In a number of previous materials, we talked about how iron "came to Europe" and settled on the Hallstatt culture that existed in Central Europe, as well as in the Balkans from about 900 to 400 BC, and the field culture preceded it burial urns. It is known that the main people belonging to this culture were the Celts, and in the Balkans, the Thracians and Illyrians.
A typical sword of Hallstatt culture with a characteristic pommel with volute curls. (Archaeological Museum, Krakow)
This culture got its name, as is often the case with historical monuments, by chance. Just near the town of Hallstatt in northwestern Austria, where rock salt was mined from time immemorial, an ancient burial ground was found in 1846. Moreover, it was discovered by an ordinary miner Johann Ramsauer, and he (that's how it happens!) In 1846-1864. began his first to investigate and describe the artifacts found here. Archeology at that time was akin to treasure hunting and science, in fact, was not yet. However, Ramsauer, apparently, was inclined towards systematics, so he not only dug it out, but also described the objects found and their location in the burials. The reports of the finds aroused interest, so the excavation of the burial ground continued later, so that by the end of the 19th century, about 2 thousand burials were examined, containing both cremations and corpses. The volume of the finds was such that this made it possible to highlight their characteristic features. And it became clear that a previously unknown ancient culture was discovered!
Reconstruction of the Hallstatt burial in the mound. (National Museum, Nuremberg)
Later, burials with similar objects were found in other places, which allowed the Swedish cultural historian Hans Hildebrand to introduce such a term as the "Hallstatt group" into scientific circulation. Then the German archaeologist Paul Reinecke began to use the term "Hallstatt time". And finally, the term "Hallstatt culture" was proposed by the Austrian archaeologist Moritz Gernes in 1905. Since that time, this name began to be used and exists in scientific practice to this day.
Artifacts of Hallstatt culture. (Museum of Archeology George-Garrett, Vesoul, Haute-Saone, Franche-Comté, Burgundy, France)
But Hallstatt culture still does not have a uniform periodization. The same Paul Reinecke, back in 1902, divided it into four periods, giving them names according to the letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D. However, the first two periods, that is, Hallstatt A (1200-1100 BC) and Hallstatt B (1100–800 BC) today is customary to refer to the era of the Late Bronze Age, and not to Hallstatt time as such. French historians have proposed their own version of periodization: C - early hallstatt, D1 and D2 - middle and D3 - late. From about 480 BC NS. (the year of the Marathon battle in Greece) the La Tene era has already begun, which replaced the Hallstatt era.
And if the Hallstatt culture was predominantly Celto-Illyrian, then the La Tene culture united the Celts, Dacians, and Thracians, and the Celto-Illyrian community now occupied a relatively small area in Italy. The main territories where the Hallstatt culture spread were Lower Austria, Slovenia, the regions of northern Croatia, and also partially the Czech Republic and Slovakia - that is, the lands inhabited by the tribes of the ancient Illyrians. In Western Austria, in the south of Germany, in northern Switzerland, in a number of regions (mainly western) of France, the Celts settled. In addition, the settlements of Hallstatt existed in Italy in the eastern region of the Po valley, in Hungary and even here and there in Western Ukraine.
Hallstatt craftsmen produced products not only for intra-tribal needs, but also for sale, and they are found quite far from the place of manufacture, for example, they were found in the Baltic States. Such interesting novelties as horse bits made of bronze and harness, pendants decorated with ornaments, swords and daggers with antenna tops of the handles are associated with Hallstatt. Moreover, the very first iron objects that ended up in the Baltic States (they were found in burials found in Pomerania, East Prussia and in Western Lithuania) got there through the tribes belonging to the Lusatian culture and, therefore, the Hallstattians traded with them, and they in turn resold their products further east. Back in the day, the people of Galtstatt received the "sun stone" - amber, which they themselves, apparently, did not extract, but received from the tribes that lived along the shores of the Baltic Sea.
Hallstatt pottery, approx. 800-550 biennium BC. (Museum of West Bohemia (West Bohemian Museum), Pilsen)
The study of Hallstatt culture was greatly helped by the fact that there were many salt mines in the regions of its distribution. They had a specific microclimate that had a preservative effect. Therefore, up to the present time, as well as in the Danish peat bogs, corpses, their clothes, and leather goods, not to mention wood, have been preserved in them. All this made it possible to quite confidently date certain finds of the Hallstatt era.
It is noted that the transition from bronze metallurgy to iron in the area of distribution of Hallstatt culture was carried out gradually, so that in 900-700. BC NS. bronze and iron tools got along well with each other, and bronze ones outnumbered iron ones. The land was cultivated with a plow, and it was here that the iron plow showed its advantage over the bronze one.
The model of the Hallstatt farm. (Goibodenmuseum in Straubing (Lower Bavaria))
The most widespread type of settlement was a fortified village, however, fortified mainly with a log fence, which, however, had a correct layout of the streets. There were salt mines and copper mines nearby. Iron-smelting workshops and forges were located in the villages or not far from them.
The "Bronze Chariot from Stretweg" is one of the most famous artifacts of Hallstatt culture. It is exhibited at the Eggenberg Castle in Graz, and its exact copy adorns the Museum of Judenburg.
As for the topic of weapons, which is traditionally of interest to visitors to the VO website, the Hallstatt residents have had their say here as well. Long bronze and iron swords are found in their burials, that is, the weapons of individual fighters, since such swords require a large swing and it is difficult to fight with them in close formation. Most importantly, the Hallstatt swords had a characteristic handle that made them easily recognizable. First of all, Hallstatt swords had pommels on the hilts in the shape of a “hat” or an inverted bell.
Hallstatt iron sword with a bell-shaped bronze pommel and hilt. (Natural History Museum, Vienna)
The hilt of the Hallstatt sword. (Natural History Museum, Vienna)
A replica of the Hallstatt sword on display at the Neanderthal Museum in the Neandertal Valley (Germany), Dusseldorf.
Another form of the pommel was an arc with "whiskers" coiled up in spirals. This is the so-called "antenna pommel", which is characteristic of the people of Hallstatt. The same pommel was often decorated with their daggers. Axes, knives, as well as iron and bronze spearheads are found in the graves. Helmets were also bronze, conical in shape, but with wide flat brims, or hemispherical and with ridges reinforcing their domed part. The armor was made of separate bronze plates, which were traditionally sewn onto the skin, but the Celts also used two-sided one-piece forged cuirasses of the "muscle type".
A double-ridged helmet from the Archaeological Museum in Graz, Austria.
Among the finds in the burial grounds there are bronze dishes of various shapes, original buckle-brooches, hand-made ceramics, and necklaces made of opaque colored glass. Everything suggests that the art of the tribes of Hallstatt culture had an applied character, was ornamental and gravitated towards luxury. At the same time, for the deceased, they did not spare jewelry made of bronze, gold, glass, bone, they find brooches depicting animals, golden neck torcs, belt plaques made of bronze with patterns embossed on them. The dishes were distinguished by brightly painted yellow and red paints, with multicolored geometric ornaments. It is interesting that the people of Hallstatt knew and used the potter's wheel. But not always! The vessels were often sculpted by hand and their quality did not deteriorate from this.
Dagger with antenna pommel for the handle of Hallstatt culture. Museum of the Land of Linz in Lower Austria).
They also had imaginative art associated with the materialization of spiritual images: these are gravestone steles, small figurines made of clay and bronze (for example, with images of people, horses, etc.), and even complex bronze compositions like the "Chariot from Stretweg" with the scene of the sacrifice. A popular type of decoration on pottery, belts and situla (bronze truncated-conical buckets) were stamped or chased friezes, which depicted scenes from life: feasts, holidays, marching warriors, scenes of war, hunting and religious holidays.
Reconstruction of a wagon from Hallstatt time. (National Museum, Nuremberg)
It is interesting that, despite the commonality of the Hallstatt culture, in certain regions of its distribution, there are different forms of burial. For example, sometimes the dead were buried in carts, or houses were built for them from stones, over which mounds were poured. By the way, all burials indicate significant social stratification. Someone was buried under a mound along with a cart, silver situlas and gold fibulae, and someone in a pit with one pot at their feet!
