A Monument in the Landscape
The Hochmichele tumulus is one of the largest Iron Age burial mounds in Central Europe. Located about 3.5 kilometers west of the fortified settlement of Heuneburg, it stands today at a height of about 13.5 meters with a diameter of 85 meters. The mound is part of a "burial site" that includes more than 50 burial mounds surrounding the Heuneburg, which some researchers identify as the Celtic city of "Pyrene" mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus.
Construction of the mound occurred in several stages during the late Hallstatt period, from roughly the late 7th to the late 6th century BCE. The core of the monument contains a primary central burial chamber made of oak planks. Over time, subsequent burials were added, and the mound was enlarged, eventually containing at least 13 individual graves. Archaeological excavations began in the 1930s and continued from 1954 to 1956. After the investigations, the tumulus was restored to its original estimated dimensions in 1960.
Grave Goods and Global Connections
The graves within the Hochmichele show extensive trade networks and the wealth of the Celtic elite. Grave VI, an undisturbed chamber dating to the mid-sixth century BCE, contained the burials of a man and a woman. They were interred with a four-wheeled wagon, two horse harnesses, bronze vessels, and a quiver with 51 iron arrowheads.
Among the most significant finds are textiles, including fragments of what are believed to be Chinese silk. These fabrics show a trade connection spanning thousands of kilometers, linking Early Iron Age Europe with Zhou dynasty China. Other imported goods found in the burials include amber from the Baltic region. The presence of these materials shows the ability of the Heuneburg elites to acquire exotic goods from distant lands. Not all burials were for adults; one wealthy secondary burial contained a two-to-four-year-old girl who was interred with gold-plated fibulae and gold pendants. While the main central chamber was looted in antiquity, the surviving grave goods from the secondary burials provide a detailed picture of Hallstatt culture's material wealth and long-distance trade.