Fundstelle Kreuzäcker

The Kreuzäcker site lies on the western edge of Leithaprodersdorf in the Burgenland. Archaeologists uncovered an area of 250 by 150 metres between the Badstraße and the Keltenweg. Rescue excavations between 2005 and 2015 revealed graves from five successive periods. The oldest belong to the Bell Beaker culture of the late Neolithic. Early Bronze Age graves form part of the Leithaprodersdorf group. A larger cluster belongs to the Wieselburger culture, known for its rich copper ornaments.

The finds show how burial customs changed over centuries. Bell Beaker graves contained pottery such as cups and bowls placed with the dead. The Wieselburger graves often held sets of up to twenty vessels and rare copper jewellery. A gold ring bundle of seven twisted wires, dated about 1400 BC, links the site to the Ebreichsdorf hoard. Late Iron Age graves reveal Celtic warriors buried with iron swords and whole pigs.

Visitors can view a selection of objects at the local town hall. The landscape around the field still shows dark soil stains where graves once lay. Excavation photographs and plans in the exhibition explain how archaeologists recovered skeletons and artefacts. The site itself is quiet farmland today, yet the graves tell of generations who lived here long before written records began.