Heuneburg is the name of an Iron Age hillfort located on a steep hill overlooking the Danube River in southern Germany.
The earliest settlement at the site occurred in the Middle Bronze Age, but about 650 BC, Heuneburg was extensively modified. Construction of the hillfort included a stone foundation about 10 feet wide and 1.5-3 feet high. Atop the foundation was a wall of mud-dried brick, reaching to about a total height of 13 feet. The mud brick and the presence of Greek amphorae at the site suggest a close connection with the Mediterranean trade network.
About 500 BC, Heuneburg was rebuilt to match Celtic models of hill fort design, with a wooden wall protected by a stone wall. The site was abandoned in the 6th century BC, and it remained unoccupied until circa AD 700.
Sources
Artifacts from the excavations are stored at the Heuneburg Museum, who operates a living village where visitors can see the reconstructed buildings. That webpage contains information in English (and German, Italian and French) on the latest research.
Egon Gersbach. 1996. Heuneburg. P. 275 in Brian Fagan (ed), The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
