Urnfield
The
Urnfield culture (c.
1300 BC -
750 BC) is late bronze-age culture of central
Europe. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in
urns which were then buried in fields. The Urnfield culture followed the
Tumulus culture and was succeeded by the
Hallstatt culture.
In some areas like south-western Germany, the date is taken as 1200 BC (beginning of Ha A), but the Bronze D
Riegsee-phase already contains cremations. As the change between the middle
bronze age and the urnfield culture was gradual, this is a matter of definition.The Urnfield culture covers the phases Hallstatt A and B (Ha A and B) in
Paul Reinecke's chronological system, not to be confused with the
Hallstatt culture (Ha C and D) of the following
Iron Age. This corresponds to the Phases Montelius III-IV in the North. 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.):
| date BC
|
|---|
| BzD | 1300-1200 |
| Ha A1 | 1200-1100 |
| Ha A2 | 1100-1000 |
| HaB1 | 1000-800 |
| HaB2 | 900-800 |
| Ha B3 | 800-750 |
The existence of the Ha B3-phase is contested, as the material consists of female burials only. As can be seen by the smug 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
tumulus culture. Change is gradual, in the
pottery as well as the burial rites. In some parts of Germany, cremation and inhumation existed contemporaneously (facies Wölfersheim). Some graves contain a combination of tumulus-culture pottery and Urnfield
swords (Kressborn, 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,
Seine and
Rhône, certain fords contain deposits from the late Neolithic onwards up to the Urnfield period.
The origin of the cremation rite is commonly seen on the
Balkans, where it was popular in the eastern part of the tumulus-culture. Some cremations are found in the
Proto-Lusatian and
Trzciniec-culture already.
The Urnfield culture is found from western Hungary to eastern France, from the
Alps almost to the coast of the North Sea.Local groups, mainly differentiated by pottery, include:
* Knovíz-culture in western and Northern
Bohemia, southern Thuringia and North-eastern Bavaria
* Milavce-culture in southeastern Bohemia
* Velatice-Baierdorf in
Moravia and
Austria* ?aka in western
Slovakia* Northeast-Bavarian Group, divided into a lower
Bavarian and an upper
Palatinate group
* Unstrut group in
Thuringia, a mixture between Knovíz-culture and the South-German Urnfield culture.South-German Urnfield culture
* Lower-Main-Swabian group in southern Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, including the
Marburger,
Hanauer, lower
Main and
Friedberger facies.
* Rhenish-Swiss group in Rheinland-Pfalz,
Switzerland and eastern
France, (abbreviated RSFO in French).Lower-Rhine urnfields
* Lower Hessian Group
* North-Netherlands-Westphalian group
* Northwest-Group in the Dutch Delta region.Sometimes the distribution of artefacts 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.
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 graves 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
Dautmergen has only 30 graves.The dead were placed on
pyres, 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.
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
Seddin may have belonged to a garment (pelt).
Amber or
glass beads (Pfahlbautönnchen) are luxury items.
Upper-class burials were placed in wooden chambers, rarely stone
cists or chambers with a stone-paved floor and covered with a
barrow or
cairn. The graves contain especially finely made pottery, animal bones, usually pork, sometimes gold rings or sheets, 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.Towards the end of the Urnfield period, some bodies were burnt in situ and then covered by a barrow, reminiscent of the burial of
Patroclus as described by
Homer, the burial of
Beowulf (with the additional
ship burial element). In the early Iron age, inhumation became the rule again.
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.
Pottery kilns 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-
bronze with riveted handles (type Jenišovice) and large
cauldrons with cross attachments. Wooden vessels have only been preserved in waterlogged contexts, for example from Auvernier (Neuchâtel), but may have been quite widespread.
Tools
Typical bronze tools include winged and socketed
axes. In the North, stone axes were still in use.
Weapons
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
ricasso. The
hilt 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 sword have tanged blades and probably had a wooden or bone 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
shields,
cuirasses,
greaves and
helmets is extremely 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
Eastern Alps and imitate wooden shields. Irish bogs have yielded examples of leather shields (Clonbrinn, Co. Wexford).Bronze cuirasses are known since Bronze D (?aka, 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 Ivani? (Croatia) and the Paulus cave near
Beuron (Germany).
Chariots
About a dozen
wagon-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 (
Vaudt), Switzerland. In Alz, the chariot had been placed on the pyre, pieces of bone are attached to the partially melted metal of the axles. Bronze (one-part) s 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
Stade (Germany), a wooden spoked wheel from Mercurago, Italy. Wooden dish-wheels have been excavated at
Corcelettes, Switzerland and the
Wasserburg-Buchau, Germany (diameter 80 cm).
In Milavče near
Domažlice,
Bohemia, a four-wheeled miniature bronze wagon bearing a large
cauldron (diameter 30 cm) contained a cremation. This exceptionally rich burial was covered by a
barrow. The wagon from
Acholshausen (Bavaria) comes from a male burial.
Such wagons are known from the
Nordic Bronze Age as well. The wagon from
Skallerup, Denmark, contained a cremation as well. At Pekatel (Kr. Schwerin) in
Mecklenburg a cauldron-wagon and other rich grave goods accompanied an inhumation under a barrow (
Montelius III/IV). Another example comes from
Ystad 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 (Dupljaja, Vojvodina, Serbia).
The
Lusatian chariot from Burg (
Brandenburg, Germany) has three
wheels on a single
axle, on which waterfowl perch. The grave of
Gammertingen (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.
Iron
An iron ring from Vorwohlde (Kr. Grafschaft Diepholz, Germany) dating to the 15th century(BC?) is the earliest evidence of iron in Central Europe. During the late Bronze age, Iron was used to decorate the hilts of swords (Schwäbisch-Hall-Gailenkirchen, Unterkrumbach, Kr. Hersbruck) and knives (Dotternhausen, Plettenberg, Germany) and pins. The use of
iron for weapons and domestic items in Europe only started in the following
Hallstatt culture. The widespread use of iron for tools only occurred in the late
Iron Age La Tène culture.
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UKRazor.jpg |
crescent shaped urnfield razor
