Metfund from Hochdorf

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Bronze cauldron with scoop from the princely grave of Hochdorf ( Württemberg State Museum )

The mead found in Hochdorf is the residue of a drink that was found in the so-called princely grave of Hochdorf in Baden-Württemberg (middle of the 6th century BC ).

For the deceased, a feast was staged through his grave goods , which he hosted. The drinking service included a bronze kettle with mead , a golden bowl and nine drinking horns. It was supplemented by a dinner service consisting of nine bronze plates, three serving bowls and slaughtering equipment. So eight guests were invited; for each participant of the feast about 38 liters of mead were estimated.

Bronze kettle

The mead had been set in a large bronze kettle that had already served the tomb lord during his lifetime: a very representative object that came from the Greek culture, but was intended there to hold wine. The round-bottomed kettle holds around 500 liters. It has a diameter of 104 cm and a height of 80 cm. At the upper edge there are alternating three lion figures and three handles. Contact with copper salts in the kettle made it possible to prove that the kettle was filled with mead, whereas otherwise mead is rarely detectable under Central European climatic conditions.

honey

A 8-10 mm thick sediment remained from the mead in the kettle and was very pollen-rich. From this one could deduce a blossom honey (summer honey ) from local costume , which, however, had been brought together from a large area and a large number of biotopes. The most common honey suppliers were:

It is noticeable that there is no sage , which is an important supplier of blossom honey in this region today. It is not clear whether the honey comes from beekeeping or from wild bee colonies. However, since there is no evidence of beekeeping among the early Celts, the latter can be assumed. In any case, the honey was carefully squeezed or dripped out in order to separate the wax from the honey and use it for other purposes.

Mead preparation

The original amount of honey is estimated at 73–292 kg. The liquid edge of the maximum filling can be seen in the boiler. This corresponds to a capacity of 350 liters; a high-quality mead would have been created from a 14 to 50% honey solution that would have had to ferment in the kettle for about a year. Then it would have been withdrawn and decanted. In terms of alcohol content and sweetness, the result would have been comparable to today's dessert wine. The further steps of the mead preparation did not take place at all because pollen was still available in large quantities. So the mead was only used as part of the funeral ritual. (A smaller amount of honey would have been sufficient for the production of mead similar to beer.)

Evidence of mead in other Celtic graves

As a result, Celtic mead was detected several times, always linked to the presence of bronze vessels:

In the case of the Glauberg jug, too, the honey was brought together from the wider area. Mead was customary as a grave gift, which makes the amount of drink given at the prince's grave in Hochdorf stand out from other Celtic prince graves.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Celtic Prince of Hochdorf. Methods and results of state archeology . S. 150 .
  2. ↑ Hans-Peter Stika: Early Iron Age mead and beer records from southern Germany . S. 115 .
  3. ↑ a b Udelgard Körber-Grohne: Plant and animal remains from the princely grave of Hochdorf . S. 122 .
  4. ↑ a b Hans-Peter Stika: Early Iron Age mead and beer records from southern Germany . S. 114 .
  5. ↑ Martin Kuckenburg: The age of the Celtic princes: a European high culture . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-608-94307-8 , pp. 90 .
  6. ↑ Hans-Peter Stika: Early Iron Age mead and beer records from southern Germany . S. 115 .