The Iron Age settlement of Pfaffenhofen-Hörtenberg in the Upper Inn Valley, Tyrol - Settlement structure and cultural change in an alpine transit region from the beginning of the Fritzens-Sanzeno Culture to the transition into the Roman Age

• Applicant: Dr. Werner Zanier
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 386892791

Since February 2018, the results of archaeological excavations in the Iron Age settlement of Pfaffenhofen-Hörtenberg (Tyrol) have been scientifically evaluated at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences with funding from the DFG. The project, which has been granted funding for three years (February 2018 – January 2021), includes the evaluation of the building features and the extensive finds, as well as a study of the development of the settlement cluster in the Telfs valley basin during the Late Iron Age (5th century B.C. – around the birth of Christ). The archaeological results are supplemented by natural-scientific investigations of several disciplines: archaeozoology, archaeobotany, anthracology, dendrochronology, isotopy (animal bones), raster electron microscopy (non-ferrous metal finds) and slag analyses.After two years, the following work is completed: In-depth description of the building features, evaluation of the metal finds, examination of the animal bones, evaluation of the slag, drawings of all non-ceramic finds and about two thirds of the pottery, as well as the digitalisation of the excavation plans. The material analyses of the non-ferrous metal finds have been carried out, but have not yet been conclusively evaluated. The results of the individual project areas so far provide detailed and often exceptional information on the structure and economy of an Iron Age settlement, on house building and craftsmanship, and on the diet of the inhabitants. These insights have raised new questions, which will be investigated in the course of additional botanical investigations, further isotope analyses of animal remains, and an archaeometallurgical assessment of the stone artefacts.The botanical evaluation of the soil samples revealed an unexpectedly high number of plant remains of such extraordinary diversity that their full evaluation can only be completed in the third year of the project. The preliminary results indicate that fundamental insights into the agriculture and environment of the entire Central Alpine region during the Late Iron Age can be expected. For the dendrochronological dating of the charred building timber, additional 14C-data of tree-ring series are necessary to substantiate the settlement stratigraphy with absolute data.Since the initial application was submitted, a wealth of new information has become available on new sites in the Telfs Basin, which must be critically examined and incorporated into the intended settlement archaeological study. For the comprehensive archaeological evaluation, including the additional information from the natural-scientific contributions, an 18-month extension of the position of the main archaeological researcher is being applied for. During this time, the production of a complete, print-ready manuscript is realistic, thereby ensuring that the unique archaeological features of Pfaffenhofen-Hörtenberg will be presented to the scientific community in the form of a comprehensive publication.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Kurt Nicolussi; Professor Dr. Klaus Oeggl