Spätlatènezeitliche Germanen in Süddeutschland

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to compare the written records about Celts and ancient Germans during the first millenium BC with the archaeological finds and features and to interpret them – a highly controversial topic with researchers for decades. When checking the written records, it becomes clear there is meagre evidence that the Celts were in Southern Germany. The most certain proof is the Boios inscription of Manching (Lt D1) (Fig. 4). The contemporary statements of Caesar form the basis for the ancient Germans. Celtic place names have survived only in the western and southern peripheral regions of southern Germany. To classify the archaeological finds and features, it is crucial that they are dated in absolute terms. This is carried out on the basis of dendrochronology and coins of the Roman republic. An analysis of the cultural development on this basis shows that between Lt D1 (Oppida culture) and Lt D2 (south-east Bavarian group) around 80 BC there was a break which is unrivalled in its intensity in the whole of the prehistory of Bavaria (Fig. 21). Southern Bavaria was realigning itself at the time towards the north (i. e. central Germany), where a cultural continuity is evident. On the other hand, there is a tangible continuity of the Oppida culture in central Switzerland from Lt D1 to Lt D2. With the exception of the peripheral regions, the Oppida culture is present in southern Germany only until Lt D1. In Baden-Württemberg, there are hardly any finds during Lt D2. The break in culture and the gap in finds in southern Germany are interpreted as a change of population from the Celts to the ancient Germans.