Researchers date Europe’s largest prehistoric iron hoard to 2,000 years ago

More than 500 prehistoric iron bars found during gravel extraction in Upper Austria date from between 300 and 100 BC, according to research by the University of Innsbruck reported by ORF. The discovery is considered the largest known mass find of prehistoric iron bars in Europe.

Workers found the rusted objects in 2019 while extracting gravel along the Danube in Deinham, part of the municipality of Hartkirchen in the Eferding district. Archaeological divers later examined the find site.

The objects are double-pointed bars typical of the late Iron Age. Researchers catalogued 540 fragments, representing at least 500 bars. The first delivery alone contained 200 bars.

Radiocarbon studies at the Université de Technologie de Belfort Montbéliard in France dated the finds to between 300 and 100 BC. The roughly 30-centimetre-long semi-finished products are typical of the La Tène period. Their ends were hammered into points so buyers could identify the quality of the iron at a glance, archaeologist Peter Trebsche of the University of Innsbruck said.

Researchers suspect a shipwreck

Iron production increased sharply in Europe during the La Tène period, which lasted from the middle of the fifth century to the first century BC. The metal was needed for weapons, tools, construction materials and ploughshares. The bars found in Deinham could have produced about 500 swords.

Trebsche, who heads the University of Innsbruck’s Microarchaeological Laboratory, said researchers believed the bars had been transported downstream by ship and that the vessel sank near Deinham. No remains of the shipwreck have been found.

The researchers are now trying to determine where the iron was produced and where it was intended to go. Bavaria is one possible source because iron ore was mined and smelted there in large quantities during the Iron Age. Trace-element analysis of materials mixed into the iron could help identify where the bars were forged.

The destination was likely farther downstream. Possible markets include the Linz area, about 30 kilometres from Deinham, where two fortified settlements stood north and south of the Danube. Other settlements existed farther downstream around Krems, Vienna and Bratislava.

The bars are now stored in an archaeological depot in Linz. The finders donated them to the Upper Austrian State Culture GmbH. Trebsche hopes the “rusty treasure” will eventually be displayed in an exhibition.