The heavenly bodies of Magdalenenberg The chieftain’s grave of Villingen-Schwenningen – a calendar from the Hallstatt period

Abstract

The general excavation map of the Hallstatt period tumulus of Magdalenenberg near Villingen-Schwenningen shows 136 tombs arranged in a circle around the ruler’s tomb at the center. The composition of these graves exactly reflects the constellations observable at the moment of the summer solstice. The posts installed before the erection of the barrow were used to record the lunar nodes’ cycles. The earliest evidence for recording lunar nodes’ cycles occurs in the Hallstatt period (as at the Glauberg). The historical
astronomical data attest to a construction of the calendar during the summer of 618 B. C. This coincides with the existing dendrochronological datings.