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The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age culture of , often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of the dead and placing their ashes in , which were then buried in fields. The first usage of the name occurred in publications over grave sites in southern Germany in the late 19th century.

(1996). 9783570022375, C. Bertelsmann.
Over much of Europe, the Urnfield culture followed the and was succeeded by the Hallstatt culture. Some linguists and archaeologists have associated this culture with a language or language family., 2016, "Sound Change, the Italo-Celtic Linguistic Unity, and the Italian Homeland of Celtic", in John T. Koch & Barry Cunniffe, Celtic From the West 3: Atlantic Europe in the Metal Ages: questions of shared language. Oxford, England; Oxbow Books, pp. 9, 489–502. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Urnfield Tradition had spread through Italy, northwestern Europe, and as far west as the Pyrenees. It is at this time that fortified hilltop settlements and sheet‐bronze metalworking also spread widely across Europe, leading some authorities to equate these changes with the expansion of the Celts. These links are no longer accepted. "The results suggest that the Steppe-related ancestry component could have first arrived through Late N/Bell Beaker groups from ."


Chronology
Central European Bronze Age
Late Bronze Age
800–950 BC
950–1050 BC
1050–1100 BC
1100–1200 BC
1200–1300 BC
Middle Bronze Age
1300–1400 BC
1400–1500 BC
1500–1600 BC
Early Bronze Age
1600–2000 BC
2000–2300 BC
It is believed that in some areas, such as in southwestern Germany, the Urnfield culture was in existence around 1200 BC (beginning of Hallstatt A or Ha A), but the Bronze D -phase already contains cremations. As the transition from the middle to the Urnfield culture was gradual, there are questions regarding how to define it.

The Urnfield culture covers the phases Hallstatt A and B (Ha A and B) in 's chronological system, not to be confused with the Hallstatt culture (Ha C and D) of the following . This corresponds to the Phases Montelius III-IV of the Northern Bronze Age. Whether Reinecke's Bronze D is included varies according to author and region.

The Urnfield culture is divided into the following sub-phases (based on Müller-Karpe sen.):

BzD1300–1200
Ha A11200–1100
Ha A21100–1000
HaB11000–800
HaB2900–800
Ha B3800–750

The existence of the Ha B3-phase is contested, as the material consists of female burials only. As can be seen by the arbitrary 100-year ranges, the dating of the phases is highly schematic. The phases are based on typological changes, which means that they do not have to be strictly contemporaneous across the whole distribution. All in all, more radiocarbon and dendro-dates would be highly desirable.


Origin
The Urnfield culture grew from the preceding . The transition is gradual, in the as well as the burial rites. In some parts of Germany, cremation and inhumation existed simultaneously (facies Wölfersheim). Some graves contain a combination of Tumulus-culture pottery and Urnfield (Kressbronn, Bodenseekreis) or Tumulus culture incised pottery together with early Urnfield types (Mengen). In the North, the Urnfield culture was only adopted in the HaA2 period. 16 pins deposited in a swamp in Ellmoosen (Kr. Bad Aibling, Germany) cover the whole chronological range from Bronze B to the early Urnfield period (Ha A). This demonstrates a considerable ritual continuity. In the Loire, , and Rhône, certain fords contain deposits from the late Neolithic onward up to the Urnfield period.

The cremation rite is commonly believed to have originated in , where it was widespread since the first half of the second millennium BC. The neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture of modern-day northeastern and were also practicing cremation rituals as early as approximately 5500 BC. Some cremations begin to be found in the and Trzciniec culture.


Distribution and local groups
The Urnfield culture was located in an area stretching from western Hungary to eastern France, from the to near the North Sea. Local groups, mainly differentiated by pottery, include:

South-German Urnfield culture

  • Northeast-Bavarian Group, divided into a lower and an upper Palatinate group
  • Lower-Main-Swabian group in southern Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, including the , , lower Main and Friedberger facies
  • Rhenish-Swiss group in Rhineland-Palatinate, Switzerland and eastern France, (abbreviated RSFO in French)
Lower-Rhine Urnfield culture
  • Lower Hessian Group
  • North-Netherlands-Westphalian group
  • Northwest-Group in the Dutch Delta region

Middle-Danube Urnfield culture

Sometimes the distribution of artifacts belonging to these groups shows sharp and consistent borders, which might indicate some political structures, like tribes. Metalwork is commonly of a much more widespread distribution than pottery and does not conform to these borders. It may have been produced at specialised workshops catering for the elite of a large area.

Important French cemeteries include Châtenay and (Alsace). An unusual earthwork was constructed at near in .


Related cultures
The central European forms part of the Urnfield tradition, but continues into the without a notable break.

The in northern and grew from the , but used urn burials as well. The pottery shows strong links to the Gáva culture, but in the later phases, a strong influence of the Lusatian culture is found.

In the late Bronze Age Canegrate and Proto-Villanovan cultures and the early Iron Age Villanovan culture show similarities with the urnfields of central Europe. The Italic peoples are descended from the Urnfield and , who inhabited Italy from at least the second millennium BC onwards. Latins achieved a dominant position among these tribes, establishing the . During this development, other Italic tribes adopted the language and culture in a process known as Romanization.

Urnfields are found in the French and from the 9th to 8th centuries. The change in burial custom was most probably influenced by developments further east.

Evidence for an association between the Urnfield culture and a hypothetical Italo-Celtic language group has been discussed by scholars such as .

Placename evidence has also been used to point to an association of the Urnfield materials with the language group in central Europe, and it has been argued that it was the ancestral culture of the .

(2026). 9780859890274, University of Exeter Press.
The Urnfield layers of the Hallstatt culture, "Ha A" and "Ha B", are succeeded by the Iron Age "Hallstatt period" proper: "Ha C" and "Ha D" (8th-6th centuries BC), associated with the early Celts; "Ha D" is in turn succeeded by the La Tène culture, the archaeological culture associated with the Continental Celts of antiquity.

The Golasecca culture in northern Italy developed with continuity from the Canegrate culture. Canegrate represented a completely new cultural dynamic to the area expressed in pottery and bronzework, making it a typical western example of the Urnfield culture, in particular the Rhine-Switzerland-Eastern France (RSFO) Urnfield culture. The Lepontic Celtic language inscriptions of the area show the language of the Golasecca culture was clearly making it probable that the 13th-century BC language of at least the RSEF area of the western urnfields was also Celtic or a precursor to it.

The influence of the Urnfield culture spread widely and found its way to the northeastern Iberian coast, where the nearby of the interior adapted it for use in their cemeteries.

(1992). 9780867586244, Sydney Series in Celtic Studies 2, Centre for Celtic Studies, University of Sydney.
Evidence for east-to-west early Urnfield (Bronze D-Hallstatt A) elite contacts such as rilled-ware, swords and crested helmets has been found in the southwest of the Iberian peninsula.
(2026). 9781842175293, Oxbow Books. .
The appearance of such elite status markers provides the simplest explanation for the spread of Celtic languages in this area from prestigious, proto-Celtic, early-Urnfield metalworkers.


Migrations
The numerous hoards of the Urnfield culture and the existence of fortified settlements () were taken as evidence for widespread warfare and upheaval by some scholars. Written sources describe several collapses and upheavals in the Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia and the Levant around the time of the Urnfield origins:

Some scholars, among them Wolfgang Kimmig and P. Bosch-Gimpera have postulated a Europe-wide wave of migrations. The so-called of Greece was placed in this context as well (although more recent evidence suggests that the Dorians moved in 1100 BC into a post Mycenaean vacuum, rather than precipitating the collapse).


Ethnicity
While it is agreed that the Urnfield culture was, at least in part, linguistically Indo-European, the significant variety of regional sub-groups in the material culture is strongly suggestive of ethnic diversity. proposed connections between Urnfield in Central Europe to later ethnolinguistic groups, in other parts of Europe: , , , , , and .K. Kristiansen, Europe Before History, p. 388. While it is unclear whether mass migrations out of the Urnfield heartland occurred, they may have taken place during the so-called Bronze Age collapse. During that period, communities in various parts of western and southern Europe introduced the new rite of cremation, new ceramic styles and the mass production of metal objects as well as a new religion and Indo-European languages.K. Kristiansen, Europe Before History, p. 385.


Settlements
The number of settlements increased sharply in comparison with the preceding Tumulus culture. Few of them have been comprehensively excavated. Fortified settlements, often on hilltops or in river-bends, are typical for the Urnfield culture. They are heavily fortified with dry-stone or wooden ramparts. Excavations of open settlements are rare, but they show that large 3-4 aisled houses built with wooden posts and wall of wattle and daub were common. Pit dwellings are known as well; they might have served as cellars.


Fortified settlements
Fortified hilltop settlements become common in the Urnfield period. Often a steep spur was used, where only part of the circumference had to be fortified. Depending on the locally available materials, dry-stone walls, gridded timbers filled with stones or soil or plank and palisade type pfostenschlitzmauer fortifications were used. Other fortified settlements used river-bends and swampy areas.

Metal working is concentrated in the fortified settlements. On the Runder Berg near Urach, Germany, 25 stone moulds have been found.

Hillforts are interpreted as central places. Some scholars see the emergence of hill forts as a sign of increased warfare. Most hillforts were abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age.

Examples of fortified settlements include , Ehrenbürg, , , , Bürgstadter Berg, , , and Ipf in Germany, Burgstallkogel, Thunau am Kamp, and Oberleiserberg in Austria, and Gannat in France, Hořovice and in the Czech Republic, in Poland, Ormož in Slovenia, Corneşti-Iarcuri, Sântana and Teleac in Romania, Gradište Idoš in Serbia, and and Csanádpalota–Földvár in Hungary.

The 30.5-hectare plateau of the in Germany was the site of a "large, walled, city-like fortification" in the later Urnfield period. Excavations have revealed a dense settlement across the whole plateau, including courtyard-type buildings located on artificially raised terraces. The fortified settlement on the Ehrenbürg, also covering about 30 ha and surrounded by a timber and stone wall, was another regional centre and the residence of a regional elite. At the of Hořovice near Beroun (Czech Republic), 50 ha were surrounded by a stone wall. Most settlements were much smaller however.

Corneşti-Iarcuri in Romania was the largest prehistoric settlement in Europe, at almost 6 km across, with four fortification lines and an inner settlement with a diameter of c. 2 km. Magnetic mapping and excavations have indicated the existence of a well-organised settlement of proto-urban character during the Urnfield period. An estimated 824,00 tonnes of earth had to be moved for the construction of the fortification walls alone. Magnetometric surveys at Sântana have revealed the existence of buildings with lengths exceeding 40 m, including a building approximately 60 m long and 40 m wide.

"Mega forts" such as Corneşti-Iarcuri, Sântana and Gradište Idoš were surrounded by numerous smaller settlements, including fortified sites. They formed part of a general movement towards large fortified sites across Europe in the Late Bronze Age, possibly in response to new styles of warfare. The general uniformity in design, material culture, and the density of settlements in Romania and Serbia at this time is indicative of societies that were organized under a common political framework. Kristiansen and Suchowska-Ducke (2015) describe these mega-sites as "part of a political centralisation process, a complex chiefdom, or archaic state".

In 2018, the remains of a Late Bronze Age 'feasting hall' were excavated at the site of Lăpuş in Romania.


Open settlements
Urnfield period houses were one or two-aisled. Some were quite small, 4.5 m × 5 m at the (, Germany), 5-8m long in Künzig (Bavaria, Germany), others up to 20 m long. They were built with wooden posts and walls of wattle and daub. At the Velatice-settlement of Lovčičky (Moravia, ) 44 houses have been excavated. Large bell shaped storage pits are known from the Knovíz culture. The settlement of Radonice (Louny) contained over 100 pits. They were most probably used to store grain and demonstrate a considerable surplus-production.


Pile dwellings
On lakes of southern Germany and Switzerland, numerous pile dwellings were constructed. They consist either of simple houses made of wattle and daub, or . The settlement at , Switzerland, was destroyed by fire and gives important insights into the material culture and the settlement organisation of this period. It has yielded a number of as well.
fortifications, Germany]]
fortified settlement reconstruction, Poland]]


Material culture

Pottery
The pottery is normally well made, with a smooth surface and a normally sharply carinated profile. Some forms are thought to imitate metal prototypes. Biconical pots with cylindrical necks are especially characteristic. There is some incised decoration, but a large part of the surface was normally left plain. Fluted decoration is common. In the Swiss pile dwellings, the incised decoration was sometimes inlaid with tin foil. were already known (Elchinger Kreuz, Bavaria), as is indicated by the homogeneous surface of the vessels as well. Other vessels include cups of beaten sheet- with riveted handles (type Jenišovice) and large with cross attachments. Wooden vessels have only been preserved in waterlogged contexts, for example from Auvernier (Neuchâtel), but may have been quite widespread.


Tools and weapons
The early Urnfield period (1300 BC) was a time when the warriors of central Europe could be heavily armored with body armor, helmets and shields all made of bronze, most likely borrowing the idea from .
(2011). 9783111668147, Walter de Gruyter. .

The leaf-shaped Urnfield sword could be used for slashing, in contrast to the stabbing-swords of the preceding Tumulus culture. It commonly possessed a . The was normally made from bronze as well. It was cast separately and consisted of a different alloy. These solid hilted swords were known since Bronze D (Rixheim swords). Other swords have tanged blades and probably had a wood, bone, or antler hilt. Flange-hilted swords had organic inlays in the hilt. Swords include Auvernier, Kressborn-Hemigkofen, Erbenheim, Möhringen, Weltenburg, Hemigkofen and Tachlovice-types.

Protective gear like , , and are rare and almost never found in burials. The best-known example of a bronze shield comes from Plzeň in Bohemia and has a riveted handhold. Comparable pieces have been found in Germany, Western Poland, Denmark, Great Britain and Ireland. They are supposed to have been made in upper Italy or the and imitate wooden shields. Irish bogs have yielded examples of leather shields (Clonbrinn, Co. Wexford). Bronze cuirasses are known since Bronze D (Čaka, grave II, Slovakia).

Complete bronze cuirasses have been found in Saint Germain du Plain, nine examples, one inside the other, in Marmesse, Haute Marne (France), fragments in Albstadt-Pfeffingen (Germany). Bronze dishes (phalerae) may have been sewn on a leather armour. Greaves of richly decorated sheet-bronze are known from Kloštar Ivanić (Croatia) and the Paulus cave near (Germany).


Chariots and wagons
About a dozen -burials of four wheeled wagons with bronze fittings are known from the early Urnfield period. They include Hart an der Altz (Kr. Altötting), Mengen (Kr. Sigmaringen), Poing (Kr. Ebersberg), Königsbronn (Kr. Heidenheim) from Germany and St. Sulpice (), Switzerland. In Alz, the chariot had been placed on the pyre, and pieces of bone are attached to the partially melted metal of the axles. Bronze (one-part) appear at the same time. Two-part horse bits are only known from late Urnfield contexts and may be due to eastern influence. Wood- and bronze spoked wheels are known from (Germany), a wooden spoked wheel from Mercurago, Italy. Wooden dish-wheels have been excavated at Courcelettes, Switzerland and the , Germany (diameter 80 cm).

Bronze spoked wheels from and (in Germany) have been described as "the most ambitious craft endeavour of all Bronze Age bronze objects",

(2026). 9780199572861, OUP Oxford. .
representing "the highest achievement of prehistoric bronze casters in non-Greek Europe ... In terms of casting technique, they are on a par with the casting of a Greek bronze statue."


Cult wagon models
In Milavče near Domažlice, , a four-wheeled miniature bronze wagon bearing a large (diameter 30 cm) contained a cremation. This exceptionally rich burial was covered by a . The bronze wagon model from in (Bavaria) comes from a male burial.

Such wagons are also known from the Nordic Bronze Age. The , Denmark, contained a cremation as well. At (Kr. Schwerin) in a cauldron-wagon and other rich grave goods accompanied an inhumation under a barrow ( III/IV). Another example comes from in Sweden. South-eastern European examples include Kanya in Hungary and Orăştie in Romania. Clay miniature wagons, sometimes with waterfowl, were known there since the middle Bronze Age (, Vojvodina, Serbia).

A chariot model from (, Germany) has three on a single , on which waterfowl perch. The grave of (Kr. Sigmaringen, Germany) contained two socketed horned applications that probably belonged to a miniature wagon comparable to the Burg example, together with six miniature spoked wheels.

File:Urnfield culture ceramic vessel with chariot depiction, Slovakia, 14th century BC.jpg|Urn with chariot depictions, Slovakia, 14th century BC. File:Dupljaja.jpg|Cult chariot model from , Serbia, . File:Kesselwagen von Acholshausen — Exponat in der Archäologischen Staatssammlung München.JPG|Bronze cult wagon model from in Germany . File:Orastie Celtic cauldron.JPG|Bronze cult wagon model from Orăştie in Romania. File:Speyer-2009-historisches-museum-142.jpg|Bronze wheels from in Germany, 900-800 BC File:Bronzerad von Stade.JPG|Bronze wheel from , Germany, File:Stader Bronzeräder cropped.jpg|Bronze wheels from Stade, Germany, File:AMGR - Hortfund Karbow 1.jpg|Chariot horse harness parts from Karbow, Germany.


Hoards
are very common in the Urnfield culture. The custom was abandoned at the end of the Bronze Age. They were often deposited in rivers and wet places like swamps. As these spots were often quite inaccessible, they most probably represent gifts to the gods. Other hoards contain either broken or miscast objects that were probably intended for reuse by bronze smiths. As Late Urnfield hoards often contain the same range of objects as earlier graves, some scholars interpret hoarding as a way to supply personal equipment for the hereafter. In the river Trieux, Côtes du Nord, complete swords were found together with numerous antlers of red deer that may have had a religious significance as well.


Iron
An knife or sickle from Ganovce in Slovakia, possibly dating from the 18th century BC, may be the earliest evidence of smelted iron in Central Europe. Other early finds include an iron ring from Vorwohlde (Germany) dating from c. the 15th century BC (Reinecke B), and an iron chisel from Heegermühle (Germany) dating from . During the late Bronze Age, iron was used to decorate the hilts of swords (Schwäbisch-Hall-Gailenkirchen, Unterkrumbach, Kr. Hersbruck), knives (Dotternhausen, Plettenberg, Germany), pins and some other ornaments. The Carpathian Basin was an early centre of iron technology, with iron artefacts dating from the 10th century BC, and possibly as early as the 12th century BC. Regular use of iron for weapons and tools in Central Europe began with the Hallstatt culture.


Economy
Cattle, pigs, sheep and goats were kept, as well as horses, dogs and . The were rather small, with a height of 1.20 m at the . Horses were not much bigger with a mean of 1.25 m.

was intensive in the Urnfield period. Probably open meadows were created for the first time, as shown by . This led to increased and sediment-load of the rivers. New crops and more intensive agrarian regimes are introduced, transforming landscapes on a large scale.

and were cultivated, together with and the . were used for oil or as a drug. and were cultivated for the first time in Hungary and Bohemia, and was already cultivated; further west it was only a noxious weed. seems to have been of reduced importance, maybe because mainly was used for clothes. , , , and were collected. Some rich graves contain bronze that have been interpreted as -sieves (Hart an der Alz). This beverage would have been imported from the South, but supporting evidence is lacking. In the settlement of Zug, remains of a broth made of and have been found. In the lower-Rhine urnfields, leavened was often placed on the pyre and burnt fragments have thus been preserved.

Wool was spun (finds of spindle whorls are common) and woven on the warp-weighted loom; bronze needles ( Unteruhldingen) were used for .

were used for trade and weighed metal was used as a form of payment or money.

(2026). 9780199572861, OUP Oxford. .
Bronze are also thought to have served as a form of .

There is some suggestion that the Urnfield culture is associated with a wetter climatic period than the earlier Tumulus cultures. This may be associated with the diversion of the mid-latitude winter storms north of the Pyrenees and the Alps, possibly associated with drier conditions in the Mediterranean basin.


Numerals
Large hoards of sickles dating from the Bronze Age have been excavated across central Europe which feature a range of cast markings. An analysis of the and other sickle hoards from Germany dating from the and Urnfield periods found that markings on the sickles constitute a numeral system related to the . According to the Halle State Museum of Prehistory:

The sickles also feature other marks or symbols which the archaeologist Christoph Sommmerfeld (1994) suggests may represent 'conceptual signs', or a type of proto-writing.

(1994). 9783110129281, de Gruyter. .
Markings on sickles and tools from across Bronze Age Europe have been interpreted by other authors as ownership marks, sign systems, number systems or "units of information" of unknown meaning.

'Counting marks' have also been identified on bronze armrings and ingots from the Urnfield period, possibly related to trade. Similar markings found on pottery have been interpreted as serving a calendar function.

Simple numerals in the form of lines and dots are found on identical 'ritual objects' from Haschendorf in Austria and Balkåkra in Sweden, which represent assembly instructions for the objects.

(2026). 9786060200581, Editura Mega. .
The decorated discs on both objects have been interpreted as solar calendars.

The archaeologist Mikkel Hansen (2019) has suggested that the Urnfield sickle-numeral system may be related to 'hand signs' found among from the Nordic Bronze Age, which may have a similar numerical and calendrical meaning.

(2026). 9788772190549, Aarhus Univeritetsforlag. .
(2026). 9783926982957, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. .


Golden hats
Four elaborate cone-shaped hats made from thin sheets of gold have been found in Germany and France dating from c. 1500-800 BC (the to Urnfield period). They may have been worn as ceremonial hats by individuals described by researchers as "king-priests" or .

The are covered in bands of ornaments or symbols along their whole length and extent. The symbols – mostly disks and concentric circles, sometimes wheels, crescents, pointed oval shapes and triangles – were punched using stamps, rolls or combs. The discs and concentric circles are interpreted as solar and possibly lunar symbols.


Calendar
An analysis of the Berlin Gold Hat found that the symbols numerically encode a lunisolar calendar based on the 19-year .
(2026). 9783926982957, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. .
According to "The symbols on the hat are a logarithmic table which enables the movements of the sun and the moon to be calculated in advance." Similar information is thought to be encoded on the hats from Ezelsdorf-Buch, Schifferstadt and Avanton.

According to the the Berlin Gold Hat could also be used to predict . Astronomers Rahlf Hansen and Christine Rink have argued that the Berlin hat encodes knowledge of Saros lunar eclipse cycles. Evidence for knowledge of these cycles is also known from the later Hallstatt period.

The various ornaments on the Berlin hat include a band of 19 'star and crescent' symbols, placed above 19 pointed-oval symbols which are thought to represent the planet . Similar 'Venus' symbols are found on the gold hats from Ezelsdorf-Buch and Schifferstadt. According to some researchers a Venus calendar is encoded on the gold hats. The apex of the Berlin Gold Hat is also decorated with an 8-pointed star, which was a symbol of the planet Venus and the goddess in ancient Mesopotamia, representing the 8-year Venus cycle.

Circular symbols similar to those on the gold hats are also found on gold bowls dating from the Middle to Late Bronze Age, including those from the . Some of these are thought to contain calendrical information.

Astronomical and calendrical interpretations have been proposed for a variety of other decorated artefacts dating from the Middle to Late Bronze Age, including gold artefacts from the in Germany, a gold diadem from in Hungary, gold appliqués from in Slovenia, gold discs and a gold belt from the Czech Republic,

(2026). 9788024635613, Charles University. .
the Trundholm Sun Chariot from Denmark, bronze discs from Germany and Denmark, and bronze urns from Germany, Denmark and Poland (including , Gevelinghausen and ).

The gold hats and diadems have been linked to the Casco de Leiro from Spain and the from Ireland, as well as to from Mycenae in Greece, all of which bear similar symbols.

In his analysis of the Velem diadem, archaeologist Gabor Ilon writes: "high-ranking members of the elite in Bronze Age Europe were proud owners of gold foil-covered costume adornments and symbols of status and power as well as of golden vessels, objects of social display, decorated with an identical set of symbols ... embodying what was presumably an identical and coherent spiritual background." According to the Musée d'Archaeologie Nationale, "these precious and remarkably executed objects evoke a complex society, undoubtedly strictly hierarchical, with advanced technical and astronomical knowledge, organized around work in the fields".

File:Cône d'Avanton, musée des Antiquités Nationales, 2010-03-26.jpg|Avanton Gold Hat, France, 1500-1200 BC File:Nürnberg Germanisches Nationalmuseum Goldhut 953.jpg|Ezelsdorf-Buch Gold Hat, Germany, c. 1000 BC File:Goldener hut schifferstadt hist mus speyer.jpg|Schifferstadt Gold Hat, Germany, 1400-1300 BC File:EzelsdorfBuch Golden Hat schematic.jpg|Ezelsdorf-Buch, schematic depiction of ornamention and stamps File:Schifferstadt Golden Hat schematic.jpg|Schifferstadt, schematic depiction of ornamention and stamps File:Lake Bled gold 2.jpg|Gold appliqués from , Slovenia, 13th-12th century BC.


Funerary customs

Graves
In the Tumulus period, multiple inhumations under barrows were common, at least for the upper levels of society. In the Urnfield period, inhumation and burial in single prevails, though some barrows exist.

In the earliest phases of the Urnfield period, man-shaped graves were dug, sometimes provided with a stone lined floor, in which the cremated remains of the deceased were spread. Only later, burial in urns became prevalent. Some scholars speculate that this may have marked a fundamental shift in people's beliefs or myths about life and the afterlife.

The size of the urnfields is variable. In Bavaria, they can contain hundreds of burials, while the largest cemetery in Baden-Württemberg in has only 30 graves. The dead were placed on , covered in their personal jewellery, which often shows traces of the fire and sometimes food-offerings. The cremated bone-remains are much larger than in the Roman period, which indicates that less wood was used. Often, the bones have been incompletely collected.

Most urnfields are abandoned with the end of the Bronze Age, only the Lower Rhine urnfields continue in use in the early Iron Age (Ha C, sometimes even D).

The cremated bones could be placed in simple pits. Sometimes the dense concentration of the bones indicates a container of organic material, sometimes the bones were simply shattered.

If the bones were placed in urns, these were often covered by a shallow bowl or a stone. In a special type of burial (bell-graves) the urns are completely covered by an inverted larger vessel. As graves rarely overlap, they may have been marked by wooden posts or stones. Stone-pacing graves are typical of the Unstrut group.


Grave gifts
The urn containing the cremated bones is often accompanied by other, smaller ceramic vessels, like bowls and cups. They may have contained food. The urn is often placed in the centre of the assemblage. Often, these vessels have not been placed on the pyre. Metal grave gifts include razors, weapons that often have been deliberately destroyed (bent or broken), bracelets, pendants and pins. Metal grave gifts become rarer towards the end of the Urnfield culture, while the number of hoards increase. Burnt animal bones are often found, they may have been placed on the pyre as food. The marten bones in the grave of may have belonged to a garment (pelt). or (Pfahlbautönnchen) are luxury items.


Upper-class graves
Upper-class burials were placed in wooden chambers, rarely stone or chambers with a stone-paved floor and covered with a or . The graves contain especially finely made pottery, animal bones, usually of pigs, sometimes gold rings or sheets, and in exceptional cases miniature wagons. Some of these rich burials contain the remains of more than one person. In this case, women and children are normally seen as sacrifices. Until more is known about the status distribution and the social structure of the late Bronze Age, this interpretation should be viewed with caution, however. Towards the end of the Urnfield period, some bodies were burnt in situ and then covered by a barrow, reminiscent of the burial of as described by and the burial of (with the additional element). The (c. 9th century BC) has been described as a "Homeric burial" due to its close similarity to contemporary elite burials in Greece and Italy.
(2026). 9783910011922, Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum.
In the early Iron Age, inhumation became the rule again.


Cult
An obsession with waterbirds is indicated by numerous pictures and three-dimensional representations. Combined with the hoards deposited in rivers and swamps, it indicates religious beliefs connected with water. This has led some scholars to believe in serious droughts during the late Bronze Age. Sometimes the water-birds are combined with circles, the so-called sun-barque or solar boat motif. Moon-shaped clay or '' are thought to have a religious significance, as well as crescent shaped razors.

The earthwork enclosure in Germany (c. 1200-800 BC) was a cult site with a possible calendar function, similar to earlier sites such as Pömmelte in Germany and in Britain with which it shares similar proportions and circular design.

The Kyffhäuser caves in contain headless skeletons and animal bones that have been interpreted as sacrifices. Other deposits include grain, knotted vegetable fibres and hair and bronze objects (axes, pendants and pins). The -caves () have yielded comparative material.

, Germany]]
-head pins, Germany]]


Genetics
A genetic study published in Nature in March 2015 examined the remains of an Urnfield male buried in , Germany ca 1100-1000 BC. He was found to be a carrier of the paternal haplogroup R1a1a1b1a2 and the maternal haplogroup H23.

A genetic study published in Science in March 2019 found a significant increase in - ancestry in during the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The authors of the study suggested that the spread of the Urnfield culture was associated with this transition, during which the may have emerged. A Celtiberian male examined in the study was found to be a carrier of the paternal haplogroup I2a1a1a.

==Gallery==

, Switzerland
(2026). 9783926982957, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg.
]]
, France.]]
with symbols, Hungary]]
, Germany]]
.]]
, Austria, c. 1200 BC.]]
, Germany]]
, Germany]]
circular earthwork, Germany]]
, Germany]]


See also


External links


Bibliography
  • J. M. Coles/A. F. Harding, The Bronze Age in Europe (London 1979).
  • G. Weber, Händler, Kieger, Bronzegießer (Kassel 1992).
  • Ute Seidel, Bronzezeit. Württembergisches Landesmuseum Stuttgart (Stuttgart 1995).
  • Konrad Jażdżewski, Urgeschichte Mitteleuropas (Wrocław 1984)
  • Association Abbaye de Daoulas (eds.), Avant les Celtes. L'Europe a l'age du Bronze (Daoulas 1988).
  • Frans Theuws, Nico Roymans (eds.), Land and ancestors: cultural dynamics in the Urnfield period and the Middle Ages in the southern Netherlands, Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, Amsterdam University Press, 1999, .

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