Well-preserved early Celtic wooden tomb discovered – History

An excavation near Riedlingen in southwestern Germany has unearthed a well-preserved early Celtic wooden burial chamber. It is the second fully preserved Celtic burial chamber discovered in Germany. The other burial chamber was discovered in 1890, so there are few records and little excavation work. Only part of the contents remain.

The chamber was discovered in the center of a massive tomb over 200 feet in diameter. Today it stands 6.5 feet tall, but the original mound was more than 20 feet tall. These dimensions classify it as a rare royal cemetery, built by the early Celts between 620 and 450 BC for those of the highest social class. The mound was tunneled by looters in ancient times. All the royal tombs of this period were so large in the landscape that thieves targeted them almost immediately after the dead were buried, but none have so far been found intact.

Often the same is true of the burial chamber itself, which, although structurally sound, will decompose more quickly over time after tunnel boring machines damage the wooden structure and expose the inside of the mound to the air. The tomb has been well preserved thanks to the anaerobic, waterlogged soil of Riedlingen, located in the Danube plain.

The room is made of solid oak and is 11 feet wide by 13 feet long. It has a solid plank floor and the walls are made up of three upright planks that interlock at the corners. Beams were inserted at the midpoint of the long wall to support the weight of the ceiling. Four wooden columns are inserted into the soil through grooves in the upper ceiling beams. The ceiling is heavy, built of two layers of split oak planks. Some of the planks are wider than the tomb itself. Two more split pieces of wood were placed on the middle top of the ceiling to form the ridge. The massive ceiling collapsed at some point, pushed down by the weight of the mound of earth above.

The wood is currently undergoing dendrochronological testing, which will allow researchers to pinpoint the precise age at which the oak trees used to build the rooms were felled. However, a wooden artifact left by the tomb’s builder that looked like a cricket bat has been dated, with the oak tree used to make it being felled in 585 BC. This date may also apply to the burial chamber, making it only two years older than the tomb of the Celtic princess of Beiterburg that was discovered a few years ago at the foot of the Celtic hill fort of Heuneburg.

The looters cleared everything they could get their hands on in a systematic manner, but archaeologists did find decorative bronze nails and some iron nails believed to be from a four-wheeled vehicle that was included in the Among the tombs of other princes during the period. The remains were determined to be in good condition and belonged to a male between 15 and 20 years old, 63-66 inches tall.

A secondary grave was found near the surface at the edge of the mound. It contains the skeleton of a 25-35 year old male. The looters must have missed it, because his tomb contained two bronze coat buttons and a crystal, possibly an amulet he wore around his neck. A few feet away were two clay containers containing ashes. They are older than the log cabins, dating to around 600 BC, shortly before the mounds began to be built.

Excavation will continue in the coming weeks and is expected to be completed this year. Excavation and analysis will use the latest excavation, documentation and restoration techniques and be conducted in close collaboration between archaeologists, restorers and natural scientists. Dr. Roberto Tapini (LAD), who led the excavation scientifically at the site, emphasized: “The investigations and analyzes that will be carried out after the excavations are completed will lead to further important discoveries, in particular regarding the question of who this landmark monument belongs to .The tomb was built for.”

Professor Dr. Claus Wolf, Chairman of the LAD, concluded: “In the coming years, the workshops of the National Monuments Conservation Office will carefully recycle, preserve and restore all the wood in the burial chamber so that the completely reconstructed chamber can be Presented to the general public as a museum exhibition.”