Copper and Bronze Age on Wildoner Schloßberg/Styria

The findings and situation of the archaeological excavations undertaken by the Styrian Joanneum Museum (conducted by Prof. Dr. Diether Kramer) on the Schlossberg Mountain in Wildon between 1985 and 1988 indicated that the mountain had a key role in the prehistoric and early history of the entire southeastern Alpine region. It was possible to prove that this geographically and strategically perfectly situated location was settled for some 6,000 years, i.e. from the end of the Neolithic period or beginning of the Copper Age until into the early Modern Age. The findings give evidence for almost the entire period. The numerous, almost four-metre-thick settlement layers in drench 3 from the Copper into the middle Bronze Age are particulaly significant because these phases of settlement (e.g. the Vucedol culture and "Litzen" ceramics) have until now been documented in the form of findings practically only on Wildon`s Schlossberg Mountain. This stratigraphic situation is not only unique in Austria but appears singular for Central Europe in general. The situation suggests most resemblance with the Tell settlements on the Hungarian Plain and the Balkans. In the framework of this project, the analysis of the archaeological and archaeozoological findings from the Schloßberg Mountain will enable the closure of an almost 2,000--year gap between the early Copper Age and the middle Bronze Age in Styria and neighbouring regions. The excellent condition of the ceramic and lithic as well as the particularly rich osteological material allow far-reaching assessments about to which cultural groups the populations belonged. Further results relate to relative chronological categorization, as well as to the economic and paleo-ecological conditions in a settlement area that was modified with various intensity by human presence. Lastly, the numerous remains of organic material make it possible to date all the stratifiable phases of settlement by the absolute chronological 14C method. This represents a unique chrono- and typrochronological frame, not only for the southeastern Alpine region alone! All the settlement phases are linked to cultural groups that can be subsumed under a southeastern Alpine, northern Balkan and western trans-Danubian cultural group (e.g. Lasinja-, Vucedol-, Somogyvar-Vinkovci-, Draßburg-cultures or "Litzen" ceramics, respectively). In addition, numerous findings can be linked to cultural groups in regions north of the Alps (e.g. the ceramic findings of the Chamer- culture and Mondsee group, as well as the Veterov ceramics together with the "Litzen" ceramics).

The interdisciplinary research of the results of excavations conducted by the Styrian Regional Museum Joanneum between 1985 and 1993 on the Wildoner Schloßberg/Styria made it possible to raise the knowledge about the Neolithic, the Copper and Early Bronze Ages in the whole Southeastern Alpine Region because of the well- preserved archaeological finds (incl. animal bones). Biasing on the more than three meter high sequence of cultural- layers in excavation-trench 3 and 20 Radiocarbondates from animal bone-samples, the succession of development on this important hill-top settlement was acquired. The oldest settlement from the Middle Neolithic period dating shortly after 4700 BC shows in the sample of pottery closest analogies to the area of Southern Hungary, from where a first `colonisation` up along the Mur-river can be expected. It is remarkable to find in this oldest layers also imported ceramic finds from the area of todays Eastern Slavonia, Western Serbia and Northeastern Bosnia, which demonstrates early contacts in this regions. All together 14 horizonts or settlement-phases were differentiated, which cover the period between 4700-1200 BC nearly without interruption. While the radiocarbondated horizonts of the Late Neolithic and Early Copper Age brought up important contributions to a new order of the abundant finds of this periods in the Southeastern Alpine Region, it was for the first time possible to testify a settlement of the Middle Copper Age in Styria. The pottery finds show closest analogies to finds from the Boleraz-group and the Baden-Culture. Further it is worth to mention the proof of an intensive Copper metallurgy, which is testified by fragments of moulds for casting Copper Axes and crucibles from the Late Copper Age Vucedol-Culture between 2800 and 2500 BC. A completely preserved and radiocarbondated horse-skull from the same period represents one of the earliest references for horse-domestication in Central Europe. Sporadical finds from the Somogyvr- Vinkovci and the Kisapostag-Culture can close the chronological gap to the quantitativ rich horizont of the so called `Litzenkeramik`. The youngest undisturbed horizont can be dated to the Early Urnfield Culture around 1200 BC. In this horizont a part of a building with a clay soil was excavated, on which a bronze sickle, a needle and a mould for casting a sickle or a knife were found. The research of the animal bones can demonstrate a development and changing in resources by investigating the animal species. While the oldest horizonts from the Middle and Late Neolithic are dominated by bones from hunted animals, their number decreases extremely during the Copper Ages, when domesticated animals became the most important source for meat. In this development and the reactions in subsistence strategies one can expect a reflection of ecological changings in the closest environment around the Wildoner Schloßberg, which might be caused by human interventions.