NetConnect

Early Celtic culture - Glauberg (Hesse, Germany)
Glauberg site glauberg site

The Iron Age Glauberg is one of the most known Celtic monuments in Germany. It is a typical place of empowerment of a certain Celtic social group, which shows similarity to other places in the middle of Europe. It is articulated in a combination of fortified, mostly hilltop settlements together with richly endowed tombs, often associated to an impressing grave mound, sanctuary or other monuments demonstrating some kind of political power and influence. Imported goods from distant regions like Italy or the Baltic Sea could be interpreted as wide range contacts and trading activities. These sites can be addressed as an example of early complex and highly elaborate structuring of landscape and defining larger territories. Nowadays the Glauberg site is under archaeological and environmental protection. Traces of archaeology can be found in the landscape. Though many questions are still in preparation and some will never be answered, enough information is refined to give ideas of the Celtic Glauberg to the public.
All over Europe in early Celtic Age (in the mid-1st millennium B.C.) we can see developments of centres associated with some kind of social change. In Early Celtic time sites like the Glauberg in Hesse, the Heuneburg in Baden-Württemberg or the Mont Lassois in Burgundy – apparently concentrate administrative, economic and cultural functions. To explain all the change in landscape and in the archaeological sites within, connected to this social change, is a complicated process, even with archaeologists as addressees. It of course is a much greater challenge when addressing the public. NETConnect is enhancing the reconstruction and its intelligibility through the use of VR and GIS techniques.

The main goal for the Glauberg scenario is to visualize the ancient landscape of the Wetterau, Hesse with its archaeological sites (settlements and graveyards) with the main focus on the central site of the Glauberg (hill fort and grave mound).
The user will be able to find information about the sites in their environments in different phases of the development and to understand growing and decline. Next to this the Celtic sanctuary with its calendar function and the tombs of local leaders will be visualised explained.
The Glauberg is one of the best researched places in German, geomagnetical surveys of more than 20 km2, field surveys, excavations and meta analysis (like archaeo-botanics, astro-physics, GIS analyses, material analysis during restoration of finds etc.) revealed a great range of answers to many questions but also revealed new questions. Glauberg site And research is still in process. At the moment, a wide range of information has been supplied with regards to plans of excavations, topographical maps such as: