Project Details
Projekt
On the water supply of the Bronze and Iron Age fortifications on the Ipf, city of Bopfingen. In-terdisciplinary investigations of the water pits on the northern slope of the mountain
Subject Area
Prehistory and World Archaeology
Term
from 2021 to 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 467967851
Access to water and facilities for water supply on fortified hilltops, fortifications or castles has represented an elementary basis for the survival of their inhabitants at all times. In order to collect surface water or to catch spring water, springs and water holes were integrated into many prehistoric fortifications, or water reservoirs and cisterns were built. On the Ipf mountain (Bopfingen, Ostalbkreis) three funnel pits could be found, which might have contributed to the water supply. Such infrastructural facilities have been investigated archaeologically and inter-disciplinarily in only a few cases so far. Where wet sediments are present, such as at Vladař in western Bohemia or at Glauberg in Hesse, natural science investigations have proven to be groundbreaking. Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and other micro-fossils, macro-remains and geochemical studies allow to reconstruct their use and environments. There are three funnel pits on the Ipf. The largest of these pits (Trichtergrube B) is located at the foot of the mountain, where today a spring horizon still carries water even in hot summers. Initial drilling has shown that wet sediments are present at 2.5 m depth, containing pollen and other microfossils. Initial AMS radiocarbon dating places the sediments into the Hallstatt period. One major aim of the application is the reconstruction of the water supply during the settlement and fortification phases of the Ipf. Thus, the overall infrastructure and the structural development of the mountain in relation to its increased importance since the late Bronze Age and especially its genesis in the older Iron Age will be addressed. On the other hand, a vegetation reconstruction in the vicinity of the funnel pits will be carried out, whereby these on-site data can be integrated with the existing off-site pollen as well as macro-remains analyses from different excavation sites on the Ipf and the rectangular enclosures near Osterholz.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
