The Hallstatt-period settlement on the Malleiten

In the Early Iron Age, the Malleiten – a ridge to the north of Bad Fischau – was home to an extensive settlement, as evidenced by burial mounds with rich architectural finds as well as a potter’s workshop.

The hilltop settlement, one of the most important sites of the Hallstatt culture (Early Iron Age) in Lower Austria, was located on the high western plateau of the Malleitenberg, the Malleiten (Marleiten), facing the Neue Welt valley basin. The large settlement was one of a series of important Hallstatt settlements on the edge of the Vienna Basin (see also Mödling-Kalenderberg, Hinterbrühl-Schweinzerberg and Schwarzkogel, and Baden-Rauheneck).

The settlement

The prehistoric settlement extended over the entire plateau of the Malleiten (the Töpferwiese/Töpferboden, Fiedlerwiese and at least the northern part of the Zweierwiese). With steep and sometimes vertical drops on all sides, the rocky plateau is almost square in shape and has sides of around 500 m, giving the settlement a fortified character.

The main focus of settlement activity was during the Urnfield period and the early Hallstatt period (c. 1000 to 500 BC). A number of pits and fire hearths were documented during excavations on the Töpferboden, some of which belonged to a potter’s workshop. Slag and raw copper material also indicate a bronze foundry. Highlights of the pottery finds include objects known as moon idols. The name refers to their shape, which is similar to a horizontal crescent moon. Their function remains unclear. They could have been used as firedogs to hold spits over a fire pit, or they may have had a ritualistic or symbolic connection with the moon and thus with the measurement of time.

The Malleiten burial grounds

The burial grounds of the Hallstatt-period inhabitants are located around the Malleiten. It is assumed that a flat burial ground was located south of the hill on the Zweierwiese meadow. To the south-east, there are a number of burial mounds in Feichtenboden; this was almost certainly a burial site for the local elite. It is presumed that there were Hallstatt-period ritual sites in the surrounding caves, such as the Hofmannshöhle, the Steinerne Stadel and the Zwerglloch.