Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY - Gábor ILON: Celtic period fortifitations and an experiment to reconstruct the rampart - Gór (Vas county)

Somewhat farther away, at Sopron-Várhegy (Burgstall) in Győr-Sopron-Mosón county, E. Patek excavated Late Celtic (LT D) ramparts built over Early Iron Age constructions (PATEK 1977: 40-41, Taf. 14. la; PATEK 1982: 130, 132. Figs. 6, 10). She cut through the rampart in trenches V 1-3 and Z 1-2 in a width of 2.5 m. In the earth construction, traces of timber and pieces of stone were observed, suggestive of some kind of a structure which could not be further reconstructed. At Budapest-Gellérthegy, Gy. Nováki and M. Pethő excavated the fortifications, and at least their results have been published (NOVÁKI-PETŐ 1988: 83-99, especially 92-93, and Fig. 2, 7-8, 10). They found two periods of a Late Celtic rampart built on a Late Bronze Age (?) construction. The earlier period was represented by an earth-timber construction, 560 cm wide at the base. The base of the later period fortification was 600 cm wide. It had a 110 cm thick stone wall and an earth-and-timber construction. The narrow (1 m wide) trenches did not permit the structural reconstruction of timber elements. M. Párducz carried out excavations in East-Hungary, at Miskolc-Bükkszentlászló (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county) in 1958 (B. HELLEBRANDT 1992: 33-74). Nothing significant could be said about the structure of the rampart he found, because only a narrow (2 m wide) trench was opened. That feature, dated to the Late Celtic period, had rested on Early Iron Age constructions.From among excavations outside Hungary, I will mention only those where the structure of the construction was observed. At Schwarzenbach in Austria (URBAN 1994: 16, 27, 186 and Fig. 1-2, 51-53, 87), a stone wall was found placed in front of an earth fill, with a horizontal timber structure. The fortification at Weiz-Kulm was made of the combination of a palisade wall and earth. At LinzFreinberg (dated to LT C2-D1, 260/240-110/60 +/- 10 years), a shallow earth rampart and the ruins of an abraded stone wall were found during the cutting of a fortification raised over a Late Bronze Age urn grave cemetery. At Braunsberg at Hamburg (URBAN 1995 511-514 and Fig. 41, 58, 63, 96, 101, 133, 209), the post holes and ditches of the upright elements of a timber construction and the non-identifiable traces of a horizontal structure were unearthed both during earlier and more recent excavations. The former were placed in two rows paralleling the axis of the rampart. Their distances measured 1.7m, 2 m, 2-2.5 m, 3-3.5 m and 4 m respectively. The oppidum functioned during the LT C2-D1 period. The oppidum at Tfisov in Bohemia had a stone-timber construction (BfEN 1966 Fig. 3b). In the case of the oppidum at Hrazany, the excavator observed five horizons. The early period of the two period rampart (LT C2, 150-100 ВС) had a timber-stone construction, while during the later one (LT D, cca. 100-50 ВС) another stone wall was raised in front of the former. At the gates, three fortification phases from the Celtic period could be identified. No structural observation was made that would be of immediate relevance to the topic under discussion here (JANSOVÁ 1986: 61-64, III. 1992: 178-182). The base width of the two-period (early one „mums gallicus") rampart at Manching in Germany, dated to LT C-D, was 25-30 m. At present, it is 2-4.3 m high. At the published eastern gate, the post holes suggestive of the vertical elements of the structure followed irregularly at distances between 2 and 5 m. During the course of reconstruction, however, no traces of upright elements could be found(KRAMER-SCHUBERT 1970: 3637, 43 and Fig. 2, 4-6). B. Palisade fencing The trace of a palisade (timber) fencing from the LT period could be observed along 15 m in sections K-L-M-4. Large post holes were deepened in its ditch (Fig. 7). The inner 231