The Bronze Age castle in Ratzersdorf
Historical sites
Description
Above the Dachsgraben near Ratzersdorf near Wölbling there was a fortified hilltop settlement that may have had an important function in the Early Bronze Age.
In 1928, Josef Bayer, an archaeologist at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, discovered traces of a heavily fortified settlement from prehistoric times in a wooded area north of the Dachsgraben in Ratzersdorf. Based on the characteristic fortification structures and the finds recovered, the settlement is dated to the Early Bronze Age around 1800 to 1600 BC. Archaeological excavations have been taking place here again since 2018 under the direction of Alexandra Krenn-Leeb (University of Vienna).
The "castle" and its fortifications
The settlement lies on a plateau and is surrounded by a well-preserved system of ramparts and ditches. To the north and east of this rampart is another fortified area. At the flattest point in the north, where the easiest access is still today, there were two ramparts with ditches in front of them. It can be assumed that the ramparts were originally equipped with battlements and wooden palisades to ward off intruders.
The innermost fortification of the settlement consisted of a surrounding rampart with a ditch in front of it and another, lower rampart in front of it. The main rampart had a blind wall, the fallen remains of which were found in the ditch. This is the oldest evidence of a stone fortification wall from Austria to date.
To the north and east of the core fortification was a fairly wide area, which was also protected by a system of ramparts and ditches. Mud and water from springs here made it difficult for attackers to overcome the ditch.
A center of the Early Bronze Age
The settlement was probably an important central location in the region during the Early Bronze Age Unterwölblinger culture (named after the finds from a burial ground discovered near the nearby village) until the transition to the Middle Bronze Age around 1900 to approx. 1550 B.C. Some finds and features indicate metalworking. The fortified settlement at Dachsgraben probably fell victim to a warlike event, whereby the evidence of sling stones from the destruction layer is unique to date.
