- Chapter Twenty-Six -
The end of this flamboyant society C.450 BC was apparently quite sudden and
violent, with some of the Furstensitze destroyed. Few Furstensitze can demonstrate
any continuity into the subsequent La Tene I period.
La Tene I in the Hunsriick-Eifel and Champagne
Shortly after 450 BC the areas to the north-west of the Hallstatt heartland witnessed
a f/oruit equally dramatic but different in detail. The La Tene resurgence occurred in
the Hunsriick-Eifel along the Moselle river and further west in the Champagne-
Marne region of France (Figure 26-7b). These areas had developed a tradition
of warrior burial during the preceding Hallstatt period, perhaps in relationship with
the Hallstatt heartland (e.g. Cunliffe 1988: 30-37). During La Tene I this was to
develop radically (Bretz-Mahler 1971; Flouest and Stead 1979; Duval and Kruta
1977)·
The La Tene culture in the Hunsriick-Eifel and Champagne differs from the
Hallstatt D culture chiefly in that there are no parallels for the Furstensitze. Only
one of the Hallstatt Furstensitze (the Hohenasperg with the Klein Aspergle burial)
shows any continuity into the La Tene period. There are hill-forts, but these lack
dense, specialized occupation, and there are many small open farming settlements
instead. Another important difference from the Hallstatt predecessor is that the
Mediterranean connections are with Etruria alone - the Greek connections via
Massalia ceased with the decline of the Hallstatt centres.
The La Tene burial traditions continue earlier themes - extended east-west
inhumation under barrows, some with square or rectangular quarry ditches.
Figure 26.6 Hallstatt Furstengraber at Hochdorf. (From Biel 1985: fig. 33 .)