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This article discusses the results of geophysical surveys conducted at Mediana, near the town Nis (Serbia) in April 2010. The research was realized in cooperation with the Romano-Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute, the Archaeological Institute and the University of Belgrade. Mediana geomagnetic prospecting sites, as a form of non-destructive methods of investigation, provided many new details about the architectural and archaeological remains, particularly in the eastern part of the site. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177007: Romanization, urbanization and transformation of urban centres of civil, military and residential character in Roman provinces on territory of Serbia]

The article deals with the archaeozoological analysis and archaeological interpretation of 7,487 animal bones from the excavation campaign „Hochbichl/Emco 2015" on Dürrnberg near Hallein (Salzburg, AT). A considerable amount of faunal remains from different grave and settlement contexts of the Iron Age salt production and distribution center on the lower reaches of the Salzach River was the subject of several archaeozoological studies before. They are supplemented by a complex of animal bones from a high-altitude settlement site on Dürnberg, which dates to the early La Tene period (LT A and LT B) and the late La Tene period (LT C and LT D). This is an analysis of 2,294 identified animal bones from the site Hochbichl. The results confirm studies of material from the sites Ramsautal, Ramsaukopf, Putzenkopf, Putzenkopf Nord, Putzenfeld, and Simonbauerfeld. According to the number of identified specimens, cattle outnumber pigs, sheep, and goats. Only a few finds belong to horses, dogs, elks, and chamois. Sex and age distributions suggest a consumer situation on the Dürnberg - also for the Dürrnberg Hochbichl material, suggesting that animals were brought from nearby rural settlements in the Salzach Valley or the Salzburg Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dürrnberg 'Eislfeld'- necropolis was intermittently excavated from 1963-2003. One of the largest and most important cemeteries of the northern alpine salt centre, the 'Eislfeld' is characterized by the size and abundancy of grave furnishings. Similar to other Dürrnberg sites, the cemetery includes vertical sequences of grave chambers, and various multiple and secondary burials. 110 graves contained 194 buried individuals, with 84 females and 56 males as indicated by anthropological analysis. The cemetery was in use from Ha D1 until LT B1 with a focus in Ha D2/3 and LT A. Predominant inhumations are complemented by cremations, the relics of two pyres, and drystone remains of funeral architecture. Regular grave goods include food and drink, iron knives, jewellery, and some weaponry. Some female and children burials stand out with regard to exclusive grave goods including gold jewellery, imported vessels, cult items, and amulets. Burial mounds of considerable size conveyed power and wealth and promoted communal identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, research on late Iron Age societies of Central Europe has to some degree focused on large fortified settlements or oppida, presumably ranking at the top of the Celtic settlement hierarchy. The oppidum of Manching in Upper Bavaria has in the past been seen as a paradigmatic example of pre- Roman transalpine urbanization, in both chronological and functional terms. However, both its dating and its topographical position in a shallow flood plain of the Danube justify a distinction from contemporaneous or successive fortified 'towns'. Recent studies have identified another particular type of settlement -- large unfortified centres of crafts and trade -- as a major feature of prehistoric urbanization. Again, Manching and its pre-fortified stages of urban development reveal a characteristic scheme of eastern Celtic settlement evolution that eventually breaks with a standard development when a massive rampart is constructed. Based on recent research at Manching and its hinterland, and taking into account the dynamic character of urbanization, a flexible model of urban evolution is developed here. This model allows for a comparative and quantifiable notion of variable degrees of local and supraregional urban status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]