Urnfield Culture Networks

The aim of this project is to take an innovative and explorative approach to understanding of the past in the Balkans by assembling the results of cross-border and diachronic archaeological research with the use of responsive, wide-ranging visualization tools.

The research project uses various interdisciplinary methods to investigate the metal circulation in the Bronze Age societies in the western and central Balkans. The focus is on the exploitation of the local copper deposits, especially in Eastern Serbia, and the integration of local groups into the European exchange network for the raw material copper.

In this project, the technological background of the Bronze and Iron Age metal finds from the Republic of North Macedonia is examined using archaeological and archaeometallurgical methods. The analytical results provide the first evidence of the raw materials used and the existence of the various metallurgical networks.

The aim of Cremation Bronze Age Burials (CBAB) is the coordinated assessment of Late Bronze Age cremation burials in the (14th–9th century BC) in Europe based on a common, accessible database.

The expansion of the early Urnfield culture and in particular the so-called Baierdorf-Velatice complex between eastern Austria and northern Croatia is the focus of this project. In cooperation with the Institute of Archeology in Zagreb, the finds from this period (13th and 12th centuries BC) are analysed in terms of typology, fabrics and context.

The Stillfried hillfort represents one of the most important archaeological sites in Eastern Austria. A main phase of use dates back to the late Urnfield period (900–750 BC), when the plateau (23 hectares) was fortified by a mighty rampart with a ditch in front. The project is dedicated to the question of whether the central town of Stillfried with its numerous storage pits also served as a supraregional grain storage hub.

The main focus of this project lies on the pits with animal and human remains, which were discovered in the long-term excavations of the Stillfried site dating from the late Urnfield period. With the help of numerous scientific methods, these special findings with human and animal deposits are evaluated and interpreted.