More than 2000 years ago Celtic settlers chose the tallest hill in Schwarzenbach, Austria, as the site for a a fortified settlement. This so-called Oppidum gave its inhabitants excellent protection from potential attackers. Due to the rich iron deposits in Schwarzenbach and its periphery, the settlement became the center of an enormous armour and tool manufacturing industry. This is the reason the visualizations do not show any trees, as they were most likely all cut down to heat the iron furnaces.

Today, the Schwarzenbach settlement can be witnessed as the remains of its rampart and is being reconstructed in an excavation by the LBI ArchPro Institute from Vienna. The visualizations, which are displayed at the local museum, contain accurate positions of the settlement’s houses and especially the constructive details of the rampart. The goal was not only to instruct, but also to spark the imagination of the viewing audience, which was acheived by a balance between technical accuracy and realistic textures.

Cooperation
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro), Dr. Wolfgang Neubauer

The project is also featured in an article by the Austrian television (ORF).