Celtic Archeology - 4

Hochdorf part 2

The last time I wrote about Hochdorf, I had only had 1.5 hours at that site. I clearly needed more time there. Thankfully it is only a 1 hour drive from where I am staying. I'm so glad I made it back. So far it is my favorite interpretive site. This time I learned about more average people, instead of just all about the prince.

Arm bands, leg bands, pins, rings and tools suitable for an average person.

 Average people had average adornments that were more elaborate in good times and less so in lean times. But apparently many people had a three tool set of nail trimmer, tweezers and ear picks.

Tools on a ring that was a very popular three piece set.

I have written about walled cities and mines but little so far about average typical people. So much has been discovered and understood in the last few years. After the Prince was found new tools were brought to bear. Taking pictures from the air lead to identifying features on the ground  that indicated previous settlements may be present. Thousands of sites have been identified and many, but not nearly all have been investigated. The priority is given to sites that are otherwise endangered by development. Once identified, a closer investigation can be made with ground penetrating radar.

Ground penetrating radar in the 1980's

Many people lived in small homestead like arrangements. A few houses surrounded by a ditch. This might have been because there was relatively little danger for most of the Celtic peoples from about 1200BCE to about 200CE.

One popular layout for a multiple house village.

The buildings were varied and specific uses can be guessed at. A dug in house with a shingled roof would have provided shelter from the weather, particularly the cold. It also could have held a workshop. Check out the wooden nails that held the shingles on.

The shingled roof of a dug out house.

A large house might have been used for a larger extended family, or even a place of retreat when things were grim. It would have provided lots of storage for things and even shelter for animals.

Large house with thatch on the left, shingled dug in house on the right and a garden in the foreground.

 There are plenty of examples of storage pits for grain and wattle and daub construction. The grain would be put into a pit and the pit sealed. The grain around the edges would germinate and produce gas that would  prevent the grain in the center from germinating. Wattle and daub is a way of making draft resistant walls. A critical need in a cold wet climate.

Wattle and daub on the left and a dug our pit with shelter to protect grain.

In a continuing series of surprises the vessels that were found near Hochdorf for heating and pouring bronze had a clay lining that was clay brought from more than 100 miles away.

Making bronze required vessels that were heat resistant.