Early Celtic ‘grave garden’ discovered in southwestern Germany

A rescue archaeological excavation in the town of Endingen in southwestern Germany on the border with France has uncovered an early Celtic burial site unique to the region. It is a type of Iron Age cemetery known as a graveyard, a planned burial site with a 50 x 50 sq ft trench surrounding it. Grave goods date the cemetery to the early Ratne period, around 1977. 450-250 BC

The Office of National Monuments Preservation (LAD) hired archaeologists to conduct an exploration of the site of a planned industrial expansion. Between April and July this year, a total of 18 people were found buried in 17 oval or rectangular graves. They gathered around a central tomb containing the remains of two men. One of the tombs is just outside the cemetery. One was dug into a perimeter trench.

Osteological examination of the skeletal remains revealed that at least eight of the deceased were adults, with about half the remainder being young adults and the other half being children. The young people in the cemetery garden are intentionally grouped by age, with sections specifically designed for young people and children.

Most of the ancient tombs have been stolen, and more than 60% of the tombs have been destroyed and have no grave goods. Notable artifacts found in unplundered tombs include a bronze brooch inlaid with coral, a bronze bracelet, a bracelet made of pyrozoite (combustible rock of organic origin), a silver finger ring, and two hollow bronze anklets.

Grave gardens with clear walled systems were not uncommon in late Iron Age and early Roman settings. “However, the early Celtic cemetery from Endingen is unique for Baden-Württemberg; not least because the burials of the bodies are so well preserved,” said [LAD archaeologist Marcel] El-Qasim. Only one contemporary, much smaller, cemetery with only two tombs is known in neighboring Alsace.

An assessment of the Endingen grave complex, in particular anthropological and other bioarchaeological investigations, will allow statements to be made about the age at death, sex, origin, family relationships, health, disease and dietary habits of the buried individuals. Furthermore, this will provide important information about the early Celtic populations south of the Upper Rhine.