The entire region and the steep mountains
surrounding lake Hallstatt were formed
by Dachstein Limestone which has its
origins in the Late Triassic period some 220 million years ago.
The lime sedimented
from the shallow tropical ocean which covered the area to a
thickness of thousand meters. A very special form of the
limestone became famous as “Hallstatt Limestone”.
Hallstatt also gave its name for an entire
prehistoric era and culture: the Hallstatt culture dominated a large area in Europe
(see gallery “Hallstatt culture
area”) in the Early Iron Age from the 8-6th century BC.
Together with the Later Iron Age La Tène culture (5-1st century BC) it defined what is
known as the Celtic culture, which was common and typical for many
small tribes in the a.m. area: their range of manufactured objects,
their believes and maybe their language(s) formed an essential part
of cultural identity even though there was never one Celtic people
or Celtic nation.
The wealth of the Hallstatt people of this particular area was linked
to salt mining as a heritage from the Bronze Age – salt
mining always determined all aspects of life as well as the
architectural and artistic material evidence. The salt deposits at
Hallstatt were formed by evaporation
about 250 Million years ago and during the Alpine orogeny the sedimentary rocks were folded: this is
how the salt got inside the Haselgebirge (Hasel
mountains). The rock contains about 20% to 70% salt, the rest is clay, limestone and
anhydrite.
The Hallstatt
necropolis next to the entrance of the oldest salt mines in the
world is one of the most important burial places of prehistoric
times. Some 4000 people were buried here (mostly orientated East to
West; 55% body burials, 45% incineration burials), and the richness
of the grave furnishings became known all over the world. In 1846
the managing director of the Hallstatt
salt mines, Johann Georg Ramsauer,
discovered the graveyard-like necropolis. He managed to unearth
some 980 graves up to 1863: his quest for knowledge and his
profession as a miner made him a pioneer of modern archaeology. He
was one of the first to document the details of the excavation and
specially what was destroyed by his work
itself by creating drawings (see gallery “Hallstatt culture graves”).
Besides the tombs of the "salt people“ the
necropolis contained warrior graves with rich furnishings, 19 with
swords, 38 with daggers, all showing the characteristics of the
Hallstatt metal artwork (see gallery
“Hallstatt culture
weapons”).
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