Heuneburg Celtic Hillfort
Heunenburg · Pyrene of Herodotus
Late Hallstatt to Early La Tène (c.620–450 BCE)·Early Celtic (Hallstatt)·🇩🇪 Baden-Württemberg, Herbertingen-Hundersingen on the Upper Danube, Germany
About
About Heuneburg Celtic Hillfort
Principal Early Celtic princely seat on the Upper Danube, the Heuneburg is a 10 ha hillfort plateau above the Danube at Hundersingen with a Mediterranean-style mudbrick wall (c.600 BCE, unique north of the Alps), lower town and outer settlement totaling 100 ha. Associated giant burial mounds of the Hohmichele and Bettelbühl (including the Bettelbühl princess) yielded Greek pottery, amber and gold. Often equated with Herodotus' Pyrene, it evidences early urbanism and long-distance trade with Massalia and Etruria.
Why it mattersPrincipal Early Celtic princely seat on the Upper Danube, the Heuneburg is a 10 ha hillfort plateau above the Danube at Hundersingen with a Mediterranean-style mudbrick wall (c.600 BCE, unique north of the Alps), lower town and outer settlement totaling 100 ha. Associated giant burial mounds of the
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Heuneburg is Herodotus' Pyrene at the Danube source
- 02How Mediterranean masons were recruited for the mudbrick wall
Theories
- 01Fürstensitz model as early city with social stratification
- 02Destruction c.540 BCE by internal revolt or siege
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.620 BCE (mudbrick wall c.600)
- Period
- Late Hallstatt to Early La Tène (c.620–450 BCE)
- Culture
- Early Celtic (Hallstatt)
- Purpose
- Princely hillfort (Fürstensitz) and Mediterranean trade emporium
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
On the ground
Structures & features
48.0954° N · 9.4119° E · 520 m · 3 mapped features
- The Mudbrick WallfortificationSouth wall with 17 rectangular bastions in unfired mudbrick on limestone socle, rebuilt after fire c.540 BCE48.0950° N · 9.4120° E
- Hohmichele TumulustumulusGiant Hallstatt burial mound 80 m diameter, 14 m high, 2 km west with chieftain's chamber and 13 subsidiary graves48.0920° N · 9.3760° E
- Bettelbühl NecropolisnecropolisElite cemetery with the Bettelbühl Celtic princess burial (c.580 BCE) with exceptional gold and amber48.0980° N · 9.4050° E
Gallery