The Late Bronze Age wagon-grave of Königsbronn (Lkr. Heidenheim)

Abstract

In this paper the finds from the Late Bronze Age wagon-grave of Königsbronn (Landkreis Heidenheim), which was discovered as early as 1971, are for the first time presented in their entirety and evaluated. Whether it is actually a grave and not a funerary deposit, cannot be stated with certainty, since the finds came to light by chance during building work. The context was mostly destroyed and cremated remains or bones are unknown from the site. The inventory consists of about 70 bronze objects and 13 potsherds, whose typo-chronological analysis provides a secure dating to the early Bronze Age D. The majority of the bronze objects can be identified as accessories of a horse-drawn decorative cart of the Hart an der Alz Group. Moreover, there are two each of curl-bits and bit mouthpieces, as well as five phalerae as parts of the horse equipment. The remaining objects belong to weaponry (lance, perhaps a dagger, too) and costume, as well as a small, block-like weight. Several costume parts can be attributed to the female realm and thus point to a double burial.