Amber Roads of the Early Iron Age in Central Europe

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Doris Mischka
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 511425466

The Early Iron Age is a dynamic period with gradually growing social centers of chief-led societies. Fundamental contact with the Greek-Etruscan world occurs. Long-distance trade accelerates social differentiation in the Hallstatt culture area. Contacts with the Mediterranean are viewed based on imports, with the question of countervalue of the exchange system largely unanswered. The core of the predicted answer is amber, found in the Mediterranean in large quantities, also as raw material. The movement of amber in the Hallstatt culture is not sufficiently known. The combined chemical method offers new possibilities to identify its sources; systematic monitoring will help identify long-distance roads and supra-regional social systems and centres. The project responds to the socioeconomic and artisanal questions related to amber and Amber Roads, changing over time. It contributes significantly to the understanding of the contact of the secondary Hallstatt zone with the Mediterranean, touching on mutual links between the western and eastern parts of Hallstatt and Early La Tène Europe.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Czech Republic
• Cooperation Partners: Miloslav Chytrácek, Ph.D.; Martin Golec, Ph.D.