Heath Mountains

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The term Heidengebirge has been used since the 19th century for rock layers with archaeological finds from prehistoric mining in Hallstatt ( Upper Austria ).

It refers to inclusions of prehistoric operational waste in the rock, which were left behind in the former cavities such as tunnels or mining halls. Over the course of time, these cavities were usually closed again by the pressure of the mountains, so that only the compressed layer of waste remained. The Heidengebirge can be seen today in the rock as a dark band. It contains, among other things, burned flare shavings, broken work material, leftover food, human excrement and rocks that are not eligible for extraction. Since in the Hallstatt Period (i.e. the older Iron Age), unlike in the Bronze Age, small-sized salt was not considered eligible for funding, it was also left behind as waste in the pits of this period. This makes it easy to distinguish the Hallstatt or Iron Age Heidengebirge, which is also known as the sturdy Heidengebirge due to the way it is enforced with this same salt, from the Bronze Age Heidengebirge.

literature

  • Fritz Eckart Barth: On the history of the term Heidengebirge , Natural History Museum Vienna, 1987 (PDF; 2.3 MB)
  • H. Reschreiter, K. Kowarik: The "Heidengebirge". In: A. Kern, K. Kowarik, AW Rausch, H. Reschreiter: Salt Empire 7000 Years Hallstatt. VPA 2, Vienna, 2008, pp. 36–39