Civilization of Hallstatt

Hallstatt is the one period name of the age of the iron which precedes the Antiquité. It is also that of a lake and archeological site éponyme in Austria, in the Salzkammergut.

Excavations undertaken on the site of 1846 with 1876, initially by Georg Ramsauer, the director of the national mine of Hallstatt, then by the Academy of Science of Vienna, revealed a prehistoric cemetery of II, as well as many objects of the Bronze Age and age of iron in a perfect state of conservation thanks to the salinity of the ground.

Because of its importance, the site gave its name to the age of old iron in 1872, when Swedish archeologist B.E. Hildebrand worked out its chronology, while the age of recent iron was named Tène.

Thereafter, the period of Hallstatt was subdivided in of 4 phases:

Hallstatt has

Hallstatt B

(of -1100 with approximately -800, final Bronze Age)

Period characterized by bronze swords and large iron swords. These men belong to people vénéto-illyrien which will extend his domination on all the Central Europe and Italy of north.

The riders with long sword, order hitherto unknown, sporadically appear in the tombs, surrounded by rites and accompanied by object it service with drink, the imported exotic products, the Tombe with tank, finally the Or - which precede the symbols of the new leading class. The assembled horse is one of the innovations which distinguish the participants in the capacity. The tumulus of the necropolis of Chavéria (the Jura) delivered five long swords hallstattiennes, together with elements of harnessing or according to the tombs of a basin on board beaded out of bronze, near to those produced in VIIIe century by the Culture of Villanova in Italy of North.

Hallstatt C

(eighth century BC, first period of the age of iron)

Short swords, objects of ornaments, tanks, pottery made with the turn and decorated reasons geometrical or very stylized with contrasts of colors. Practical of the incineration but also burial of deaths.

Succeeding the bronze models, the iron swords are the prerogative of the warriors of VIIe century. Several of them, found in the cemetery of Hallstatt, confirm their character of privilege, with pommels covered of gold sheets, or carved in ivory and encrusted with amber, ornament which one finds in the swords of Chaffois (Doubs) and of Marainville-on-Madon (the Vosges). Towards the end of VIIIe century and at the beginning of VIIe, bronze crockery frequently accompany the swords (burials by Magny-Lambert and Poiseul (Coast-D' Gold). At the end of VIIe century, it is rather the tank which one finds associated with the bronze crockery (the Coast-Saint-Andre, Isere). In Hallstatt, the tombs of warriors represent only approximately the quarter of the cemetery, and only nineteen of them, of VIIIe and VIIe centuries, deliver large swords and axes of parade. More, the tombs of the Life century contained daggers with antennas. The female tombs offer many ornaments, bulky, typical fibules of the exuberant taste of the time. The rich burials very often have impressive bronze services made up of buckets, situles (buckets at the closed again edges) (see: situle of Vace, Slovenia), basins and cups.

Salt, related on the sedentary lifestyle and the trade of long distance, is a new richness. It conditions the conservation of food and its consumption strengthens the animals. The northern peak of the Alps is rich. The prefix Hall, of Celtic origin, indicates in the area the exploitation sites very old (Hallstatt, Hall, Reichenhall, Schwäbisch Hall, etc). After having treated by desiccation salt water, Hallstattiens developed, between VIIIe and the Life century, the first and the greatest center of mining extraction of rock salt. The minors and their chiefs could come from various close areas. Loggers and carpenters collaborated in the construction of the mine. Rich person families of traders, hawkers and groups in charge of the defense of the community supplemented this new model of company turned towards outside. The salt, which preserves the organic vestiges, delivered elements of clothing to us and bags has leather back to go up the blocks of salt.

Hallstatt D

(seventh century BC-fifth century BC)

Towards -600, a large mine of salt opens in Hallein, not far from Hallstatt on western bank of Salzach, which offers easier outlets. The site of Hallstatt declines, the tombs are done there fewer and less rich person starting from Ve century.

The Celtes are established Burgundy with the Austria. They are characterized by their opulence, their brilliant company governed by a capacity princely and resting on the clan, and by the dynamism of their culture. The most important characters are the princes, who are made bury, avoided gold collars, in tombs with tank hidden under a bulky funerary hillock.

The Celts establish citadels on heights dominating of vast wide. Among most important, a dozen are probably the residences of princes or territorial chiefs, who play an economic and political part, and constitute a powerful federation of communities organized on the same model, in Germany of the South, Switzerland and in the East of France: Hohenasperg, in the north of Stuttgart, the Heuneburg, close to Sigmaringen, Utliberg, close to Zurich, Châtillon-on-Glâne, close to Freiburg, Britzgyberg (Haut-Rhin), Saxon-Sion (the Vosges), the mount Lassois (Coast-D' Gold), the Gray-on-Saone (Haute-Saône), the camp of the Castle with Saline-the-Baths (Doubs), etc

The citadel of Heuneburg was most largely excavated: its rampart, rebuilt several times at the Life century, length 600 m, built on four meters in height out of brick believed on a basis of stone and provided with turns in projections, unusual in the north of the Alps, but known technique in the Mediterranean world (Froze, in Sicily). Inside, of the houses are distributed along lanes; outside, an agglomeration surrounds this kind of acropolis. Many black ceramics shards with figure and red are neighborly with Greek amphoras or Etruscan productions. The local arts and crafts appears brilliant: fast rotating turn, repair and reproduction of products of export, as testifies some the clay mould to a fastener of œnochoé (wine jug) Etruscan of local manufacture, decorated of a head of silene.

In plain, other sites delivered vestiges identical to those provided by the citadels. They are probably warehouses (the Bragny-on-Loire in Saône-et-Loire) or the other shapes of princely habitat as in Bourges, where several tombs with crockery of bronze imported have summers discovered at the 19th century.

The civilization of the first iron age is characterized by the importance of the exportations of products of the Mediterranean basin, a complex and solemn ritual in the pump of the funeral and a strong personalization of the dynastic capacity. The palates of the princes remain to us badly known, because the excavated citadels did not deliver any. Some indices await confirmation: in Wittnauerhorn, in Switzerland, two central houses larger than the others could be the residence of the Masters; at the base of the tumulus of Giessübel-Talhau, close to the citadel of Heuneburg, the plan of a vast residence would have been recognized.

Chronology of the first age of Iron

  • Towards -1300
    • Fine of the exploitation of the salt mines of Hallstatt
  • Towards -1000
    • demographic and economic Crisis of the European village communities inherited the Bronze Age: famines, overpopulation.
    • Domination of the incineration in the funerary rites ( fields of ballot boxes )
    • Rise of the production of ornaments out of blue glass

  • Of -900 with -800

    • Multiplication of the number of fortifications in continental Europe

  • Of -800 with -700

    • Appearance of the Iberian steles (anthropomorphic sculptor representing of the armed chiefs) in the south-west of Spain.
    • In Andalusia, kingdom of Tartessos: Etruscan influences, phenician and Greek

  • Towards -800

    • Rise of the production of harnessings out of bronze for the horses

  • Of -700 with -600

    • Tombes with tank of Atenica (necropolis located at 120km in the south of Belgrade)
    • the Greek use the trefoil lance of the Scythes (greco-eurasiatic points of lance)

  • Towards -600

    • quasi-official Structuring of the cities of the central Mediterranean: confederation of the Etruscan , the people Gallic of the South of France.
    • the Celtic one affirms its role of turntable of the exchanges between the Mediterranean world and the remainder of Europe.C' is the beginning of the time of the principalities.
    • Foundation of Massalia by the Greek colonists of Phocée
    • Tombs with tank in the south of the Spain

  • Of -600 with -500

    • Slip towards the west (the Alps, the Jura, Rhone-native corridor) of the axis of the North-South exchanges.
    • ten princely residences constitute economic and political centers important or principalities , distributed Burgundy with the Wurtemberg
    • In -575, foundation of Ampurias in Catalogne by Phocéens

  • Of -500 with -400

    • Decline of the princely residences
    • Rise of a local metallurgy of iron in Scandinavian Europe
    • Imitations of ionic ceramics with Ampurias. Production of ceramics attic to red figures in the Iberian back-country.
    • Beginning of Tène (or second age of iron ) in moderate continental Europe

  • Towards -500

    • Fine of the big business phocéen

  • Towards -400

    • Disappearance of the fortifications characteristic of the first age of iron lusacian of the type of Biskupin (of the name of this site in Poland: ovoid villages strengthened of a hundred dwellings dominating a territory from 300 to 400 km in diameter)

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