Geoarchaeology of two Hessian vitrified ramparts: Glauberg and Altkönig

Abstract

The Glauberg and the Altkönig are two hilltop settlements in Hesse which were used roughly contemporarily at the end of the Late Hallstatt and the Early La Tène period. Both fortifications were protected by timber-framed walls of Altkönig-Preist type and were destroyed in a fire. At this occasion the phenomenon of melted stones occurred as was demonstrated at the Glauberg in several layers of the core of the wall, at the Altkönig in the area of the gate of the inner circular rampart. Whereas the analysed samples from the Glauberg are melted stones from the fire of the Late Hallstatt wall I and its core, the samples from the Altkönig result from the production process of iron the date of which currently remains uncertain.