Kilchberg Celtic Burial Mound - In Search of the Celts on Waymarking.com

An excavation of the mound was undertaken in 1968 by the Staatliche Amt für Denkmalpfege Tübingen. The discovery of 3 burial stelae and the good condition of the stone ring around the grave, the best example up until now in southwest Germany, led to its protection against destruction from nearby residential development. In 1972, the mound was reconstructed with the support of the Tübingen administrative district and funds from the Dr. Würthner foundation, Schwenningen.

The mound contained two burials. The first burial containes cremation remains from the early Hallstatt culture (8 - 7th century B.C.) A wooden burial chamber was constructed at ground level, which was destroyed by the placement of the second burial. It still contained 3 implements, a decorated urn, a decorated key, and a small bowl.

The second burial contained a body from the late Hallstatt period (6th century B.C.). The grave was buried at ground level, and thus destroyed the previous grave. Next to the skeleton, an iron knife, a bronze garment pin and a small gold earring. The grave was covered in stone blocks. Between these stones lay two broken pieces of burial stelae, which came from other former burial mounds. The first stela shows simple human facial features. With the second stela the face is limited to a rendering of the eyes.

The burial is surrounded by a ring of stones. Two of the stone slabs show on their outerside engraved concentric circles. Because they lied exactly along the extension of the axis of the younger grave, they must have had some religious meaning.

A sandstone stela belonging to the younger grave originally stood on the mound. It later fell down and rolled off the mound were it was found lying at the foot of the mound.

Admission Fee (local currency): Free Opening days/times: 24/7 Web Site: [Web Link] Condition: Fully Reconstructed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/19/2009 Tante.Hossi visited it

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