Resource curation, power and cult in Stillfried?

The Stillfried hill fort represents one of the most important archaeological sites in eastern Austria. One principal occupation phase dates to the Late Urnfield Culture (900750 BC) when the plateau area (23 ha) was fortified with a mighty sectional rampart with an additional front-ditch in the west. Such places are currently interpreted as node, trade- and production centres (metal, textiles) under the control of elite social groups. The current project aims to answer the question whether the central place Stillfried, among others, functioned as a centralized storage site for grain. Directly linked to this hypothesis is the question whether there existed compulsory cultic-religious practice and rules (represented by distinct depositions in the archaeological record) related to this specialised function of the site. The impetus for these considerations was provided by the noticeable high density of characteristic pits with trapezoidal profile (at least 100) discovered in the course of archaeological excavations between 1969 and 1989 at the highest elevation of the fortified area (Area 1). These features, measuring 4 m3 on average, were dug into the loess bedrock displaying a horizontal bottom and a bottleneck opening. In their primary function they were used as grain storage facilities (granaries). According to preliminary results, they show a comparable sequence of in-filled layers. They form so-called filling patterns, and in some of the pits wild animals (deer and deer antlers, wolves, wild boars and domesticated pigs, hares) were deposited on intentionally created platforms. It is reasonable to assume that these pits were not used as middens after the discontinuation of their primary function as storage facilities; they had to undergo a transformational process guided by ritual practices consecrating them for a different function. Concrete evidence for their primary function is indicated by the presence of charred layers of seed remains at their bottom. In the historical literature such constructions functioning as granaries are also well documented; entirely filled with grain and hermetically sealed they allow the desired conservation over long time periods and were used as silos. In the course of the proposed project all excavated trapezoidal pits dating to the Late Urnfield Culture and to the Early Hallstatt period from Area 1 at Stillfried will be investigated and categorized according to six principle parameters of a well-defined criteria key. Additionally, those excavated pits from the fortified area, whose documentation has not yet been evaluated will also be included into this study. This helps to clarify the question whether characteristic filling patterns are also present at pits outside Area 1 and if this tradition continues during the following Hallstatt period (Wagneracker site). The planned investigations represent an important contribution to current issues concerning Late Bronze Age settlement research in Central and Eastern Europe. Reviewing the literature will help to clarify if the characteristic filling patterns, which were widely neglected by the scientific community so far, also occur at other contemporaneous sites. Archaeozoological and anthropological investigations and additional 14C-dating and stable isotope- analyses (addressing the question of origin) on the bone material from the pits (animal and human remains) will be conducted. With the possible assignment of the function of the Stillfried site as a centralized storage and redistribution place for grain the project is breaking new scientific ground.

In the hillfort site of Stillfried, 94 trapezoidal pits were excavated, almost all of which date to the late Urnfield period (c. 1000800 BC). We interpret these features as grain storage pits. The pits are evenly distributed over the hillfort and some are of outstanding size (volumes from 2 to 12 m3). The largest were located at the highest area, which is closest to the presumed seat of power of this central location (the so-called "Hügelfeld"). As an explanatory model, we propose that the ruling class managed these particularly spacious storage pits and that their contents served as merchandise and for representation. The pits were dug into the stable loess soil and could be refilled for several years. This procedure is only effective in relatively dry conditions - as was the case in the Urnfield period. A current experiment by B. Biederer shows that grain can be stored without loss if the pit is straw-lined. It is estimated that the storage volume of an average pit of 4 m covers the grain requirement of four people. All pits were quickly filled after being abandoned. In three pits of the "Hügelfeld", human remains (so-called settlement burials) were found. These finds indicate special burial rites, in which half-decayed bodies were handled. In 14 other pits, animal carcasses were deposited. Most of these animal skeletons could be identified as the remains of wild animals that were kept in captivity and sometimes bred! We interpret all these processes as part of ritual activities. Strontium isotope analysis clarified that people from the pits consisted of both immigrants and persons raised at Stillfried but were members of the local population at the time of death. Fill patterns(?) In most pit fills a tripartite division is recognizable: most of the finds are found on the bottom and in the bottom third of the pit, where humans and animals were also deposited. The upper pit area was usually closed with light humous soil. Finds It is striking that all pits contained little domestic waste but a higher quantity of special finds which differ from the domestic waste in shape, decoration, material and use: miniature vessels with elaborate impressed decoration, small bronze objects, etc. Three incomplete ring-shaped charred organic objects from pit V5400 were identified as cereal products (barley and wheat flour). Finds also include fully functional items such as grinding stones, loom weights and an antler pendant. Intentionally prepared objects such as bisected vessels and rattles as well as conspicuous find-associations are worthy of note. We assume that these special forms played a role during the termination of the pits and suggest that many pits were closed according to certain rules and not randomly filled.