Oppidum Uetliberg

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The summit plateau of the Uetliberg , seen from the Zürichhorn (from the east)

The oppidum Uetliberg was located on the summit plateau of Zurich's local mountain Uetliberg , in the area of ​​the Swiss municipality of Stallikon . Instead of the term oppidum , the description of a Celtic prince's seat with a village-like settlement and fortification , refuge or fortified hilltop settlement from the late Hallstatt period is sometimes used in general literature .

topography

The fortified settlement area probably extended from the southeastern end of the summit plateau, called Uto Kulm ( 873  m above sea level ), to the Aegerten high plateau to the west ( 859  m above sea level ) and the area in front of today's SZU mountain station ( 820  m above sea level ) Uetliberg . The largest extension of the area on the western slope of the Uetliberg, fortified by a 2-kilometer-wide wall system, is around 1.5 kilometers in a north-west-south-east direction.

The witnesses from the 5th century BC, still clearly visible today. BC belong. In the early La Tene time -scale royal grave mound Sonnenbühl ( 795  m above sea level. M. ) and the imposing remains of a vast Wall Systems ( 659  m above sea level. M. ) from the older iron or Hallstatt period .

Settlement history

Early history

Whether the Celtic word Udt for woman is eponymous for today's name Uetliberg needs to be clarified; the so-called prince grave mound Sonnenbühl was at least the last resting place of a woman.

Uetliberg, Uto Kulm plateau general view
Uetliberg, Uto Kulm plateau
Uetliberg, Aegerten, in the background Uto Kulm
Uto Kulm: Remains of the neck ditch and (third) wall

Due to improper securing of finds in the 19th century, due to erosion and brisk construction activity on the summit plateau, only a few coherent find and cultural layers are available. On the other hand, around 60,000 finds from archaeological excavations prove that the summit plateau of the Uetliberg must have had supraregional importance since the Neolithic at the latest . The oldest known individual finds are likely to be 6000 years old and come from the Neolithic Age; The first permanent traces of settlement are dated to the late Bronze Age (11th century BC) and early Iron Age.

La Tène time

The ramparts indicate that the summit plateau Uto Kulm and the area in front of it (SZU mountain station and Aegerten) were first fortified in the 5th century BC. Close by Celtic Helvetii . In particular, the recognizable remains and original dimensions of the rampart system are impressive: Beginning at today's SZU- Bahnstation Ringlikon ( 684  m above sea level ), three fortification ramparts were built up the slope, of which the railway line and hiking trail along remnants 14 meters high and 35 meters deep can be recognized. The rampart system secured the entire width of the Uetliberg, which rose comparatively gently in the west, and was almost 2000 meters wide. The second wall fortified the Aegerten plateau to the west of the summit area, the location of the Uetliberg television tower of Swisscom , and the third wall secured the Uto Kulm summit plateau. This imposing, deeply graduated wall system probably protected the Celtic oppidum in the upper area of ​​the Uetliberg until the first century BC . In the east and west and probably also in the south of the summit plateau, further wall systems are rather unlikely due to the steeply sloping terrain. As far as the largely destroyed cultural layers allowed, two rather smaller village-like settlement areas on the summit plateau have so far been archaeologically recorded.

Roman Era and Middle Ages

Around 15 BC After the conquest by Drusus and his brother Tiberius , both step-sons of Augustus , the area was on the left bank of Lake Zurich in the border area of ​​the Roman provinces of Raetia and Germania superior . A watchtower with a refuge at the highest point of the Uetliberg - to secure the customs point and later the fort located on the Lindenhof near the vicus Turicum (Zurich) - was probably of strategic importance until the advance of the Alemanni into the Roman province of Germania superior or Gallia Belgica . It is very likely that the summit plateau, after the Romans withdrew from the areas north of the Alps, had a similarly important meaning for the Alemanni, Carolingians and Ottonians ( Palatinate on the Lindenhof) who settled in the area of ​​northern Switzerland .

Below the Hotel Uto Kulm, on the summit plateau of the Uetliberg, where the medieval Uetliburg stood, remains of the inner rampart system can be seen. When the hotel was built, the last remains of the former castle were destroyed. In the early modern period there was a high watch on Uto Kulm (approx. 1620–1812) and the remains of the medieval Uetliburg disappeared or were removed.

Archaeological exploration

The first excavations and soundings in the area of ​​the summit plateau were carried out between 1836 and 1839 during the construction of the Uetliberg guest house and spa and again in 1866 by Ferdinand Keller . A burial ground from the 5th century BC. Was destroyed in 1874 during the construction of the SZU mountain station. After that, for example when the Uetlibergbahn was built in 1874 and when the railway line was widened in 1901, a large number of individual finds as well as the remains of the wall and the aforementioned protective wall of the medieval Uetliburg came to light. Further excavations took place in 1958/59.

When a new phase of excavation work began on the Uetliberg in 1978, the summit plateau was systematically re-explored and the remaining defensive wall of the medieval Uetliburg was excavated by the Canton Archeology of Zurich due to extensive construction work - 1990 opening of the new observation tower, the expanded restaurant and hotel Uto Kulm and preserved.

Findings

Single finds

Gold disks from the prince's grave mound Sonnenbühl

The approximately 60,000 archaeological finds include two stone axes and a stag's horn ax from the Neolithic period as well as a chisel, the head of a three-knot needle, a razor handle, bronze necklace tubes and a handle fragment from a wine mixing vessel (Uto Kulm) from the Greek region from the 10th century. v. Chr. Other individual finds one a Celtic Potin Coin , which is believed to have been coined in the oppidum, and fragments Attic - black-figure pottery . In the rubble of the prince's grave hill is artfully crafted Goldscheiben- found brooches and a gold rosette as exhibits in the Swiss National Museum in Zurich open to the public.

Ceramic remains from the early phase of the Late Bronze Age or Urnfield Age were found during the 1983 investigation of the moat area north of the Uto-Kulm . BC ( Hallstatt period level A2). As early as 1916, a so-called medium-sized shank ax was discovered by a forest worker at the same site.

Settlement area

On the western slope of the Uetliberg, where the barons of Sellenbüren probably built their wooden castle on the Ofengüpf in the 10th century , the remains of a Bronze Age settlement were discovered in 1950/51. A second settlement was further to the west, on the summit plateau, which could also have served as a refuge for the population of the surrounding area.

Finds and the circumstances of the finds show that the settlement area of ​​the summit plateau Uto Kulm measured from the southeasternmost spur was around 150 meters long, i.e. 40 meters longer than today, and around 60 meters wide. A composite hang cultural layer can only be determined approximately, in particular as a result of construction activity since the beginning of the 19th century and probably some rockfalls - the last major was on 8 May 2004 in the case of grapeshot - reaching the summit plateau of from molasses and Nagelfluh existing Uetliberg since its first colonization significantly reduced.

In the third phase of the Late Bronze Age or Urnfield Culture, a village-like settlement may have existed here. The houses were probably built along the edges of the plateau. During the excavations (1980) a house about six meters long and up to four meters wide was recorded on the steep north-east slope as well as two other houses to the north and south of it. The building ground was excavated around 30 centimeters deep, presumably to gain enough space for a wooden floor construction. Individual depressions in the ground seem to be evidence of post constructions, while smaller, closely spaced post holes suggest inner walls made of clay-coated rod mesh. The sunk ground of two of the houses was each filled with a humus , black culture layer up to 30 centimeters thick and in places densely interspersed with ceramic shards and animal bones. Most of the ceramics belong to the so-called Hallstatt B1 level (10th century BC), with fragments of large storage vessels, cooking pots, drinking cups, but also bowls, bowls and plates. Punctures and grooves as well as incisions and bone-white inlays decorated a large part of the dishes.

Since Ferdinand Keller reports that similar finds were found on the Uto Kulm in 1836 and on the northernmost spur of the Aegean Plateau in late autumn 1866, it can be assumed that the settlement was due to a wall-ditch fortification below the summit plateau and very probably still was secured by a second, far forward defense system, in the place of which the western main wall (approx. 5th century BC) was built up the slope of today's Ringlikon train station. During the excavations in 1981/82, around 35 meters north of this site, the slope on the mountain side of a deep ditch was probed, of which traces are still present over the eastern mountain slope. This is likely to have been the neck ditch belonging to the late Bronze Age fortification , the excavation of which appears to have been used as building material for the rampart wall on the mountain side south of it, or for the medieval Uetliburg on the summit plateau.

Farm animal husbandry

The animal husbandry at that time was determined based on the animal bones found in 1980 and 1981. In terms of domestic animals : domestic cattle 47.6%, goats and / or sheep 18.2%, domestic pigs 33.6%, dogs 0.4% and horses 0.2%. On wild animals : wild boar (three bones), brown hare and red deer (one bone each). The domestic cattle should have had a height at the withers of around 1.25 meters. The remains of domestic pigs - jaws and canine teeth - suggest breeding boars. The dogs had a height at the withers of about 50 centimeters and the small horse about 1.25 meters.

Long-distance network (Karrgeleise)

Noteworthy are the so-called Karrgeleise (Geleisestrasse), which were found on Uto Kulm under fillings from the 13th century, and suggest a well-developed network of paths for long-distance trade . Its track width of 1.1 meters could refer to the Celtic times, but a medieval origin is also conceivable: on the ascent from Albisrieden to the Üetliberg, the forest floor is furrowed by numerous hollow paths. Such tracks are particularly close in a system of paths several hundred meters wide between Albisrieden and Hueb. At Ringlikon, various other ravines rise in parallel towards the Üetliberg. The track field extends over the entire width of the relatively gently rising ridge between the Waldegg and the mountain station of the Üetlibergbahn. The ravine system covers practically the entire northern ridge of the Üetliberg.

References to other sites

A connection between the hilltop settlement ( Akropolis ) on the Uetliberg and the oppidum Lindenhof from the 1st century BC, which has been researched since 1997 . Chr. Can be assumed. Both settlements do not seem to belong to the twelve Oppida described on Swiss territory in Caesar's De bello Gallico , but they are likely to have been of supraregional importance.

A settlement in the course of the Gallic War or the dating of the settlement history at the turn of the ages is still open.

literature

  • Thomas F. Klein: Paths to the Celts: 100 excursions into the past . Theiss Verlag GmbH, 2004. ISBN 3-8062-1840-4
  • P. Nagy: Fortifications in the Üetliberg area . Foundation for exploring the Üetliberg (ed.). Zurich 1997.
  • Andreas Mäder et al .: Traffic routes in the area of ​​the Üetliberg . Foundation for the exploration of the Üetliberg (ed.). Zurich 1994.
  • Sabine Bolliger et al .: Settlement history in the area of ​​the Üetliberg . Foundation for the exploration of the Üetliberg (ed.). Zurich 1993.
  • Irmgard Bauer, Lotti Frascoli, Heinz Pantli, Anita Siegfried, Thierry Weidmann, Renata Windler et al. : Üetliberg, Uto – Kulm: excavations 1980–1989 . Volume A (text volume) and Volume B (catalog, tables, lists). Archaeological Monographs Volume 9, Cantonal Archeology Zurich (Ed.). Zurich 1991. ISBN 3-905647-81-8 (both volumes), ISBN 3-905647-82-6 (text volume), ISBN 3-905647-83-4 (catalog, tables, lists).
  • Walter Drack, Paul Guyer et al .: The Üetliberg . Silva publishing house, Zurich 1984.
  • Prof. Emil Vogt, Ernst Meyer and Hans Conrad Peyer: Zurich from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages . Zurich 1971.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Celtic prince seat is a term from the scientific discussion about the social structure in the Celtic Hallstatt period .
  2. ^ Website of the Fürstensitz Kelten Info Bank
  3. ↑ Website GISpunkt HSR: Spelling Uetliberg : Uetliberg and Üetliberg are widespread and in use. Officially, Uetliberg is used on the national map .
  4. ↑ The name Uto Kulm is mostly used to designate the highest point of the Üetliberg. The name probably dates back to 1830, based on the successful tourist development of the Rigi (Rigi Kulm).
  5. ↑ The Uetliberg field names are due to the Üetliberg Lexicon ( Memento from November 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ).
  6. ↑ Aegerten is a plateau north of the Uto Kulm, which was originally used as pasture and arable land.
  7. ↑ John Wolf Brennan : The Celts - the puzzling legacy of a culture
  8. ↑ Timeline for the history of the Alemanni
  9. ↑ a b c d e website Uetliberg – Verein: The research into prehistory and early history
  10. ↑ A Helvetii potin coin produced in the Oppidum Uetliberg near Zurich shows a geometric figure with four symmetrically arranged arcs on a straight line and a single ball in between. Two arcs each connect three spheres to form a triëteris, corresponding to three years of twelve lunar months and a sphere as a leap month in between. The straight line links the two three-year periods to a perpetual calendar. By Martin Kerner in «Geomatics Switzerland» 2/2004.
  11. ↑ Ofengüpf is a side rib of the Üetliberg from Sellenbüren to Chindlistein , with the ruins of Sellenbüren Castle.
  12. ↑ Chindlistein is a Nagelfluhfelsen west of the Uto Kulm, above the Ofengüpf.
  13. ↑ Rockslide in the Fallätsche ( Memento from February 4, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ A track road consists of two parallel grooves in a solid ground - usually the rock in front of it, in rarer cases stone paving or wooden sticks. The grooves are at least three to five centimeters deep, but can also reach a depth of several decimeters. They are usually V-shaped and have a rounded sole. Their function is to serve as a guide for the cart wheels to prevent the vehicle from slipping sideways.
  15. ↑ Zurich's transport history through the centuries. In: Inventory of historical traffic routes in Switzerland (IVS), canton booklet in the canton of Zurich . Swiss Confederation, Federal Roads Office FEDRO (publisher), Bern 2006.
  16. ^ Geneviève Lüscher : Turicum - The Celtic Zurich is gaining in profile . University of Bern, 2004.
  17. ↑ Christoph Pfister: New considerations on the old urban structure of Bern, Bremgarten near Bern and Aventicum ( Memento of March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ^ Gilbert Kaenel : Helvetier; From the beginning of the Gallic War to the defeat at Bibracte (58 BC). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Coordinates: 47 ° 20 ′ 58 "  N , 8 ° 29 ′ 27"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred seventy-nine thousand five hundred and four  /  244,821