Quantifying Hallstatt: Some Initial Results

Abstract

AbstractNine hundred eighty Early Iron Age graves at Hallstatt, Austria, were excavated between 1846 and 1863. Since then, no really comparable body of material has been discovered in temperate Europe. A report is presented on some initial attempts to reconsider this classic material using quantitative methods. The analyses reported attempt to determine from grave goods the sex, age, status, and the relative date of buried individuals. Graves are graded according to their likely integrity and are described by the types of object they contain. These descriptors are then subjected to some regular forms of data analysis and some provisional general conclusions are drawn.