Kleinaspergle
Kleinaspergle is an early La Tène burial mound north of Hohenasperg, in Baden-Württemberg.
In 1879, the mound was excavated by Oscar Fraas. Two burial chambers were uncovered. The main chamber had been plundered in the Middle Ages and was not able to be investigated, but the side chamber was untouched. Fraas was able to uncover several valuable artefacts from this chamber, which was perhaps the burial of a high-status female.
The artefacts uncovered attest to the scale of cultural transfer possible in Central Europe at this time (with Etruscan and Greek artefacts represented) and, furthermore, how Mediterranean material culture was embraced and adapted by Celtic elites and early La Tène craftsmen.
Excavation and identity of those buried
Kleinaspergle lies 1km north of the hillfort Hohenasperg. The burial mound is 7.5m tall and 60m in diameter. Excavations have revealed that the barrow originally had a large circular ditch around it. Several other burial mounds are in view of Hohenasperg, for example Hochdorf, though Kleinaspergle is the richest.
Kleinaspergle was excavated by Oscar Fraas in 1879. He excavated the mound by digging a tunnel into its side, tall enough to stand in. He discovered the central burial chamber, which had unfortunately been plundered as recently as the 13th century. The central burial was not searched as the shaft used by the plunderers had made the chamber unstable. Luckily, in the process, an untouched side chamber was uncovered. Fraas's excavation has been described as "unsystematic" and records of this investigation kept by Oskar Fraas and his son Eberhard are not very satisfactory. It is not entirely clear how far he investigated the side chamber or where each artefact was found. As early as 1902 Paul Reinecke complained that the basic facts of the burial were "unknown". Fraas believed he had found the remains of a burnt body in the side chamber, but this material has not come down to us. Nonetheless, Fraas uncovered various valuable objects through his excavation which have come down to us.
Both burial chambers certainly represent the burials of elites. The gender of the person buried in the side chamber has been subject to some debate. Gender identification has been frustrated by the comparative paucity of personal ornament among the grave finds. Fraas identified the person as female, presumably on the basis of the lack of weaponry among the grave goods, which conventionally suggests a female burial. Paul Jacobsthal thought the presence of alcoholic residue in the stamnos ruled out an elite woman and Konrad Spindler felt that the drinking horns indicated a male burial. However, Wolfgang Kimmig has pointed out that this reasoning is poor. Similar drinking assemblages have been found in the Reinheim and Worms-Herrnsheim burials, both thought to be burials of women.
Finds
The items uncovered in Kleinaspergle include: a bronze bowl, a bronze cordoned bucket, a bronze Etruscan stamnos, two Greek ceramic kylikes with gold additions, a beaked flagon, two golden drinking horns, iron belt-fittings, a gold plaque on an iron base, some gold foil pieces, and a lignite ring. These items are now in the collection of the Landesmuseum Württemberg.
The goods deposited in the side grave are representative of the La Tène A (450–380 BC). Individual grave goods are generally dated to the late 5th century BC; the kylikes, since their authors are known, can be dated to before 450 BC. Burial mounds associated with hillforts are generally dated earlier than this, within Hallstatt D (600-450 BC). Kimmig has dated this burial to just after the transition from late Hallstatt to early La Tène, around 430-420 BC.
The scale of cultural transfer that these items represent has been noted. The kylikes are perhaps an import from Italy. The stamnos and cordoned bucket are both of Southern European origin. The gold plaque has an inlay for coral, a Mediterranean import. The bronze flagon and gold drinking horns, though locally made, betray Etruscan influence. Dennis Harding has noted that the geographical distributions of such imported items above the Alps do not otherwise intersect, suggesting that this burial represents a society with an uncommon command of "trans-alpine communications".
The stamnos and cordoned bucket were likely used in a wine service; residue of an alcoholic drink has been found on the stamnos. The drinking equipment found in La Tène graves is often imported. Harding has suggested that such finds indicate a society in which "feasting and drinking on a sumptuous scale for at least ceremonial occasions" occurred.