Helvetier wasteland

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The term Helvetier-Einöde (also Helvetiereinöde ) is an explanatory approach for the extensive lack of finds from the late Latène period in southwestern Germany on the right bank of the Rhine when the Romans arrived around the middle of the 1st century BC. In addition to a general lack of finds, the basis is the mention of areas that were abandoned by the Helvetians by the ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy .

swell

Roman writers, especially Gaius Iulius Caesar , report that before the arrival of the Romans during the Gallic War, the Rhine formed the border between the Celtic Helvetians and Teutons and that they were often involved in battles with the Teutons. Caesar feared that after the withdrawal of the Helvetii the area they had left could be colonized by Germanic tribes.

Coin of the type " dancing man "
Migration of the Cimbri and Teutons

At the latest with the Gallic War, the Rhine no longer formed a clear boundary between Teutons and Celts, beginning with the Ariovistus crossing over the Rhine . Important Celtic settlements ( oppida ) already existed on the right of the Rhine, well-known examples are the Dünsberg or the Glauberg . For their part, the Romans settled Germanic tribes to the left of the Rhine, including 38 BC. Under Agrippa the Ubier , whose Germanic origin, as evidenced by written sources, has recently become doubtful due to the quinaries of the Dancing Man type .

The settlement of the Triboker , Nemeter and Vangionen, presumably from areas on the right bank of the Rhine, in the imperial area probably did not take place until the reign of Augustus . Notes from Caesar himself belong to the “geographical excursions” that were probably added to the work in Augustan times at the earliest. In addition to an indirect mention of the geographer Strabo, Caesar's own statement that after the defeat of Ariovistus all the Suebi fled across the Rhine is more likely .

The source situation is significantly worse for the areas to the right of the Rhine. Tacitus mentions that the Helvetii once settled between the Hercynian Forest , the Rhine and the Main . He later mentions that the possession of these Agri decumates is controversial. Claudius Ptolemy calls the area "Helvetier wasteland". These mentions suggest that a large part of southwest Germany was previously settled by the Helvetians. It remains unclear when and why these areas were given up, since the tribal area of ​​the Helvetii at the time of Caesar was limited to the region of the Swiss plateau between the Upper Rhine and Lake Geneva.

In addition to the Gallic War, the Cimbrian Wars in the 2nd century BC come into consideration . Chr. The Kimbern received during their passage through the area of the Helvetier influx of these. Poseidonios considered the Helvetii to be a fourth district of the Teutons . In this context, an attempt was made to interpret the Toutonenstein , a Roman boundary stone near Miltenberg am Main, as an indication of a remnant of this tribe that remained in their homeland.

Archaeological evidence

Archaeological finds can only partially illuminate the unclear picture offered by the written sources. The number of finds and sites increased in southwest Germany from the 3rd century BC. Chr. Clearly from. The written sources seem to confirm this at first sight. The poorly uniform picture that emerges from the archaeological finds has primarily led to the source base being questioned critically.

Burials

A major difficulty in dating late La Tène graves arises from the change in burial customs. After burial mounds were abandoned in favor of flat graves in the early La Tène period, the shape changed in the course of the 3rd century BC. From body to cremation. The corpse burn is mainly recovered in urns, but often also in containers made of organic material. In southwest Germany and large parts of Switzerland, the custom of giving the dead weapons, metal costume components and jewelry at the stake ends at the same time. The graves are therefore becoming increasingly difficult to prove and to date.

For a long time, the common property in research was the attempt to identify ethnic groups on the basis of these burial customs, whereby body graves were usually viewed as Celtic, cremations as Germanic. The approach goes back to Gustaf Kossinna and has only gradually been replaced since the 1960s.

Settlement

In addition to the grave finds, the late Celtic Oppida , some of which reach very large dimensions, speak against a settlement being empty . Their size and the concentration of crafts and trades suggest, at least for a short time, the presence of a large population. Smaller settlements in the plains are less well known, the presence of which is often indicated by smaller necropolises, while the burial grounds of the large oppida are also mostly unknown.

Although their purpose has not been finally clarified, the large number of Viereckschanzen in southern Germany indicates a certain population density who used these facilities as an estate, sanctuary or central location. Quite a few of these complexes only contain finds from the late Latene period.

Germania around 50 AD

Research history

The separation between Celtic and Germanic finds according to Kossinna has been formative for a long time since the beginning of the 20th century. It prevented more precise conclusions about the settlement of the Upper Rhine area and the processes in the border zone of the Roman Empire. In 1951, Rafael von Uslar did not want to regard any finds south of the Main as Germanic. In contrast, there was an increasing number of Neckarsuebian finds from the area around Ladenburg ( Lopodunum ) and other Germanic finds in Starkenburg . Through graves near Groß-Gerau (Schindkaute / Sandschless) and Nauheim (Seichböhl) , a smaller group of Germanic tribes was identified in the run-up to the Roman legionary site in Mainz ( Mogontiacum ) . Grave goods point to relationships in the Niederelbe region or Jutland. Roman objects in the finds indicate that this group was specifically settled here for the military protection of the border.

Two views have prevailed on the question of a Celtic population since the early 1980s. Rainer Christlein and C. Sebastian Sommer assume that the population is largely empty. Siegmar von Schnurbein , Hansjörg Küster and Günther Wieland try to prove the whereabouts of the population, especially in the foothills of the Alps, referring to the lack of research.

literature

  • Gerhard Dobesch :  Helvetian wasteland. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 14, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1999, ISBN 3-11-016423-X , pp. 351-374.
  • Franz Fischer : The Celts and their history. In: Kurt Bittel , Wolfgang Kimmig , Ewald Schiek (eds.): The Celts in Baden-Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-8062-0211-7 , pp. 70-75.
  • Gertrud Lenz-Bernhard and Helmut Bernhard : The Upper Rhine area between Caesar's Gallic War and the Flavian occupation (58 BC - 73 AD). A study of the history of settlement. Publishing house of the Historisches Verein der Pfalz, Speyer 1991 (= communications of the Historisches Verein der Pfalz 89 ).
  • Gertrud Lenz-Bernhard: Lopodunum III: The Neckarswebische settlement and Villa rustica in the "Ziegelscheuer" area: an investigation into the settlement history of the Upper Rhine Germans. Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1567-7 (research and reports on prehistory and early history in Baden-Württemberg 77) , pp. 17–24.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Claudius Ptolemy : Geographike Hyphegesis 2, 11, 6.
  2. ^ Gaius Iulius Caesar : De bello Gallico 1, 2,3 and 1, 1,4.
  3. ^ Caesar: De bello Gallico 1, 28, 4.
  4. ^ Caesar: De bello Gallico 4, 10 and 6, 25.
  5. ^ Herbert Nesselhauf : The settlement of the Upper Rhine region in Roman times. In: Badische Fundberichte 19, 1951, pp. 71–85; Gertrud Lenz-Bernhard: Lopodunum III: The Neckarswebische settlement and Villa rustica in the "Ziegelscheuer" area: an investigation into the settlement history of the Upper Rhine Germans. Stuttgart 2003, p. 21 with further sources.
  6. ↑ Strabo 7, 1, 3.
  7. ^ Caesar: De bello Gallico 1, 53-54.
  8. ↑ Tacitus : Germania 28.
  9. ^ Tacitus: Germania 29, 3.
  10. ↑ at Strabon 7, 2, 2.
  11. ↑ CIL 13, 6610
  12. ↑ Franz Fischer : The Celts and their history. In: Kurt Bittel , Wolfgang Kimmig , Ewald Schiek (eds.): The Celts in Baden-Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart 1981, p. 72.
  13. ^ A b Franz Fischer: The Celts and their history. In: Kurt Bittel, Wolfgang Kimmig, Ewald Schiek (eds.): The Celts in Baden-Württemberg. Theiss, Stuttgart 1981, p. 73.
  14. ↑ a b Gertrud Lenz-Bernhard: Lopodunum III: The Neckarswebische settlement and villa rustica in the win "Ziegelscheuer": an investigation into the settlement history of the Upper Rhine Germans. Stuttgart 2003, p. 17.
  15. ↑ Rafael von Uslar : Comments on a map of Germanic finds from the earlier imperial era. In: Germania 29, 1951, pp. 44-47.
  16. ↑ Thomas Maurer: The Trebur area in Roman times - an overview. In: Britta Ramminger , Alexander Heising , Thomas Maurer: The Trebur area in prehistory, Roman times and the Middle Ages. Burials from the Middle Neolithic, the Bronze and Iron Ages - military camps and civil settlement in Roman times - the royal palace. Wiesbaden 2013, ISBN 978-3-89822-705-6 ( Subjects of Hessen Archeology 5), pp. 10–17, here: pp. 10 f.
  17. ↑ Rainer Christlein : To the most recent Celtic finds in southern Bavaria. In: Bavarian History Leaves 47, 1982, pp. 275-292; C. Sebastian Sommer : The Roman civil settlements in southwest Germany. In: Dieter Planck (Ed.): Archeology in Württemberg. Results and perspectives of archaeological research from the Paleolithic to modern times. Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, pp. 281-310.
  18. ^ Siegmar von Schnurbein in: State Office for Monument Preservation (ed.): The Romans in Swabia. Anniversary exhibition 2000 years Augsburg. Lipp, Munich 1985 (= workbooks of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation 27), p. 18 f .; Hansjörg Küster : Development and Change in the Cultural Landscape in the Alpine Foreland. In: Germania 64, 1986, pp. 533-559; Günther Wieland: The late Latène period in Württemberg: Research on the younger Latène culture between the Black Forest and Nördlinger Ries. Theiss, Stuttgart 1986.