Auf dem Weg von oder nach Hallstatt?

Neue Forschungen zur Rolle der hallstattzeitlichen Seeufersiedlung in Traunkirchen (Bez. Gmunden / AT)

Abstract

On the Way from or to Hallstatt? New Research on the Role of the Hallstatt Period Lakeside Settlement in Traunkirchen (Bez. Gmunden / AT)
The only known lakeside settlement of the Hallstatt period in Austria is located on a peninsula of Lake Traunsee. Due to its geographic location as well as grave and settlement finds, a function in the trade of salt from the Hallstatt salt mines, located about 33 km south of Traunkirchen, has long been assumed. By means of minimally invasive surveys under water and on land, it was possible in 2020 and 2021 to clarify the extent and thickness of the Early Iron
Age settlement layers in Traunkirchen and their exact dating. The drillings provide evidence of a former bay of Lake Traunsee, which offered an ideal natural harbour at the tip of the exposed peninsula. Based on the new survey results and extensive research, it becomes apparent that Traunkirchen did not acquire its importance during the Hallstatt period primarily as a reloading point in transporting salt, but rather as a starting point for supplying the salt mines with food and as a base for load carriers, pack animals or boatmen.