Title: Manching Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Settlement Dynamics and Urbanization in Iron Age Central Europe
Abstract:Traditionally, research on late Iron Age societies of Central Europe has to some degree focused on large fortified settlements or oppida , presumably ranking at the top of the Celtic settlement hierar...Traditionally, research on late Iron Age societies of Central Europe has to some degree focused on large fortified settlements or oppida , presumably ranking at the top of the Celtic settlement hierarchy. The oppidum of Manching in Upper Bavaria has in the past been seen as a paradigmatic example of pre-Roman transalpine urbanization, in both chronological and functional terms. However, both its dating and its topographical position in a shallow flood plain of the Danube justify a distinction from contemporaneous or successive fortified ‘towns'. Recent studies have identified another particular type of settlement – large unfortified centres of crafts and trade – as a major feature of prehistoric urbanization. Again, Manching and its pre-fortified stages of urban development reveal a characteristic scheme of eastern Celtic settlement evolution that eventually breaks with a standard development when a massive rampart is constructed. Based on recent research at Manching and its hinterland, and taking into account the dynamic character of urbanization, a flexible model of urban evolution is developed here. This model allows for a comparative and quantifiable notion of variable degrees of local and supra-regional urban status.Read More
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 21
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