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 Stillfried hill fort represents one of the most important archaeological sites in eastern Austria. One principal occupation phase dates to the Late Urnfield Culture (900–750 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. 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 (so-called Hügelfeld). 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) as the presence of charred layers of seed remains at their bottom shows us. 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.

According to preliminary results, the pits of the ›Hügelfeld‹ show a comparable sequence of in-filled layers. Exceptional remarkable are depositions of wild and domestic animals on intentionally created platforms in some of the pits (deer, wolves, wild boars and domesticated pigs, hares; see FWF-project No. 22755). Part of these procedures was the accompanying deposition of organic offerings such as grain, rivershells, fish and parts of antlers. It is reasonable to assume that these pits were not used as middens after the discontinuation of their primary function as storage facilities; but instead they had to be attended by rituals. By analogy to ethnographic studies we can assume, that the mode of construction, usage and termination of such important prehistoric buildings like public storages followed predetermined rules and protocols.

In the course of the proposed project all excavated trapezoidal pits dating to the Late Urnfield Culture and to the Early Hallstatt Period from ›Hügelfeld‹ 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 ›Hügelfeld‹ (site ›Bügeleisen‹, ›Küssler-Acker‹) 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.

Projektleitung

Cooperations

Duration

since 2015

Funding

FWF [Project P 28005]