The settlement history of the Stadtberg of Neuburg a.d. Donau in the pre-Roman Metal Ages and its function in the settlement system on the upper Danube

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The Stadtberg of Neuburg a.d. Donau is situated on the upper Danube (Lkr. Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Bavaria) in a key position for long distance transport and has a long and chequered settlement history from prehistoric to historic times. Remnants of human occupation such as fortifications, cultural layers, pits, building structures and rich archaeological materials have been left especially from the Urnfield, Hallstatt and Latène periods. Apparently, the hilltop settlement was occupied continuously from the early Urnfield to the early Latène period, and this points to a special position of the Neuburg Stadtberg in the regional settlement pattern. As the old town area has been under intensive surveillance by the local Historical Society and the Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege for decades, numerous archaeological measures took place which have provided archaeological documentation and large amounts of materials. These include great quantities of well preserved animal bones of the pre-Roman Metal Ages which yield a wide range of scientific results regarding the economy and settlement history of the site. The project aims at reconstructing the processes of pre-Roman settlement and the role of the Stadtberg of Neuburg a.d. Donau in the microregion through the Metal Ages in detail. The processing and analysis of the archaeological documentation and finds has already progressed to an advanced stage. Complex features of the settlement such as a rampart and ditches with several phases, cultural strata including burned layers, settlement pits and pit-houses provide detailed information on occupation processes. In order to make full use of the scientific potential, stratigraphic key features are dated by high-resolution AMS radiocarbon method. Furthermore, several thousands of animal bones are examined according to zooarchaeological methods. In this way the patterns and changes of nutrition and of economic practices in the hilltop settlement are reconstructed from the late Bronze to the early Latène period. Finally, by recording and analysing archaeological sites in the microregion of Neuburg a.d. Donau the role of the Stadtberg as a regional center of the Metal Ages will be highlighted.