Ausgrabungen im Archiv – Latènezeitliche Schwertgräber des 3. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. aus dem Rhein-Main-Gebiet

Abstract

This contribution focuses on three sword graves from the 3rd century BC in the Rhine Main Area, excavated in Lorsch, Darmstadt, and Mühlheim am Main-Lämmerspiel between 1854 and 1927; most of the finds were lost during World War II. By including historical sources (copies of finds, inventory registers, photographs, written archive materials) from the LEIZA in Mainz – the former Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum – the finds can be reconstructed and analysed in detail. This provides important information on graves with funerary weapons of the late Early and early Middle La Tène Period on both sides of the northern Upper Rhine. Thanks to this information, our transregional assessment of such burials between northeastern France and southwestern Slovakia has also significantly improved. Consulting archive materials of the LEIZA, in combination with sources from the museums that used to house the originals or still do, promises an additional considerable increase in our knowledge of other eras and ancient European regions. This deserves our attention, given that the resource of archaeological sources is not inexhaustible.
Translated by Tora von Collani / Textability