Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave

Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave reconstruction

Hochdorf burial mound (reconstructed)

The Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave is a richly-furnished Celtic burial chamber near Hochdorf an der Enz (municipality of Eberdingen) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, dating from 530 BC in the Hallstatt culture period. It was discovered in 1968 by an amateur archaeologist and excavated from 1978 to 1979. By then, the burial mound covering the grave, originally 6 m (20 ft) in height and about 60 m (200 ft) in diameter, had shrunk to about 1 m (3 ft) in height and was hardly discernible due to centuries of erosion and agricultural use.

A man, roughly 40 years of age and 6 ft 2 in (187 cm) tall, was laid out on an exceptionally richly decorated 9 ft (275 cm) bronze recliner with eight wheels inside the burial chamber. Judging by other objects found there, this man probably had been a Celtic chieftain: He had been buried with a gold-plated torc on his neck, a bracelet on his right arm, a hat made of birch bark, a gold-plated dagger made of bronze and iron, rich clothing, amber jewelry, a razor knife, a nail clipper, a comb, fishing hooks, arrows, and most notably, thin embossed gold plaques which were on his now-disintegrated shoes. At the foot of the couch was a large cauldron decorated with three lions around the brim. This cauldron was originally filled with about 100 gallons (400 L) of mead. The east side of the tomb contained an iron-plated wooden four-wheeled wagon holding a set of bronze dishes—along with the drinking horns found on the walls enough to serve nine people.

The Hochdorf grave is located within sight of the Hallstatt-era fortified settlement and 'princely seat' of the Hohenasperg, which is surrounded by other elite burials such as the Grafenbühl grave and the Kleinaspergle.

After the examination of the grave, the burial mound has been reconstructed to its original height. Nearby the Keltenmuseum Hochdorf was built, during the construction of which the foundations of an ancient Celtic village were found, possibly the one to which the chieftain belonged. These were incorporated into the museum.

Gallery

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  Reconstruction with gold ornaments and dagger

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  Gold artefacts

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  Golden shoe ornaments

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  Dagger with gold foil

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  Cauldron and gold cup

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  Cauldron with drinking horns

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  Bronze recliner

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  Figurine supporting the bronze recliner

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  Funerary wagon reconstruction and display

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  Depiction of Celtic social structure from the Landesmuseums Württemberg

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  Reconstructed buildings from the Celtic village at Hochdorf

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  View of the Hohenasperg from the Hochdorf burial mound

References

• James, Simon. 1993. Exploring the World of the Celts. London: Thames & Hudson ISBN 0-500-27998-5: pp. 26–27.
• The Celts at IMDb. This 1986 BBC documentary refers to the Hochdorf chieftain as "The Man with the Golden Shoes".

See also

• Vix Grave and Mont Lassois
• Heuneburg
• Glauberg
• Hohenasperg
• Ipf
• Burgstallkogel
• Alte Burg
• Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine
• Lavau
• Grafenbühl grave
• Grächwil
• La Tène culture

External links

• Celtic Museum at Hochdorf
• The Hochdorf Barrow Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine