The Hohe Birga is a wooded hill north of Birgitz that slopes steeply down opposite the Inn valley - and one of the most important and fascinating sites in Tyrol when it comes to the culture of the Rhaetians over two millennia ago.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
The remains of a Rhaetian settlement from the later Iron Age had already been discovered there in 1937; intensive research followed in the 1940s and 1950s. Afterwards, however, the site was forgotten for almost half a century, and the remains that had been discovered once again became overgrown with vegetation. The Institute for Archaeology at the University of Innsbruck commenced excavations again - which were continued this year.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
This year's campaign, in which students from the University of Innsbruck were also involved, uncovered two houses more than 2000 years old in the east of the hill. Excavation director Florian Muller refers to the many striking features: "In the first house, which was deepened into the slope, massive corridors of dry-stone walls (large stones stacked on top of each other) can be seen, which once led into the houses. In the vestibule, the original floor was made of greenish-yellowish stamped clay. A completely different type of construction can be seen in the actual interior: flat, large paving stones on which wooden walls made of horizontal planks were placed. With around 30 square metres plus anteroom and corridor, the house was very stately - much larger than, for example, the houses in the Middle Ages", Muller explains.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
In order to protect these wooden walls (which are no longer preserved today), they were once backfilled with stone material. In the same excavation pit, however, garbage, bones, ceramics and other items were also thrown in - particularly exciting for archaeologists. These are finds that today help in the chronological classification of the houses.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
The terraced settlement probably existed from around 300 BC to the turn of the century - and was made up of an estimated 15 to 20 houses in which 80 to 100 people lived together. The end probably came quite suddenly with the conquest by the Romans, as it did for the Rhaetian culture in the Alps as a whole.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
The second house, even larger in size, is particularly exciting in this context: remains of charred beams were discovered there - together with clay plaster that trapped the heat - thus providing the first evidence of a house destroyed by fire.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
The archaeologists also discovered many, sometimes spectacular small finds: these range from ceramic and clay pieces in large quantities to bronze, coral or glass bead garment pins to a fragment of a glass bracelet: "This was transparent, but was smeared with a paste to simulate coloured glass," Muller explains.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
Of particularly interest is a bronze pendant called a "Klapperblech" (rattling plate) that was worn on a chain. The researchers had already uncovered two small silver coins last year. These were not produced by the Ratern, but come from southern France. Such finds show for Muller that the settlement was "in some form of exchange" with the outside world.
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| Credit: F. M. Muller/University of Innsbruck |
The archaeologists will return next summer to continue work on the second burnt house. "In addition to the houses that have now been uncovered and the two others that were excavated a few years ago, there are probably up to 20 other houses in the Hohe Birga area," Muller said.
Source: Tiroler Tageszeitung [trsl. TANN, July 31, 2019]
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