3.
The Schinderfilzmoos near Uffing lies in one of the wealthiest find-scapes of the southern Bavarian Hallstatt period facing the entrance to the crucial Alpine Pass conduit Loisach- Brenner-Eisack-Etsch that connects Bavaria to Italy. Moreover, the bog is embedded in a Landscape characterised by rich Barrows dating between Ha D1-D3, many incorporating sets of bronze vessels.
Interestingly, however, this find has an unusual aspect. It is one of the few water/bog hoards that only multi-component vessel-hoard in the western Hallstatt Region. Typically, bronze vessels are mainly deposited in wet contexts in western and northern Europe. There is, however, evidence for metal vessel hoards, mostly incorporating cordoned cists and found in wet sediments or peat in an area stretching from western Hungary over Moravia, western Poland to southern Sweden dating to the late 7th to 5th centuries BC.
In summary, the remarkable fact can be established that the community depositing the two bronze vessels in the Schinderfilzmoos followed a sacrificial practice characteristic of eastern Central and Northern Europe. This convergence is no coincidence is suggested by the intensive exchange between eastern and north-eastern Hallstatt groups (the latter also called the Lusatian culture) with the southern German communities, demonstrated in the younger and late Hallstatt period.
The reasons why a southern Bavarian community in the late Hallstatt or early Latène period decided to adopt a foreign custom of material sacrifice and to establish a vessel depot in the raised bog near Uffing were certainly complex. One crucial motivation may have been the cultural-geographical border location of the site in the immediate vicinity of the most important Alpine pass for southern Bavaria.
Most scholars agree that the intentional sinking of artefacts in water bodies and bogs practised by many prehistoric communities in Europe was linked to the liquid substrate's perceived liminality and inherent ambiguity. Wet and damp contexts were used as a medium to communicate with the other world. This was a complex action associated with the finality of an expression of value and therefore led to the memorisation, denotation and eventual narrative contextualisation of even these most ephemeral of landscape components. This is especially true for moors, which embody an obvious natural boundary situation. Situlae/cists and cauldrons play a key role in procession and symposium based rituals of the late Hallstatt elite. It can be assumed that the laying down of the ribbed cist and cauldron in the Schinderfilzmoos was involved in similarly complex rites.

CROSSING THE ALPS EARLY URBANISM BETWEEN NORTHERN ITALY AND CENTRAL EUROPE (900-400 BC), 2020

Crossing the Alps. Early Urbanism between Northern Italy and Central Europe (900-400 BC), 2020

This paper deals with two aspects: first with sumptuous vessels with animal protomes or with met... more This paper deals with two aspects: first with sumptuous vessels with animal protomes or with metal applications as one characteristic of the eastern Hallstatt Culture, and it will secondly introduce a destroyed tumulus grave from the early Hallstatt period from Lengyeltóti in Somogy County in Transdanubia south of Lake Balaton which among other objects once contained such vessels.

Connecting Elites and Regions: Perspectives on Contacts, Relations and Differentiation During the Early Iron Age Hallstatt C Period in Northwest and Central Europe, 2017

The Early Iron Age Hallstatt C period in Northwest and Central Europe is marked by the emergence ... more The Early Iron Age Hallstatt C period in Northwest and Central Europe is marked by the emergence of monumental tumuli with lavish burials, some of which are known as chieftain's or princely graves. This new burial rite reflects one of the most noteworthy developments in Early Iron Age Europe: the rise of a new and elaborate way of elite representation north of the Alps. These sumptuous burials contain beautiful weaponry, bronze vessels and extravagantly decorated wagons and horse-gear. They reflect long-distance connections in material culture and elite (burial) practices across the breadth of Northwest and Central Europe. Research into this period, however, tends to be regionally focused and poorly accessible to scholars from other areas – language barriers in particular are a hindering factor. In an attempt to overcome this, Connecting Elites and Regions brings together scholars from several research traditions and nations who present regional overviews and discussions of elite burials and material culture from all over Northwest and Central Europe. In many cases these are the first overviews available in English and together they make regional research accessible to a wider audience. As such this volume contributes to and hopes to stimulate research on the Early Iron Age Hallstatt C period on a European scale.

A. Hänsel/ B. Hänsel (Hrsg.), Gaben an die Götter. Schätze der Bronzezeit Europas. Bestandskataloge Bd. 4 (Berlin 1997) 93-99, 1997

Archaeological, Cultural and Linguistic Heritage, 2012

Man and the Animal World. Studies in Archaeozoology, Archaeology, Anthropology and Palaeolinguistics in memoriam Sándór Bökönyi. Archaeolingua, 1998

Die Drau-, Mur- und Raab-Region im 1. vorchristlichen Jahrtausend. Akten des Internationalen und Interdisziplinären Symposiums von 26. bis 29. April 2000 in Bad Radkersburg. Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 78, 2001

M. Dizdar (ed.), Iron Age Female Identities in the Southern Carpathian Basin, 2022

The article gives an overview of studies regarding the role of women in Iron Age archaeology with... more The article gives an overview of studies regarding the role of women in Iron Age archaeology with focus on the eastern Hallstatt culture. It emphasises the history of research concerning this topic with special regard to gender studies in the German speaking archaeological community.

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2017

Reich ausgestattete Frauengräber lassen verschiedene Interpretationen zu. Dienten diese opulenten... more Reich ausgestattete Frauengräber lassen verschiedene Interpretationen zu. Dienten diese opulenten Trachtaccessoires dazu, den Status von Männern ihrer Familien zu demonstrieren, oder reflektieren die reichen Trachtausstattungen in Grabfunden eine eigenständige hohe soziale Position der sie tragenden Frauen? Der Artikel wirft ein Schlaglicht auf dieses Thema aus der Perspektive der Mittelbronzezeit.
Lavishly equipped burials of women offer a variety of interpretation models. Were these women richly adorned to demonstrate the status of their respective families or male associates? Or does an elaborate costume reflect a high status of women in their own right? The article casts a light on this topic from the perspective of the Middle Bronze Age in central Europe.

Upiku Tauke Festschrift für Gerhard Tomedi zum 65. Geburtstag , 2019

This article discusses a figuratively ornamented vessel from a Hallstatt C period cremation grave... more This article discusses a figuratively ornamented vessel from a Hallstatt C period cremation grave in tumulus 1883/6/120 of Frög and its cultural context as an example for the wide-ranging contact networks of the Frög community. The production technique with a dark outer and reddish inner surface of the Frög vessel finds parallels among pottery assemblage of late Bronze Age and early Iron Age cultural groups located east of the bend of the Danube and at the lower Danube region. Furthermore, the ornamentation technique imitates those used for stamped pottery at the lower Danube in the early Iron Age. Finally, the figurative ornamentation of the vessel combines local narratives with Basarabi-style ornaments like the S-spiral. Thus, the vessel is an outstanding example for the incorporation processes of eastern elements of craft production into local
aesthetic concepts of the eastern Hallstatt communities during the late Ha C period. So far, mainly men were associated with a sphere of interregional contacts. Armed conflicts resulting in the adaptation of superior military equipment or an ostentatious lifestyle as expression of high status with gift exchange of the paraphernalia of feasting and other ritualized festive forms of interaction were the medium in which those contacts were embodied. The role of women within this scenario should however be emphasized. Marriage practices including exogamy, in the discussed case in an east-western direction, obviously played a
vital part in the social organization of the Frög community. A person who still possessed a vague idea of how Basarabi-motives or an eastern-style-vessel should look like probably produced the ornamented vessel in tumulus 1883/6/120 and combined the eastern style with local east-alpine narratives of figurative art. This person was most likely a woman as it can be assumed for hand-made pottery in general. We may assume mobility of women through marriage practices as the trigger for such east-western interaction processes in the field of craft production. Mobile women brought eastern ornamentation styles and fabrication techniques to Frög and very likely transmitted them through family traditions. By the incorporation of these foreign elements into local style concepts, that is the appropriation of different cultural practices, those women created something new and thus contributed significantly to shaping the cultural identity of the Frög community.

Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien Band 129, 1999

Alpen, Kult und Eisenzeit, 2009

H. Meller/F. Daim (eds.), Crosing boundaries - Mounted nomads in Central Europe, their eastern roots and connections. 14th Archaeological Conferecne of central Germany, October 2021 in Halle (Saale), 2022

The article gives an overview of the evidence for mounted nomads between the northern Caucasus an... more The article gives an overview of the evidence for mounted nomads between the northern Caucasus and Central Europe in the early first millennium BCE before the Scythian impact around 600 BCE. It discusses the recent evidence of the genesis of the phenomenon of mounted nomads in Eurasia, touching on genetic as well as osteological findings regarding the use of horses as traction or riding animals, which represents a second stage in the domestication of the horse.
The second part of the article discusses how the introduction of technological innovations regarding horse gear and bridling techniques that were developed by early mounted nomads originating in central Asia and Eastern Europe transformed items of the material culture and forms of status representation of communities west of the bend of the Danube. Based on selected examples from the northern Caucasus, the North Pontic steppe belt, and the Carpathian Basin, it touches on the historical dimension of a new way of horse bound warfare and a pastoral economy for the Early Iron Age cultures between the Carpathian Mountains and Central Europe.

J. Chochorowski (ed.), Cimmerians Scythians Sarmatians. In memory of Professor Tadeusz Sulimirskis, 2004

The article examines transcultural contacts between the northern Caucasus and the eastern Carpath... more The article examines transcultural contacts between the northern Caucasus and the eastern Carpathian Basin in the 9th and 8th centuries BC. With emphasis on women’s costumes in graves, reconstructed by dress accessories and specific equipment, contacts between the north Caucasian Koban culture and several cultural groups further west are demonstrated. These western groups are the Sacharna group in the Dnistr region, the Mezőcsát group of mobile pastoralists in the eastern Carpathian Basin, and the Basarabi group as part of the larger Basarabi cultural complex located in the environs of the Iron Gate in modern northern Serbia and southern Romania. The article addresses the problem of the identification of women’s graves without anthropological analysis among mobile pastoralists in the north-pontic steppe zone in pre-Scythian times and analysis possible consequences for reconstructing the social standing of women in early Iron Age nomadic societies. Finally, it is argued that the Basarabi group and the Koban culture were engaged in long distance exchange also involving exogamy as indicated by means of similar costumes like headdresses with braids covered with bronze rings and the custom to wear dress accessories of two fibulae for women and a single fibula for men.

B. Hänsel u. Jan Machnik (eds.), Das Karpatenbecken und die osteuropäische Steppe. Nomadenbewegungen und Kulturaustausch in den vorchristlichen Metallzeiten (4000-500 v. Chr.), 1998

This article, already published in 1998 in German, focusses on the Prescythian Füzesabony-Mezőcsá... more This article, already published in 1998 in German, focusses on the Prescythian Füzesabony-Mezőcsát group in the eastern Carpathian Basin in modern Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia. It analyses its chronology, burial practices, the strikingly heterogeneous pottery record and its connections to adjacent groups east of the Carpathian mountain range, in particular with the cemetery of Stoicani in the southern Romanian Judeţ of Galaţi and burials of north pontic communities of the Chernogorivka (Černogorovka) and Novočerkassk groups of the late Bronze and early Iron Age. Due to various characteristics, such as the absence of settlements, small cemeteries or often only single inhumation burials and pottery types showing close contacts to sedentary as well as mobile groups between the eastern Alps and the north pontic steppes, the bearers of the Mezőcsát group are identified as mobile pastoralists. The Mezőcsát rite of inhumation burials marks a break with previous local traditions and shows close contacts with communities east of the Carpathian mountain range and their comparable but still different burial practices. Against this background, the problem of a postulated Cimmerian migration to the west into the Carpathian basin is discussed. Among other aspects it is argued that the overexploitation of the environment in the late Bronze Age as well as possible climatic changes created open landscapes with ideal conditions in the Great Hungarian Plain supporting new subsistence strategies by mobile pastoralists.

Migration in the Bronze and early Iron Age Europe, 2010

Nord-Süd, Ost-West Kontakte während der Eisenzeit in Europa, 2010

Goldener Horizont. 4000 Jahre Nomaden der Ukraine. Katalog Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Schloss Linz. März bis August 2010 (Linz 2010) 42-50., 2010

AArchäologische Untersuchungen zum Übergang von der Bronze- zur Eisenzeit zwischen Nordsee und Jenissei. Regensbruger Beiträge zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 1 , 1994

Palynology, 2019

Pollen analysis supported by twenty-five AMS 14C dates from the Tăul Negru peat bog (1143 m) in t... more Pollen analysis supported by twenty-five AMS 14C dates from the Tăul Negru peat bog (1143 m) in the Lăpuş Mountains (Eastern Carpathians, Romania) is used to reconstruct the Holocene vegetation history of this mountain region. The vegetation record at Tăul Negru starts at c. 10500 cal yr BP.....

PLoS ONE, 2018

Investigation of human diet during the Neolithic has often been limited to a few archaeological c... more Investigation of human diet during the Neolithic has often been limited to a few archaeological cultures or single sites. In order to provide insight into the development of human food consumption and husbandry strategies, our study explores bone collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope data from 466 human and 105 faunal individuals from 26 sites in central Ger-many. It is the most extensive data set to date from an enclosed geographic microregion, covering 4,000 years of agricultural history from the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. The animal data show that a variety of pastures and dietary resources were explored, but that these changed remarkably little over time. In the human δ 15 N however we found a significant increase with time across the different archaeological cultures. This trend could be observed in all time periods and archaeological cultures (Bell Beaker phenomenon excluded), even on continuously populated sites. Since there was no such trend in faunal isotope values, we were able largely to exclude manuring as the cause of this effect. Based on the rich interdisciplinary data from this region and archaeological period we can argue that meat consumption increased with the increasing duration of farming subsistence. In δ 13 C, we could not observe any clear increasing or decreasing trends during the archaeological time periods, either for humans or for animals, which would have suggested significant changes in the environment and landscape use. We discovered sex-related dietary differences, with males of all archaeological periods having higher δ 15 N values than females, and an age-related increasing consumption of animal protein. An initial decrease PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The University of Chicago Press and Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Current Anthropology.

Objectives: Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate buri... more Objectives: Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate burial practices of the Early Bronze Age Un etice culture in central Germany (2200–1700/1650 BC). The majority of the Un etice population was entombed as single inhumations in rectangular grave pits with a normative position of the body. The goal of the study was to test archaeological hypotheses that the deviant burials may represent socially distinct or nonlo-cal individuals. Materials and Methods: The study comprised up to two teeth and one bone each of 74 human individuals from eight sites and faunal comparative samples. The inhumations included regular, deviant burials in so-called settlement or storage pits, and multiple burials. We investigated radiogenic strontium isotope compositions of tooth enamel (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and light stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen of bone collagen (d 13 C, d 15 N) aiming at the disclosure of residential changes and dietary patterns. Results: Site-specific strontium isotope data ranges mirror different geological properties including calcareous bedrock, loess, and glacial till. Independent from burial types, they disclose low portions of nonlocal individuals of up to some 20% at the individual sites. The light stable isotope ratios of burials in settlement pits and rectangular graves overlap widely and indicate highly similar dietary habits. Discussion: The analytical results let to conclude that inhumations in settlement pits and multiple burials were two of the manifold burial practices of the Early Bronze Age. The selection criteria of the individuals for the different forms of inhumation remained undisclosed. Am J Phys Anthropol 000:000–000, 2015. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Bioarchaeology is a scientific subject that integrates aspects of natural and cultural sciences i... more Bioarchaeology is a scientific subject that integrates aspects of natural and cultural sciences in the course of research studies on past populations. Some biological disciplines, especially physical anthropology, archaeozoology and palaeobotany, are specialized on the investigation of bioarchaeological finds, but at the same time separated themselves to a certain degree from the larger subject of biology. Today, also geologists, mineralogists, and to a growing extent also computer scientists are engaged in bioarchaeological research. The majority of natural sciences involved, however, belong to the so-called "small academic subjects", which are at a high risk of losing their academic identity and visibility in the modern structures of German universities. To support their survival, scientific networking, the foundation of centres, and alliances in the field of academic teaching are recommended. How such a networking can be brought into being is illustrated by use of the example of the research group "Transalpine mobility and culture transfer" at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich.
Die Bioarchäologie ist ein wissenschaftlicher Bereich, welcher sowohl Aspekte der Natur als auch der Kulturwissenschaften im Rahmen einer gemeinsamen Forschung über Bevölkerungen in der Vergangenheit integriert.

Current Anthropology, 2015

In: E. Jerem/ A. Lippert (Hrsg.), Die Osthallstattkultur. Akten des Internationalen Symposiums Sopron, 10.-14. MAi 1994, 1996

Le grandi viel delle civiltá. Realizioni e scambi fra Mediterraneo e il Centro Europa dalla preistoria alla romanitá. Cat. A mostra, Trento 2011 (Castello del Buconsiglio 2011) 156-157, 2011

N. Pöllath et alii (eds.), Animals and Humans through Time and Space: Investigating Diverse Relationships. Essays in Honour of Joris Peters. Documenta Archaeobiologiae 16, 2023

The article addresses the lack of evidence of freshwater pearls in the archaeological record of t... more The article addresses the lack of evidence of freshwater pearls in the archaeological record of the Bronze and Iron Ages in southern Central Europe. In contrast to the Roman and later periods, when freshwater pearls enjoyed great popularity, and their exploitation was protected by privileges of the nobility, the regionally available shells of the species Margaritifera margaritifera were not exploited in Prehistory. Their pearls were not used as jewellery or amulets. The article states that possibly a food taboo explains this remarkable observation of ignoring a local raw material. The taboo on the consumption of this mollusc species or other freshwater molluscs prevented the discovery of pearls or made them likewise susceptible to neglect. The phenomenon of a food taboo seems to be specific to the northern alpine region and differs from the situation in areas north of the Central European Mountain Belt or the fringes of the northeastern Alps in Slovakia and eastern Austria.

Archäologischer Anzeiger Deutsches Archäologisches Institutt, 2006

Introduction to a lecture series held at the FU Berlin

C. Metzner-Nebelsick (Hrsg.), Rituale in der Forgeschichte, Antike und Gegenwart. Studien zur Vorderasiatischen, Prähistorischen und Klassischen Archäolohie, Ägyptologie, Alten Geschichte, Theologie und Religionswissenschaft, 2003

C. Dobiat/ P. Ettel/ F. Fless (Hrsg.), Bios-Cultus-(Im)mortalitas. Internationale Archäologie Bd. 16, 2012

In: C. Becker/ M.-L. Dunkelmann/ C. Metzner-Nebelsick/ H. Peter-Röcher/ M. Roeder/ B. Terzan (Hrsg.),Festschrift für Bernhadr Hänsel. beiträge zur Prähistorischen Archäologie zwischen Nord- und Südosteuropa, 1997

H. Meller, S. Kimmig-Völkner and A. Reichenberger (eds.), Ringe der Macht Rings of Power. International Conference November 09-10, 2018 in Halle (Saale)., 2019

'Rings of Power' revisited. - Golden Rings in the Bronze- and Iron Age in Europe in Comparison: a... more 'Rings of Power' revisited. - Golden Rings in the Bronze- and Iron Age in Europe in Comparison: about the Agency of Exceptional Artefacts.

The article draws on my study on Bronze Age golden arm jewelry. Due to their widespread distribution and their long-term use in the Carpathian Basin spanning the 18th-17th to the 8th century BC and similarly in northern Europe, I identified them as bearers of memory, calling them memory symbols. They embodied complex issues, narratives, in tangible symbolic abbreviation. Their exclusive find contexts in outstanding warrior graves and in hoards with other golden regalia combined with further gold artefacts signify them as material signs of the high status of their bearers, as rings of power. Only their potency - agency - conveys their broad cross-cultural spatial-temporal patterns of use in similarly structured contexts. With the help of an example from modern Japan and parallelisation with Iron Age examples, the agency of symbols of power is further illuminated. Finally, a further interpretation of a new finding of a bronze hand with a golden cuff from a Middle Bronze Age inhumation grave from Prêles, Canton Bern (Switzerland), is presented.

The article analyses the phenomenon of kingship in European pre- or proto-historic societies, as ... more The article analyses the phenomenon of kingship in European pre- or proto-historic societies, as exemplified by the early Celts in central Europe during the 6th–4th century BC, the Celts in Gaul during the 1st century BC, and the North Pontic Scythians during the 5th–4th century BC. These different examples are presented, and their historical traditions are compared with the archaeological evidence.
The author examines the apparent contradiction between the monarchies attested in historical traditions about pre-Caesarian Celts, Scythians and Gauls and the prevailing opinion of social anthropologists that this form of rule did not exist in complex societies which lacked a constituted state structure. This apparent contradiction is best seen as a semantic problem. Herodotus, an outsider, interpreted specific habitus constructs of status representation, including ostentatious burial rites, as evidence for kingship and royal power. Evidence attests to a stratified society in central Gaul during the period of Caesar’s conquest, in which noble families from different tribes competed for the temporary restricted royal office.
It is interesting to note that there is no evidence in late 1st-century BC Gaul for ostentatious burials, rich with golden grave goods like those known in Scythia. This paper argues against an a priori rejection of the existence of a monarchy in pre-state societies, stressing the link between political power and religious authority evident in many prehistoric periods. In archaeological contexts this includes ostentatious burial customs which aimed at the glorification of the deceased, such
as the inclusion of golden artefacts in the tomb and the use of similar objects in sacrificial contexts, underscoring the sacred bonds of social elites. The burial customs of the early Celts in central Europe are a good example of such practices. The author of this paper argues that the absence of regalia like golden costume attributes in grave contexts in 1st-century BC Gaul and Britain reflects the incipient institutionalization of power. A model of sovereignty based on sacred status and personal achievement was abandoned in favour of concepts of empowerment
based on elected office (Gaul) or on increasingly dynastic models (Scythia in the Hellenistic period).

Quod erat demonstrandum Studies in Prehistory dedicated to Christopher F.E. Pare, 2022

The article proposes a new interpretation of the six staves made of ash wood with iron cuffs from... more The article proposes a new interpretation of the six staves made of ash wood with iron cuffs from the Early La Tène princely grave 1 in mound 1 from the Glauberg in Hesse. They are interpreted as signs of rulership and specifically as signs of judicial functions of the Glauberg ruler. This interpretation follows a formal analogy to the fasces from Etruscan contexts and is deduced from ancient textual sources and material evidence. The different design of three of the staves is seen as an intentional division in the sense of an assignment of the function of jurisdiction or conflict resolution in the world of the living and as a reflection of this function of power in the afterworld. In addition, the author gives reference to the symbolism of the number three reflected in the objects found in tomb 1, barrow 1 from the Glauberg and beyond. It is assumed that this numeric symbolism, which manifests itself among other things in the two times three staves in the Glauberg grave, can be traced back to Pythagorean concepts. Nevertheless, already existing Bronze Age ideas about the meaning of the number three and its multiples facilitated this appropriation.

Quod erat demonstrandum Studies in Prehistory dedicated to Christopher F.E. Pare, 2022

Archaeologia Polona, 2012

The article discusses Karol Hadaczek‘s academic education during his studies at the University of... more The article discusses Karol Hadaczek‘s academic education during his studies at the University of Vienna between 1897–1900, which he finished with a doctoral degree in Classical Archaeology. It tries to analyse the impact of his Vienna years on his later career as professor for Classical as well as Prehistoric Archaeology at Lviv University (then Lwów).

International Conference on early urbanism and cultural interaction across Europe during the Iron... more International Conference on early urbanism and cultural interaction across Europe during the Iron Age
29-30 March 2019
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Piazza Duomo 14 (third floor)

Feeding Communities, 2019

The paper introduces a newly discovered Early Bronze Age women’s burial in the Lech Valley in Sou... more The paper introduces a newly discovered Early Bronze Age women’s burial in the Lech Valley in Southern Germany containing a unique attire of thousands of tiny tin beads, next to a rich set of other dress accessories. The local as well as interregional context of this exceptional find will be presented on the background of scientific analyses as well as a cultural historical evaluation. The grave inventory is particularly striking since it can be dated to the beginning of the south-central European Early Bronze Age, where the majority of metal artifacts are still made of copper instead of tin bronze. Due to the lack of tin sources in the wider area the question of mobility and elite exchange in Early Bronze Age Europe will be re-addressed.

Archäologischer Anzeiger Deutsches Archäologisches Instituts, 2006

Archaeologia Polona 50: 2012 (2019). Special theme: Looking into the Past, 2019

The publication of this, the fiftieth, volume of Archaeologia Polona, with the theme “Looking int... more The publication of this, the fiftieth, volume of Archaeologia Polona, with the theme “Looking into the Past”, is the end of a long process that goes back to 2012, when it was due to appear. A number of organizational difficulties and a double change of the editorial team have caused a delay of several years in its production. The current editors of the volume, the third team in a row, determined to make sure the volume appeared, and took over the work on the materials submitted for publication. The articles originally collected almost ten years ago were again reviewed and in 2018–2019 were supplemented by the original authors. Initially this volume was to be devoted to the activity of several distinguished figures from the history of Polish archaeology. Unfortunately, several texts had been published in other journals in the meantime. This made it necessary to obtain new articles in their place. For this reason, the topic of this volume is broader than initially intended. It presents texts on the history of archaeology from several points of view, ranging from the presentation of the activities of researchers, through the history of institutions and research undertaken as part of contemporary archaeology in Poland and wider afield. Volume 50 is also dedicated to the outstanding archaeologist Professor Stanisław Tabaczyński on the ninetieth anniversary of his birth. Aspects of his scientific profile are presented to the reader by Dorota Cyngot and Anna Zalewska through the medium of an interview (“A life in archaeology and the specificity of archaeological research: encounters with Stanisław Tabaczyński”).This conversation touches on a number of issues related to archaeological theory and research practice. Most of these issues are also discussed in the texts of other authors of the volume. Professor Tabaczyński, who has been associated with what is now the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences for almost half a century, also has significant achievements in the preservation of the European cultural heritage in connection with the study of early medieval archaeological sites in France and Italy (and also Algeria), and publications resulting from them. The rest of the volume consists of seven articles. Their arrangement is roughly in chronological order, based on the time of activity of the archaeological institutions, researchers and their activities they discuss. Carola Metzner-Nebelsick discusses Karol Hadaczek’s period of stay in Vienna (1897–1900) and its effect on his contribution to Polish archaeology. The author presents the beginnings of the academic career of the scholar, related to his studies at the University of Vienna, as well as the impact of these experiences on his further scientific activity at the University of Lviv. In the biographical text “A portrait of Professor
Zdzisław A. Rajewski (1907–1974), scholar of many talents”, Wojciech Brzeziński and Danuta Piotrowska consider one of the most important Polish archaeologists of the 20th century, the research he directed at the famous site of Biskupin and on the beginnings of the Polish state under the Millennium Poloniae program, and also for many years the director of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw. This is followed by a text on the complicated history of an institution. In the article “The Archaeological Museum of the Polish Academy of Learning in Cracow during the Second World War”, one of this volume’s editors, Marzena Woźny presents new information on the history of Polish archaeology in the dramatic times of World War II. In the following insightful text (“Scientific Capital after 1945 in German archaeology – Wilhelm Unverzagt and the archaeology of hillforts”), Susanne Grunwald discusses aspects of the history of German archaeology after 1945. This paper re-examines some current views on this subject, also in the context of the archaeology of defended settlements in the region. In the next text (“European identity and Polish culture – Tomasz Mikocki’s studies on the tradition of ancient art”), Monika Rekowska considers the academic activity of an outstanding Polish researcher on the legacy of Antiquity in European culture. Mikocki studied collections of Greek and Roman antiquities and monuments and their imitations. She summarizes the extensive legacy in these fields of the researcher who died in 2007. The development of Italian medieval archaeology is discussed by Michele Nucciotti and Guido Vannini in their article “Light Archaeology and Territorial Analysis:
Experiences and Perspectives of the Florentine Medievalist School”. The final article in this section (“Archaeology of graves: a contribution to contemporary archaeology in Poland”) by Jolanta Adamek reviews contemporary exhumations and research at the burial sites of victims of World War II and the early post-War period conducted using modern archaeological methods. The volume ends with three more texts. The first is a book review (by Paul Barford) of a work discussing the place of historical patterns of thought in the development of a modern Classical archaeology. This is followed by a report from the conference “Biskupin in the past, today and tomorrow”, which took place in 2009, on the 75th anniversary of the beginning of archaeological research in Biskupin, reported by Kamil Adamczak, Anna Grossman and Wojciech Piotrowski. Since its discovery, the site of Biskupin has been of great importance for archaeology not only because of the nature of the remains that it contained, but also the effect its excavation had on the history of the discipline in the 20th century. The obituary for the archaeologist Gerd Weisgerber by Jacek Lech brings to the attention of the reader some aspects of the work of this outstanding researcher of ancient mining. With the final publication of this volume, the editors hope that the texts that it contains will contribute to the broadening of knowledge about the development of European archaeology at the end of the 19th and the 20th centuries and its place in the contemporary context.

CROSSING THE ALPS EARLY URBANISM BETWEEN NORTHERN ITALY AND CENTRAL EUROPE (900-400 BC), 2020

From Genoa to Günzburg New Trajectories of Urbanisation and Acculturation between the Mediterrane... more From Genoa to Günzburg
New Trajectories of Urbanisation and Acculturation between the Mediterranean and South-Central Europe
Louis Nebelsick & Carola Metzner-Nebelsick
On an imagined journey from the Ligurian Sea to the Danube during the late 7th/early 6th century BC we explore neglected communication- and trade-trajectories connecting northern Italian gateway communities to the easternmost Hallstatt “princely” seats. At the beginning we focus on the routes towards and over the Alps, in particular, concentrating on the neglected possibilities of water transport and the evidence for impressive surviving elements of Hallstatt infrastructure in the Alpine region. We follow Roman and Medieval routes across the mountains encountering Hallstatt communities exhibiting patterns of appropriation and hierarchisation, which characterise elite reactions to southern impulses during the Hallstatt C2/D1 period. They culminate in the emergence of the “Golaseccan Package” in the late 7th century BC. After the energetic reassertion of local identity and the advent of mercantile trade in the mid-6th century BC/Hallstatt D2 period the distribution of ostentatious wagons, Pare type 7, illustrates the will of the “princely” seats elites to control and protect vital trading routes. A “Leitmotif” of Early Iron Age transalpine contact is the prominent role played by elite women, embodying transalpine contacts. The emergence of women’s graves containing Etruscan inspired status paraphernalia (wagons, horse gear, metal drinking sets) in the north indicates changing patterns of social organisation with a lineage-based hierarchical social pyramid.
Keywords: Transalpine transit routes; Golasecca culture; North alpine Iron Age communities; Hallstatt period; Gateway communities; Appropriation; Identity; Proto-urbanity; Role of women; Elite exchange.

Lorenzo Zamboni, Manuel Fernández-Götz& Carola Metzner-Nebelsick (eds) CROSSING THE ALPS EARLY URBANISM BETWEEN NORTHERN ITALY AND CENTRAL EUROPE (900-400 BC) Siedestone Press , 2020

The First Results of Geophysical Prospections Using the ADC Method on the Proto-urban Settlement ... more The First Results of Geophysical Prospections Using the ADC Method on the Proto-urban Settlement Site of Como, Spina Verde
Fabian Welc, Louis Nebelsick, Carola Metzner-Nebelsick, Ines Balzer, Alessandro Vanzetti & Barbara Grassi

This article presents preliminary results of the first geophysical surveys and a rescue excavation in the area of the extensive late prehistoric Early and Late Iron Age proto-urban settlement of Como/Comum on the Spina Verde ridge towering over the present town. Two short susceptibility surveys demonstrated that this impressive site can be successfully prospected using both geomagnetic and georadar technology and above all by combining their results. We initially demonstrated the susceptibility of the Spina Verde ridge for geophysical prospection in the environs of the excavated Pianvalle site. The results of the following survey of a meadow on the Via Isonzo were remarkably clear, and if the structures are indeed prehistoric, they indicate the presence of a monumental “Casa Alpina”-like cellared building and possible rectilinear walled enclosures. Complementing these ndings are the results of a rescue excavation monitored by the Soprintendenza for the province of Lombardy in the Via Ronchetto. Here, the massive walls of a cellared alpine-style building were recovered. We hope to continue surveying in prehistoric Como in order to make a comprehensive plan of this remarkable site. Keywords: Como; Proto-urban site; Iron Age; Geophysical prospections; Ground- penetrating radar application; ADC – method, Monumental structures; Casa Alpina

This article presents preliminary results of the first geophysical surveys and a rescue excavatio... more This article presents preliminary results of the first geophysical surveys and a rescue excavation in the area of the extensive late prehistoric Early and Late Iron Age proto-urban settlement of Como/Comum on the Spina Verde ridge towering over the present town. Two short susceptibility surveys demonstrated that this impressive site can be successfully prospected using both geomagnetic and georadar technology and above all by combining their results. We initially demonstrated the susceptibility of the Spina Verde ridge for geophysical prospection in the environs of the excavated Pianvalle site. The results of the following survey of a meadow on the Via Isonzo were remarkably clear, and if the structures are indeed prehistoric, they indicate the presence of a monumental “Casa Alpina”-like cellared building and possible rectilinear walled enclosures. Complementing these findings are the results of a rescue excavation monitored by the Soprintendenza for the province of Lombardy in the Via Ronchetto. Here, the massive walls of a cellared alpine-style building were recovered. We hope to continue surveying in prehistoric Como in order to make a comprehensive plan of this remarkable site

In: L. Zamboni/M. Fernández-Götz/C. Metzner-Nebelsick (Hrsg.), Crossing the Alps.Early Urbanism between Northern Italy and Central Europe (900-400 BC) (Leiden 2020) S. 257-273, 2020

G. Grupe et al. (eds.), Across the Alps in Prehistory, 2017

G. Grupe et al. (eds.), Across the Alps in Prehistory. Isotopic Mapping of the Brenner Passage by Bioarchaeology, 2017

The European Alps, separating Central Europe from the Mediterranean, were chosen as a reference r... more The European Alps, separating Central Europe from the Mediterranean, were chosen as a reference region for the establishment of an isotopic map and a scientific approach towards bioarchaeological isotopic landscapes. The high ecogeographical diversity of this region constitutes both an opportunity and a challenge for such a project. The geographical boundary has been crossed since the Mesolithic, and ample archaeological evidence is proof for a highly successful adaptation of the Stone Age and later prehistoric human populations to this special environment. Transalpine mobility and trade since prehistory provides the indispensable contextual framework for related migration studies in bioarchaeology. This chapter provides an overview of the archaeological record in the reference area from the Mesolithic until Roman times, with emphasis on the Inn-Eisack-Adige passage via the Brenner Pass.

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2020

The article give a short introduction of bioarchaeological research within the DFG Research Unit... more The article give a short introduction of bioarchaeological research within the DFG Research Unit 1670 "Transalpine Mobility and Cultural Transfer". The unit aims at the establishment of an isotopic fingerprint for bioarchaeological finds, especially of cremated bones and its application on archaeological and cultural historical questions ranging from the late Bronze Age to the Roman Period in an transect between north and south of the central eastern Alps.

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2020

The paper deals with questions of mobility and migration between Bavaria and Tyrol in the Late Br... more The paper deals with questions of mobility and migration between Bavaria and Tyrol in the Late Bronze Age. Isotope analyses of cremated bones offer a new method to detect mobility in periods, in which the identification of modes of mobility was hitherto limited to the interpretation of the archaeological record. The article also addresses the limits of the scientific method.

Archäologie in Deutschland, 2018

Across the Alps in Prehistory, 2017

Provenance analysis for the scope of quantifying the extent of population admixture and the direc... more Provenance analysis for the scope of quantifying the extent of population admixture and the direction of migration and trade will remain an important topic in the future and is not restricted to bioarchaeological science. We understand the maps as a starting point for the generation of an ecogeographic “isotopic landscape”, which can be of benefit for other sciences as well, such as ecology, biodiversity and forensic sciences. As outlined in chapter “The Isotopic Fingerprint: New Methods of Data Mining and Similarity Search”, identification of the structural importance and structural redundancy of single isotopic signatures within a multi-isotope fingerprint will significantly contribute to the probability with which a region of provenance can be identified for non-local individuals. While the results reported in this book are specific for the chosen reference region, the general methodological approach may be suitable for other regions as well.

Geological Quarterly, 2012

European Journal of Archaeology, 2021

European Journal of Archaeology, 2000

Praehistorische Zeitschrift

PloS one, 2018

European Journal of Archaeology, 2000

Archaologischer Anzeiger, 2006

Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors

The invention of the wheel and of wheeled vehicles was at least as important an innovation as the... more The invention of the wheel and of wheeled vehicles was at least as important an innovation as the discovery of fire. The use of wheels brought an immense change in cultivation: the utilisation of wheeled ploughs drawn by oxen meant that larger fields could be worked more easily and more quickly, resulting in higher productivity and a higher carrying capacity. The invention of the wheel was of crucial importance to the appearance of wagons. The early Y and A frame carts (still used today in an unchanged form owing to their practicality and the ...

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2015

Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate burial practices... more Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate burial practices of the Early Bronze Age Únětice culture in central Germany (2200-1700/1650 BC). The majority of the Únětice population was entombed as single inhumations in rectangular grave pits with a normative position of the body. The goal of the study was to test archaeological hypotheses that the deviant burials may represent socially distinct or nonlocal individuals. The study comprised up to two teeth and one bone each of 74 human individuals from eight sites and faunal comparative samples. The inhumations included regular, deviant burials in so-called settlement or storage pits, and multiple burials. We investigated radiogenic strontium isotope compositions of tooth enamel ((87) Sr/(86) Sr) and light stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen of bone collagen (δ(13) C, δ(15) N) aiming at the disclosure of residential changes and dietary patterns. Site-specific strontium isotope data ranges mirror different geological properties including calcareous bedrock, loess, and glacial till. Independent from burial types, they disclose low portions of nonlocal individuals of up to some 20% at the individual sites. The light stable isotope ratios of burials in settlement pits and rectangular graves overlap widely and indicate highly similar dietary habits. The analytical results let to conclude that inhumations in settlement pits and multiple burials were two of the manifold burial practices of the Early Bronze Age. The selection criteria of the individuals for the different forms of inhumation remained undisclosed. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cet article donne un aperçu du projet de fouilles réalisé par l’Institut de Préhistoire et Protoh... more Cet article donne un aperçu du projet de fouilles réalisé par
l’Institut de Préhistoire et Protohistoire et d’Archéologie des
Provinces Romaines de l’Université Ludwig-Maximilian de
Munich entre 2011 et 2015 à Ilmendorf-Geisenfeld (Landkreis
Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Bavière, Allemagne), dans une nécropole
tumulaire du Bronze moyen et dans un habitat multipériodique
qui entourait cette première. Au cours des différentes
campagnes de fouille, entreprises dans le cadre de la formation
des étudiants en archéologie, plusieurs tertres du Bronze moyen
(Bz B-Bz C) ont été fouillés et documentés par des techniques
de documentation digitale et, en partie, par la photographie
aérienne. Ces tertres montrent chacun des détails de construction
différents, dont des cercles de poteaux et des traces d’activités
rituelles faisant partie des funérailles. Au total, le taux des
incinérations à Ilmendorf est remarquablement élevé parmi les
tertres du Bronze moyen analysés jusqu’à présent. En raison des
conditions du sous-sol défavorables, des inhumations sont seulement
attestées à travers l’emplacement du mobilier funéraire
dans les tombes, qui comporte plusieurs objets remarquables.
Des plans de maison et de la céramique témoignent de l’existence
d’un habitat de la fin du Bronze ancien au même endroit
qui précédait la nécropole tumulaire du Bronze moyen. D’autres
structures et objets datent de l’époque laténienne.

European Journal of Archaeology 24 (2), 2021

Germania. Anzeiger der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 2021

Newsletter des Münchner Zentrums für Antike Welten und der Graduate School Distant Worlds, 2021

The paper is a review of Anthony Hardings Monograph 'Bronze Age Lives', MVAW 6, Walter de Gruyter... more The paper is a review of Anthony Hardings Monograph 'Bronze Age Lives', MVAW 6, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2021
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110705805