Silvia Wiesinger’s research while affiliated with Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) and other places

The Late Bronze Age site of Prigglitz-Gasteil provides a wealth of proxies for the reconstruction of wood use, past vegetation, and forest management at a copper production site. In this paper we have combined charcoal analyses from domestic contexts, an investigation of mining timbers found in the backfill of the opencast copper ore mine, and a preliminary study of a pollen profile from the nearby Saubachgraben mire. The com-plementary information from these different contexts allowed a reconstruction of the impact of settlement and mining activities on the natural mixed forest around the site, chiefly composed of beech, spruce, and fir. Forest clearing affected mainly spruce. Despite the dominance of spruce among the conifers, however, fir wood was exclusively selected for the production of mining timbers, which were used to support the opencast mine walls or for water management constructions. The gathering of firewood for domestic hearths and metal workshop furnaces followed the principle of least effort, leading to a secondary succession with pioneer spe-cies in the immediate surroundings of the mining settlement. The investigated wood and charcoal finds indi-cated a systematic and selective use of the wood species occurring in the surrounding forest. At the current state of the investigations, there is no evidence of scarcity or shortage in the wood supply.

This paper starts from theoretical and methodical considerations about the role of archaeobotanical finds in culinary archaeology, emphasizing the importance of processed cereal preparations as the “missing link” between crop and consumption. These considerations are exemplified by the discussion of abundant new archaeobotanical data from the Late Bronze Age copper mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, situated at the easternmost fringe of the Alps. At this site, copper ore mining in opencast mines took place from the 11th until the 9th century BCE (late Urnfield Culture), as well as copper processing (beneficiation, smelting, refining, casting) on artificial terrain terraces. During archaeological excavations from 2010 to 2014, two areas of the site were investigated and sampled for archaeobotanical finds and micro-debris in a high-resolution approach. This paper aims at 1) analysing the food plant spectrum at the mining settlement of Prigglitz-Gasteil basing on charred plant macroremains, 2) investigating producer/consumer aspects of Prigglitz-Gasteil in comparison to the Bronze Age metallurgical sites of Kiechlberg, Klinglberg, and Mauken, and 3) reconstructing the miners’ and metallurgists’ diets. Our analyses demonstrate that the plant-based diet of the investigated mining communities reflects the general regional and chronological trends rather than particular preferences of the miners or metallurgists. The lack of chaff, combined with a high occurrence of processed food, suggests that the miners at Prigglitz-Gasteil were supplied from outside with ready-to-cook and processed grain, either from adjacent communities or from a larger distance. This consumer character is in accordance with observation from previously analysed metallurgical sites. Interestingly, the components observed in charred cereal products (barley, Hordeum vulgare, and foxtail millet, Setaria italica) contrast with the dominant crop taxa (broomcorn millet, Panicum miliaceum, foxtail millet, and lentil, Lens culinaris). Foraging of fruits and nuts also significantly contributed to the daily diet.

The settlement on Königsberg near Heimschuh (Leibnitz, Styria, Austria) In 2016, the Department of Archaeology & Coin Cabinet at the Universalmuseum Joanneum launched a new research project titled “The Königsberg at Heimschuh – a prehistoric fortress above the Sulm”. The settlement on the Nestelberg (“Königsberg”) at Heimschuh has for some time been known as the key point from which access from Murtal to Sulm and Saggautal was controlled. The ALS data from GIS-Styria showed that the settlement could be divided into two areas, the core settlement area on the hill plateau and the outer bailey on the shallow northern slope in the direction of the Sulm river. Both areas were protected by earth walls. Archaeological excavations in 2016 and 2017 focused on the outer bailey, the rampart dividing the bailey from the core settlement and parts of the core settlement. The investigations on Königsberg have provided new insights into the dating of the settlement and architecture of the fortifications. The hilltop was settled during the Urnfield period between 1000 and 800 BC, which was also confirmed by 14C dates from a burned layer in the inner wall, and reused in the Hallstatt period, as a hearth dated between 800 and 400 BC shows. For archaeobotanical investigations sediment samples from nine stratigraphic units were analysed by A. G. Heiss, S. Wiesinger and M. Popovtschak. They represent a burned layer in the wall, fireplaces, a post hole and various cultural layers in the core settlement. The spectrum of cultivated plants mainly comprises cereals, dominated by grains of foxtail millet (Setaria italica). In addition, remains of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), naked wheat (Triticum aestivum s.l./durum/turgidum), emmer/spelt (Triticum dicoccum/spelta) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) are preserved. Among some rather fragmented seeds of pulses only such of lentil (Lens culinaris) are clearly determined. Moreover, remains of wild plants indicate weeds, predominantely growing in summer crops, and some intentionally collected wild fruits, e. g. hazelnut (Corylus avellana), cinquefoil/strawberry (Potentilla/Fragaria), sloe (Prunus spinosa) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus).

A burnt-offering site near Koppentretalm (Liezen, Styria, Austria) Koppentretalm archaeological site is located in Koppental near the Upper Austrian-Styrian border. From 2004 to 2007 and in 2017, archaeological prospections and excavations led here to the exploration of a wooden building from the Roman Age and a burnt-offering site dating to the transition of the Middle Bronze Age to the early Urnfield period. The investigations were carried out by the Federal Monuments Office Austria (Bundesdenkmalamt) in cooperation with the “Archaeological Association Salzkammergut” (AAS). Of particular interest are the remains of the burntoffering site, which is closely related to a prehistoric path through the Koppen- and Kainischtal and was of central importance for the supply of the Hallstatt salt mine in the Bronze Age. The finds originate from massive layers containing charcoal resulting from sacrificial acts and the deposition of votive offerings. It is a larger complex comprising ceramics and nearly 200 metal finds, including more than 30 complete cloakpins. It is a very important site for the Province of Styria, because it is only the second excavated burntoffering site found in Styria and one of the easternmost extensions of a sacral phenomenon that is mainly restricted to the central Alpine region. Two sediment samples taken from the central areas of two burned layers were selected for archaeobotanical investigations. These layers date back to 1500–1220 BC, as previous radiocarbon analyses based on charcoal revealed. Mainly macroremains of various woody plant species were identified reflecting the natural vegetation of the surroundings. As far as cultivated plants are concerned, only broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) was documented by charred seeds as well as by small amorphous charred objects containing broomcorn husks. Such remains are assumed to be remnants of a porridge-like cereal product. They have also been recorded from other Late Bronze Age burnt-offering sites in Alpine regions.

Early medieval finds from Kleinklein (Leibnitz, Styria, Austria) Early medieval finds in Styria are very rare, so it was quite surprising that on a terrace above the river Saggau, on the same site as the Roman villa mentioned previously, remains from that period were discovered during campaigns carried out in 2017 and 2018. In the case of Kleinklein, we are dealing with an early medieval re-use of the villa rustica in the 9th and 10th century. In the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, two pits were excavated about 30 cm below the topsoil of the farmland and a layer of rubble mixed with modern, early medieval and Roman material. These consist of a larger round oval pit and a slightly smaller irregularly shaped pit. In addition to those larger pits, two smaller, shallower pits were excavated parallel to each other. These finds, probably serving as waste pits, were dug into the Roman cultural layer, at the same time superimposing the southwest corner of a Roman building. These activities secondarily relocated the slags, which landed in the waste pit and cannot be assigned to the early Middle Ages. In addition to the ceramic material, numerous animal bone fragments were recovered which were examined by B. Toškan (RC SASA). Several of the bones are attributable to domestic cattle, domestic pigs, chickens and sheep or goats. In addition to that, scientists discovered bones from wild animals such as deer and a wild boar, and most interestingly, the preserved eggshell of an ostrich. Archaeobotanical investigations of the filling of the largest of the four waste pits revealed a rather limited spectrum of cultivated plants consisting of barley (Hordeum vulgare), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and probably rye (Secale cereale).