Rethinking Early Iron Age urbanisation in Central Europe: the Heuneburg site and its archaeological environment

Fernández-Götz, Manuel; Mazzoli, Claudio

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00049073

Cited by 41 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…The most spectacular game changer of the last two decades is the widespread recognition of a first period of centralization and early urbanization in the sixth and fifth centuries BC (Brun and Chaume 2013;Fernández-Götz and Krausse 2013). Although the existence of Early Iron Age central places in the regions immediately north of the Alps was known since at least the 1950s, they were thought to be rather small centers of only a few hectares.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization in Iron Age Europe: Trajectories, Patterns, and Social Dynamics

Fernández-Götz

2017

J Archaeol Res

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The development of the first urban centers is one of the most fundamental phenomena in the history of temperate Europe. New research demonstrates that the earliest cities developed north of the Alps between the sixth and fifth centuries BC as a consequence of processes of demographic growth, hierarchization, and centralization that have their roots in the immediately preceding period. However, this was an ephemeral urban phenomenon, which was followed by a period of crisis characterized by the abandonment of major centers and the return to more decentralized settlement patterns. A new trend toward urbanization occurred in the third and second centuries BC with the appearance of supra-local sanctuaries, open agglomerations, and finally the fortified oppida. Late Iron Age settlement patterns and urban trajectories were much more complex than traditionally thought and included manifold interrelations between open and fortified sites. Political and religious aspects played a key role in the development of central places, and in many cases the oppida were established on locations that already had a sacred character as places for rituals and assemblies. The Roman conquest largely brought to an end Iron Age urbanization processes, but with heterogeneous results of both abandonment and disruption and also continuity and integration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization in Iron Age Europe: Trajectories, Patterns, and Social Dynamics

Fernández-Götz

2017

J Archaeol Res

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“…While the hallmarks of urbanism remain debated and are often difficult to identify archaeologically (Fernández-Götz et al 2014), new investigations suggest that many Early Iron Age Fürstensitze or 'chiefly seats' of south-west Germany had higher populations than previously thought and occupied central positions of economic as well as political power, impacting on their wider hinterland (Kurz 2010;Fernández-Götz & Krausse 2013). While past research has tended to focus on trade links between these fortified settlements and the Mediterranean, such central places are unlikely to have emerged without the necessary social, political, and economic infrastructures to support them (Collis 1984b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Centralisation and long-term change in farming regimes: Comparing agricultural practices in Neolithic and Iron Age south-west Germany

Styring¹,

Rösch

Stephan

et al. 2017

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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This study uses two novel archaeobotanical techniques -crop carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and functional weed ecology -to determine directly how the intensity of agricultural practice changed from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age in south-west Germany, with the emergence of fortified hilltop settlements (Fürstensitze or chiefly seats) regarded as the first urban centres in central Europe. The crop isotope and functional weed ecological evidence suggest that surplus cereal production in the Early Iron Age was achieved through sustained use of manure combined with expansion in arable cultivation, both developments that are connected with more widespread use of animal traction. The increased scale of cultivation is broadly apparent across rural as well as fortified hilltop centres in the Early Iron Age, and considerable variability in manuring intensity is consistent with agricultural decision-making at a local level rather than centralised control. Additionally, the more intensive manuring of hulled six-row barley, used in beer production, demonstrates that the political importance of drinking and feasting in Early Iron Age society was reflected in crop husbandry practices. In terms of animal husbandry, faunal isotope data reveal a radical decrease in forest cover, potentially reflecting an expansion in the scale of herding accompanying that of arable cultivation. Sitespecific patterning points to a range of herding strategies, from specialised herding of cattle at the Heuneburg to generalised patterns of livestock management at rural sites.

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“…During this period, the settlement complex is estimated to have had a population of around 5000, thus being perfectly comparable in size to contemporary major Archaic power centres north of the Mediterranean, such as Athens or the Etruscan cities (Fernández-Götz and Krausse 2013). An impressive ashlar gatehouse marked the entrance to the lower town below the acropolis, which was itself protected by a strong enclosure wall enhanced by 17 towers or bastions along its northern and western fronts, probably a reflection of the role of the Heuneburg as the key centre within the territory of a powerful Early Iron Age polity (Fig.…”

Section: Complexity and Heterogeneity At Selected Early Iron Age Centmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Over the last two decades, it has become increasingly evident that the first urban centres in Europe north of the Alps developed between the end of the seventh and the fifth century BC, the most recent cases being at least 300 years earlier than the oppida (Brun and Chaume 2013;Fernández-Götz and Krausse 2013;Krausse 2008aKrausse , 2010Sievers and Schönfelder 2012). These centres, of which the Heuneburg, Mont Lassois, Bourges, Hohenasperg, Ipf, Glauberg and Závist are prime examples, extend from Central France in the west to Bohemia in the east (Fig.…”

Section: Cities Before Oppida: Re-assessing the Early Iron Age Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Common to almost all of the excavated examples is the fact that they were settled, intensively at least, for a relatively short period spanning a few generations, perhaps averaging between one and two centuries (Krausse 2008a(Krausse , 2010. These often heavily-enclosed sites bear testimony to processes of differentiation and hierarchization in the regional settlement pattern that were concurrently an expression of, and a catalyst for, increasing social inequality, marked by the establishment of aristocratic-in some cases even monarchical-forms of rule, and elites that cultivated close contacts with the Mediterranean world (Fernández-Götz and Krausse 2013;Verger 2015). However, the set of princely seats presents considerable variability in terms of their characteristics, enclosed areas, internal layouts and chronological development: no two are identical.…”

Section: Cities Before Oppida: Re-assessing the Early Iron Age Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Complexity and Fragility of Early Iron Age Urbanism in West-Central Temperate Europe

Fernández-Götz

Ralston

2017

J World Prehist

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The development of large agglomerations is one of the most important phenomena in later Eurasian prehistory. In west-central temperate Europe, the origins of urbanism have long been associated with the oppida of the second to first centuries BC. However, large-scale excavations and surveys carried out over the last two decades have fundamentally modified the traditional picture of early centralization processes. New results indicate that the first urban centres north of the Alps developed over time between the end of the seventh and the fifth century BC in an area stretching from Bohemia to southern Germany and Central France. Sites such as the Heuneburg, Závist, Mont Lassois and Bourges produce evidence of a process of differentiation and hierarchization in the pattern of settlement that was concurrently an expression of, and a catalyst for, increasing social inequality. Although contacts with the Mediterranean world would certainly have played a role in such processes, endogenous factors were primarily responsible for the development of these early Central European agglomerations. This paper summarizes recent fieldwork results, showing the heterogeneity and diversity of Early Iron Age central places and outlining their diachronic development. The fragility and ephemeral character of these centres of power and their territories is highlighted. Their demise was followed by a period of decentralization that constitutes a prime example of the non-linear character of history.

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Rethinking Early Iron Age urbanisation in Central Europe: the Heuneburg site and its archaeological environment

Abstract: BerlinThe Heuneburg

Cited by 41 publications

References 7 publications

Urbanization in Iron Age Europe: Trajectories, Patterns, and Social Dynamics

Urbanization in Iron Age Europe: Trajectories, Patterns, and Social Dynamics

Centralisation and long-term change in farming regimes: Comparing agricultural practices in Neolithic and Iron Age south-west Germany

The Complexity and Fragility of Early Iron Age Urbanism in West-Central Temperate Europe

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