Wessenstedt is located in the Lüneburg Heath , is a quarter of Natendorf having about 150 inhabitants and belongs to Altes Amt Ebstorf of district Uelzen , Lower Saxony .
51-583: Wessenstedt is known for the discovery of a nearby Urnfield . The pottery has been used as an archeological marker corresponding to the Iron Age period known otherwise as Hallstatt "C". However, unlike Hallstatt, this site is not considered Celtic and rather Germanic instead. The "Wessenstedt culture" (800 - 600 BC) spreading north of Hannover is named after this village. Noteworthy are characteristics lingering from Bronze Age, such as low tumuli containing small stone chests and pottery of equal height having
102-607: A cauldron-wagon and other rich grave goods accompanied an inhumation under a barrow ( Montelius III/IV). Another example comes from Ystad in Sweden. South-eastern European examples include Kanya in Hungary and Orăştie in Romania. Clay miniature wagons, sometimes with waterfowl, were known there since the middle Bronze Age ( Dupljaja , Vojvodina, Serbia). Tumulus culture The Tumulus culture (German: Hügelgräberkultur )
153-957: A conical neck and body. To Wessenstedt also belongs the former vineyard of the Ebstorff monastery. 53°03′27″N 10°27′11″E / 53.05750°N 10.45306°E / 53.05750; 10.45306 This Lower Saxony location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Urnfield Vučedol culture , Nagyrév culture , Ottomány culture , Wietenberg culture , Vatya culture Bell Beaker culture , Únětice culture , Nordic Bronze Age , Tumulus culture , Urnfield culture Bronze Age Britain , Bronze Age France , Armorican Tumulus culture , Bronze Age Iberia , Argaric culture , Hilversum culture , Atlantic Bronze Age Nuragic civilization , Polada culture , Terramare culture , Proto-Villanovan culture , Apennine culture , Canegrate culture , Golasecca culture The Urnfield culture ( c. 1300–750 BC )
204-432: A considerable surplus-production. On lakes of southern Germany and Switzerland, numerous pile dwellings were constructed. They consist either of simple houses made of wattle and daub, or log-built . The settlement at Zug , Switzerland, was destroyed by fire and gives important insights into the material culture and the settlement organisation of this period. It has yielded a number of dendro-dates as well. The pottery
255-543: A four-wheeled miniature bronze wagon bearing a large cauldron (diameter 30 cm) contained a cremation. This exceptionally rich burial was covered by a barrow . The bronze wagon model from Acholshausen in (Bavaria) comes from a male burial. Such wagons are also known from the Nordic Bronze Age . The Skallerup wagon , Denmark, contained a cremation as well. At Peckatel (Kr. Schwerin) in Mecklenburg
306-499: A leather armour. Greaves of richly decorated sheet-bronze are known from Kloštar Ivanić (Croatia) and the Paulus cave near Beuron (Germany). About a dozen wagon -burials of four wheeled wagons with bronze fittings are known from the early Urnfield period. They include Hart an der Altz (Kr. Altötting), Mengen (Kr. Sigmaringen), Poing (Kr. Ebersberg), Königsbronn (Kr. Heidenheim) from Germany and St. Sulpice ( Vaud ), Switzerland. In Alz,
357-578: A process known as Romanization . Urnfields are found in the French Languedoc and Catalonia from the 9th to 8th centuries. The change in burial custom was most probably influenced by developments further east. Evidence for an association between the Urnfield culture and a hypothetical Italo-Celtic language group has been discussed by scholars such as Peter Schrijver . Placename evidence has also been used to point to an association of
408-674: A wood, bone, or antler hilt. Flange-hilted swords had organic inlays in the hilt. Swords include Auvernier, Kressborn-Hemigkofen, Erbenheim, Möhringen, Weltenburg, Hemigkofen and Tachlovice-types. Protective gear like shields , cuirasses , greaves and helmets are rare and almost never found in burials. The best-known example of a bronze shield comes from Plzeň in Bohemia and has a riveted handhold. Comparable pieces have been found in Germany, Western Poland, Denmark, Great Britain and Ireland. They are supposed to have been made in upper Italy or
459-458: Is commonly of a much more widespread distribution than pottery and does not conform to these borders. It may have been produced at specialised workshops catering for the elite of a large area. Important French cemeteries include Châtenay and Lingolsheim (Alsace). An unusual earthwork was constructed at Goloring near Koblenz in Germany . The central European Lusatian culture forms part of
510-530: Is indicated by the homogeneous surface of the vessels as well. Other vessels include cups of beaten sheet- bronze with riveted handles (type Jenišovice) and large cauldrons with cross attachments. Wooden vessels have only been preserved in waterlogged contexts, for example from Auvernier (Neuchâtel), but may have been quite widespread. The early Urnfield period (1300 BC) was a time when the warriors of central Europe could be heavily armored with body armor, helmets and shields all made of bronze, most likely borrowing
561-535: Is normally well made, with a smooth surface and a normally sharply carinated profile. Some forms are thought to imitate metal prototypes. Biconical pots with cylindrical necks are especially characteristic. There is some incised decoration, but a large part of the surface was normally left plain. Fluted decoration is common. In the Swiss pile dwellings, the incised decoration was sometimes inlaid with tin foil . Pottery kilns were already known (Elchinger Kreuz, Bavaria), as
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#1732773063348612-680: The Eastern Alps and imitate wooden shields. Irish bogs have yielded examples of leather shields (Clonbrinn, Co. Wexford). Bronze cuirasses are known since Bronze D ( Čaka , grave II, Slovakia). Complete bronze cuirasses have been found in Saint Germain du Plain, nine examples, one inside the other, in Marmesse, Haute Marne (France), fragments in Albstadt-Pfeffingen (Germany). Bronze dishes (phalerae) may have been sewn on
663-697: The Runder Berg ( Urach , Germany), 5-8m long in Künzig (Bavaria, Germany), others up to 20 m long. They were built with wooden posts and walls of wattle and daub. At the Velatice-settlement of Lovčičky ( Moravia , Czech Republic ) 44 houses have been excavated. Large bell shaped storage pits are known from the Knovíz culture . The settlement of Radonice (Louny) contained over 100 pits. They were most probably used to store grain and demonstrate
714-744: The Tumulus culture and was succeeded by the Hallstatt culture . Some linguists and archaeologists have associated this culture with a pre-Celtic language or Proto-Celtic language family. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Urnfield Tradition had spread through Italy, northwestern Europe, and as far west as the Pyrenees. It is at this time that fortified hilltop settlements and sheet‐bronze metalworking also spread widely across Europe, leading some authorities to equate these changes with
765-567: The Wasserburg Buchau , Germany (diameter 80 cm). Bronze spoked wheels from Hassloch and Stade (in Germany) have been described as "the most ambitious craft endeavour of all Bronze Age bronze objects", representing "the highest achievement of prehistoric bronze casters in non-Greek Europe ... In terms of casting technique, they are on a par with the casting of a Greek bronze statue." In Milavče near Domažlice , Bohemia ,
816-753: The 16th-15th century BC, is a unique find from the Tumulus culture period. Described as "the earliest metal representation of a human body part ever found in Europe", it may have been a ritual object, or mounted on a standard like similar metal hands known from the Iron Age , or possibly a prosthesis . It was found in a grave along with a bronze hair-ring, pin and dagger. The hand had a golden bracelet or cuff decorated with solar motifs. Golden hats from Schifferstadt in Germany and Avanton in France, dating from
867-760: The Bronze Age periods B, C1, and C2. Tumuli have been used elsewhere in Europe from the Stone Age to the Iron Age ; the term "Tumulus culture" specifically refers to the South German variant of the Bronze Age. In the table, Ha designates Hallstatt . Archaeological horizons Hallstatt A–B are part of the Bronze Age Urnfield culture, while horizons Hallstatt C–D are the type site for the Iron Age Hallstatt culture . The Tumulus culture
918-692: The Czech Republic, Biskupin in Poland, Ormož in Slovenia, Corneşti-Iarcuri , Sântana and Teleac in Romania, Gradište Idoš in Serbia, and Velem and Csanádpalota–Földvár in Hungary. The 30.5 ha plateau of the Bullenheimer Berg in Germany was the site of a "large, walled, city-like fortification" in the later Urnfield period. Excavations have revealed a dense settlement across
969-600: The Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia and the Levant around the time of the Urnfield origins: Some scholars, among them Wolfgang Kimmig and P. Bosch-Gimpera have postulated a Europe-wide wave of migrations. The so-called Dorian invasion of Greece was placed in this context as well (although more recent evidence suggests that the Dorians moved in 1100 BC into a post Mycenaean vacuum, rather than precipitating
1020-480: The Ha B3-phase is contested, as the material consists of female burials only. As can be seen by the arbitrary 100-year ranges, the dating of the phases is highly schematic. The phases are based on typological changes, which means that they do not have to be strictly contemporaneous across the whole distribution. All in all, more radiocarbon and dendro-dates would be highly desirable. The Urnfield culture grew from
1071-703: The Runder Berg near Urach, Germany, 25 stone moulds have been found. Hillforts are interpreted as central places. Some scholars see the emergence of hill forts as a sign of increased warfare. Most hillforts were abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age. Examples of fortified settlements include Bullenheimer Berg , Ehrenbürg , Hünenburg bei Watenstedt , Heunischenburg , Hesselberg , Bürgstadter Berg , Farrenberg , Gelbe Burg and Ipf in Germany, Burgstallkogel , Thunau am Kamp and Oberleiserberg in Austria, Corent and Gannat in France, Hořovice and Plešivec in
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#17327730633481122-568: The Urnfield culture was only adopted in the HaA2 period. 16 pins deposited in a swamp in Ellmoosen (Kr. Bad Aibling, Germany) cover the whole chronological range from Bronze B to the early Urnfield period (Ha A). This demonstrates a considerable ritual continuity. In the Loire , Seine , and Rhône , certain fords contain deposits from the late Neolithic onward up to the Urnfield period. The origins of
1173-573: The Urnfield materials with the Proto-Celtic language group in central Europe, and it has been argued that it was the ancestral culture of the Celts . The Urnfield layers of the Hallstatt culture , "Ha A" and "Ha B", are succeeded by the Iron Age "Hallstatt period" proper: "Ha C" and "Ha D" (8th-6th centuries BC), associated with the early Celts; "Ha D" is in turn succeeded by the La Tène culture ,
1224-418: The Urnfield period. Often a steep spur was used, where only part of the circumference had to be fortified. Depending on the locally available materials, dry-stone walls, gridded timbers filled with stones or soil or plank and palisade type pfostenschlitzmauer fortifications were used. Other fortified settlements used river-bends and swampy areas. Metal working is concentrated in the fortified settlements. On
1275-524: The Urnfield tradition, but continues into the Iron Age without a notable break. The Piliny culture in northern Hungary and Slovakia grew from the Tumulus culture , but used urn burials as well. The pottery shows strong links to the Gáva culture , but in the later phases, a strong influence of the Lusatian culture is found. In Italy the late Bronze Age Canegrate and Proto-Villanovan cultures and
1326-683: The archaeological culture associated with the Continental Celts of antiquity. The Golasecca culture in northern Italy developed with continuity from the Canegrate culture. Canegrate represented a completely new cultural dynamic to the area expressed in pottery and bronzework, making it a typical western example of the Urnfield culture, in particular the Rhine-Switzerland-Eastern France (RSFO) Urnfield culture. The Lepontic Celtic language inscriptions of
1377-667: The area show the language of the Golasecca culture was clearly Celtic making it probable that the 13th-century BC language of at least the RSEF area of the western urnfields was also Celtic or a precursor to it. The influence of the Urnfield culture spread widely and found its way to the northeastern Iberian coast, where the nearby Celtiberians of the interior adapted it for use in their cemeteries. Evidence for east-to-west early Urnfield (Bronze D-Hallstatt A) elite contacts such as rilled-ware, swords and crested helmets has been found in
1428-468: The beginning of the Middle Bronze Age there is evidence for the use of weighed metal as form of payment or money. Weighing equipment has been found in central Europe dating from c. 1400 BC onwards. Some scholars see Tumulus groups from southern Germany as corresponding to a community that shared an extinct Indo-European linguistic entity, such as the hypothetical Italo-Celtic group that
1479-448: The chariot had been placed on the pyre, and pieces of bone are attached to the partially melted metal of the axles. Bronze (one-part) bits appear at the same time. Two-part horse bits are only known from late Urnfield contexts and may be due to eastern influence. Wood- and bronze spoked wheels are known from Stade (Germany), a wooden spoked wheel from Mercurago, Italy. Wooden dish-wheels have been excavated at Courcelettes, Switzerland and
1530-519: The collapse). The variety of regional groups belonging to this culture makes it possible to exclude the presence of ethnic uniformity. Marija Gimbutas connected the various Central European regional groups to as many proto-populations: proto-Celts , proto-Italics , proto-Veneti , proto-Illyrians and proto-Phrygians (as well as proto-Thracians and proto-Dorians ), who would establish themselves later, through migrations, in their historic locations. This migration (disputed by some) occurred during
1581-531: The cremation rite are commonly believed to be in Hungary , where it was widespread since the first half of the second millennium BC. The neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture of modern-day northeastern Romania and Ukraine were also practicing cremation rituals as early as approximately 5500 BC. Some cremations begin to be found in the Proto-Lusatian and Trzciniec culture . The Urnfield culture
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1632-505: The density of settlements in Romania and Serbia at this time is indicative of societies that were organized under a common political framework. Kristiansen and Suchowska-Ducke (2015) describe these mega-sites as "part of a political centralisation process, a complex chiefdom, or archaic state". In 2018 the remains of a Late Bronze Age 'feasting hall' were excavated at the site of Lăpuş in Romania. Urnfield period houses were one or two-aisled. Some were quite small, 4.5 m × 5 m at
1683-482: The early Iron Age Villanovan culture show similarities with the urnfields of central Europe. The Italic peoples are descended from the Urnfield and Tumulus culture , who inhabited Italy from at least the second millennium BC onwards. Latins achieved a dominant position among these tribes, establishing the ancient Roman civilization . During this development, other Italic tribes adopted the Latin language and culture in
1734-536: The existence of buildings with lengths exceeding 40 m, including a building approximately 60 m long and 40 m wide. "Mega forts" such as Corneşti-Iarcuri, Sântana and Gradište Idoš were surrounded by numerous smaller settlements, including fortified sites. They formed part of a general movement towards large fortified sites across Europe in the Late Bronze Age, possibly in response to new styles of warfare. The general uniformity in design, material culture, and
1785-559: The expansion of the Celts. These links are no longer accepted. It is believed that in some areas, such as in southwestern Germany, the Urnfield culture was in existence around 1200 BC (beginning of Hallstatt A or Ha A), but the Bronze D Riegsee -phase already contains cremations. As the transition from the middle Bronze Age to the Urnfield culture was gradual, there are questions regarding how to define it. The Urnfield culture covers
1836-429: The idea from Mycenaean Greece . The leaf-shaped Urnfield sword could be used for slashing, in contrast to the stabbing-swords of the preceding Tumulus culture. It commonly possessed a ricasso . The hilt was normally made from bronze as well. It was cast separately and consisted of a different alloy. These solid hilted swords were known since Bronze D (Rixheim swords). Other swords have tanged blades and probably had
1887-647: The late Tumulus period (c. 1400 BC), may have been worn by elite religious figures, described as 'oracles' or 'king-priests' by researchers. The patterns of ornaments or symbols on the hats are thought to represent calendars , as on the later and more elaborate Berlin Gold Hat , which may encode knowledge of the luni-solar Metonic cycle . Gold discs from the Czech Republic, dating from c. 1650-1250 BC, feature similar ornaments and are thought to represent simpler calendars. Identical ' ritual objects ' from Haschendorf in Austria and Balkåkra in Sweden may also date from
1938-470: The origin of the Italic and Celtic cultures. The Tumulus culture is distinguished by the practice of burying the dead beneath burial mounds ( tumuli or kurgans ). In 1902, Paul Reinecke distinguished a number of cultural horizons based on research of Bronze Age hoards and tumuli in periods covered by these cultural horizons are shown in the table below (right). The Tumulus culture was prevalent during
1989-421: The period called late Bronze Age collapse and was perhaps caused by climate changes. Communities of peasants and herders, led by a warrior aristocracy, introduced the new rite of cremation, new ceramic styles and the mass production of metal objects as well as a new religion and Indo-European languages in various regions of Western and Southern Europe. The number of settlements increased sharply in comparison with
2040-651: The phases Hallstatt A and B (Ha A and B) in Paul Reinecke 's chronological system, not to be confused with the Hallstatt culture (Ha C and D) of the following Iron Age . This corresponds to the Phases Montelius III-IV of the Northern Bronze Age. Whether Reinecke's Bronze D is included varies according to author and region. The Urnfield culture is divided into the following sub-phases (based on Müller-Karpe sen.): The existence of
2091-723: The plateau of the Ehrenbürg resembled later murus gallicus fortifications known from the Iron Age. 'Cyclopean' stone fortifications topped with wooden battlements were constructed c. 1400 BC at the large hillfort of Stätteberg in Bavaria. Tumulus culture societies traded with those in Scandinavia, Atlantic Europe, the Mediterranean region and the Aegean . Traded items included amber and metal artefacts. From
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2142-460: The preceding Tumulus culture . The transition is gradual, in the pottery as well as the burial rites. In some parts of Germany, cremation and inhumation existed simultaneously (facies Wölfersheim). Some graves contain a combination of Tumulus-culture pottery and Urnfield swords (Kressbronn, Bodenseekreis) or Tumulus culture incised pottery together with early Urnfield types (Mengen). In the North,
2193-508: The preceding Tumulus culture. Few of them have been comprehensively excavated. Fortified settlements, often on hilltops or in river-bends, are typical for the Urnfield culture. They are heavily fortified with dry-stone or wooden ramparts. Excavations of open settlements are rare, but they show that large 3-4 aisled houses built with wooden posts and wall of wattle and daub were common. Pit dwellings are known as well; they might have served as cellars. Fortified hilltop settlements become common in
2244-527: The southwest of the Iberian peninsula. The appearance of such elite status markers provides the simplest explanation for the spread of Celtic languages in this area from prestigious, proto-Celtic, early-Urnfield metalworkers. The numerous hoards of the Urnfield culture and the existence of fortified settlements ( hill forts ) were taken as evidence for widespread warfare and upheaval by some scholars. Written sources describe several collapses and upheavals in
2295-511: The whole plateau, including courtyard-type buildings located on artificially raised terraces. The fortified settlement on the Ehrenbürg , also covering about 30 ha and surrounded by a timber and stone wall , was another regional centre and the residence of a regional elite. At the hill fort of Hořovice near Beroun (Czech Republic), 50 ha were surrounded by a stone wall. Most settlements were much smaller however. Corneşti-Iarcuri in Romania
2346-426: Was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe , often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition . The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns , which were then buried in fields. The first usage of the name occurred in publications over grave sites in southern Germany in the late 19th century. Over much of Europe, the Urnfield culture followed
2397-464: Was ancestral to Italic and Celtic . This particular hypothesis, however, conflicts with suggestions by other Indo-Europeanists. For instance, David W. Anthony suggests that Proto-Italic (and perhaps also Proto-Celtic ) speakers could have entered Northern Italy at an earlier stage, from the east (e.g., the Balkan / Adriatic region). The Bronze Hand of Prêles from Switzerland , dating from
2448-660: Was eminently a warrior society , which expanded with new chiefdoms eastward into the Carpathian Basin (up to the river Tisza ), and northward into Polish and Central European Únětice territories. The culture's dispersed settlements consisted of villages or homesteads centered on fortified structures such as hillforts. Significant fortified settlements include the Heuneburg , Bullenheimer Berg , Ehrenbürg , and Bernstorf . Fortification walls were built from wood, stone and clay. The massive 3.6m-wide wall surrounding
2499-553: Was located in an area stretching from western Hungary to eastern France, from the Alps to near the North Sea. Local groups, mainly differentiated by pottery, include: South-German Urnfield culture Lower-Rhine Urnfield culture Middle-Danube Urnfield culture Sometimes the distribution of artifacts belonging to these groups shows sharp and consistent borders, which might indicate some political structures, like tribes. Metalwork
2550-887: Was the dominant material culture in Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age ( c. 1600 to 1300 BC). It was the descendant of the Unetice culture . Its heartland was the area previously occupied by the Unetice culture, and its territory included parts of Germany, the Czech Republic , Austria, Switzerland , the Carpathian Basin, Poland and France . It was succeeded by the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture and part of
2601-469: Was the largest prehistoric settlement in Europe, at almost 6 km across, with four fortification lines and an inner settlement with a diameter of c. 2 km. Magnetic mapping and excavations have indicated the existence of a well-organised settlement of proto-urban character during the Urnfield period. An estimated 824,00 tonnes of earth had to be moved for the construction of the fortification walls alone. Magnetometric surveys at Sântana have revealed
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