The Holy Hill of Lavant

In the period from 1985 to 2000 the Institute for Classical Archeology / University of Innsbruck was entrusted with the excavation in the late Roman settlement of Lavant / Osttirol. Lavant site belongs to the late roman hillforts in the province of "Binnennoricum", which became necessary from the third century B.C. onwards because of the invasion of Germanic tribes. The houses were built in terraces and were supplied with heating systems as hypocausts and the inner walls were mainly roughcasted. The centre of the settlement is marked by two early Christian churches. This great number of small finds (mainly local pottery, but also imported wares like African Sigillata, brooches, coins, tools and combs made of bone) should now be analysed and linked to the results of the excavations. The presentation of the conclusions of the recent excavations will be discussed and linked with the former researches of F. Miltner, W. Alzinger and S. Karwiese.

The oldest finds from the Kirchbichl in Lavant date from the final Neolithic Times and the early Bronze Age. A continuous settlement in prehistoric times could not be demonstrated, but in this state of research this possibility cannot be excluded. There are also some traces of Hallstatt and Laugen- Melaun ceramics. Campana-ceramic proofed relations to the North of Italy in the first century B.C. After the conquest of the Alps and the Romanisation of the indigenous population Lavant lost any importance. Only small trails date from the first and the second century A.C. An intensive settlement began in the third century A.C. with a clear plan of architecture. The Golden Age of Lavant lasted from the third to the sixth century. Until 600 A.C. Lavant shows a continuous settlement. The population was wealthy especially because of the iron industry. Terra sigillata chiara and amphores from North Africa and Palestine were merchandises of great demand.