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News from the Eastern Fringe – The Baunzen Site near Vienna, Austria
Subtitle:Between History and Archaeology : papers in honour of Jacek Lech
Creator:Brandl, Michael : Tł. ; Schmitsberger, Oliver ; Trnka, Gerhard
Contributor: Publisher: Place of publishing: Date issued/created: Description: Type of object: Subject and Keywords:St. Veit Klippen Belt ; prehistoric mining ; Baunzen ; radiolarite ; petrography ; lithic debris heap ; on-the-spot knapping ; lithic technology ; Late Neolithic/Copper Age
Abstract:As previously suspected, the St. Veit Klippen Belt series west of the city limits of Vienna produced evidence for prehistoric quarrying and knapping activities linked to radiolarite outcrops additional to the well-known site of Vienna Mauer. However, the density of this recently discovered ‘mining cluster’ west of Vienna surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. The present study discusses one of the largest newly discovered knapping sites within this mining landscape, the Baunzen site, St. Pölten-Land district. Surveys of the archaeological evidence, a characterization of ‘Baunzen type’ silicites and initial techno-typological investigations on a representative sample of debitage allowed for preliminary assessments of the new finding`s nature. The site is composed of an extensive waste heap of on-the-spot knapping and testing debris, weathering out of a steep slope bounded by a small river, and additionally cut by a recently constructed road. The Baunzen type raw material consists of two main radiolarite varieties. Both are in most cases fine grained but frequently display tectonic clefts, reducing the overall knapping quality significantly. As a result, oftentimes only small angular broken specimens could be used as initial cores.Chronologically, quarrying and knapping activities at the Baunzen site appear to cover an extended period of time. The investigated sample of debitage, exclusively surface finds, suggests a relatively young dating within the Neolithic period and potentially beyond, with the majority of the lithic material assignable to the flake dominated Late Neolithic (Copper Age) industries in northeastern Austria. However, based on the admittedly poor state of research concerning the Late- and Eneolithic in the study area, only a small number of assemblages dating to those periods contain Baunzen type material, and to date there exists no evidence for Post-Neolithic stone tool production on Baunzen radiolarite. Hopefully, ongoing projects will be able to answer the most pressing chronological issues of the ‘Neolithic mining landscape of Vienna’, with the Baunzen site as starting point
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Digitizing institution:Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Original in:Library of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Projects co-financed by:Operational Program Digital Poland, 2014-2020, Measure 2.3: Digital accessibility and usefulness of public sector information; funds from the European Regional Development Fund and national co-financing from the state budget. ; European Union. European Regional Development Fund
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