Celtic settlement Oberleiserberg

The Keltensiedlung Oberleiserberg stands on a plateau above the Weinviertel in Lower Austria, near the town of Ernstbrunn. The site rises steeply on three sides and slopes gently to the south, where a flat area called the ‘Vorburg’ lies. Excavations have uncovered traces of Iron Age and early historic settlement across about six and a half hectares. Archaeologists have found the remains of more than twenty-four houses and many scattered objects from daily life. Geophysical surveys in the late 1990s showed well-preserved building layouts beneath the surface. The site reached its peak in the late La Tène period, around the 1st century BC, when coin finds show lively trade links across central Europe. Hundreds of metal objects, including brooches, tools and jewellery, point to local craftsmanship and distant imports. Pottery fragments reveal both local production and goods brought from Italy, Romania and Hungary. The settlement’s end came in the mid-1st century BC, possibly linked to conflicts between the Boii and Dacians. Visitors walk over the wide plateau where low walls once enclosed the settlement. Simple pit-houses with floors of about fifteen square metres are the most common remains. Among the finds are gold coins, bronze vessels and iron tools, some shaped like animals. A small bronze figurine shows a figure wearing a torc and holding an erect phallus. The gentle southern slope offers wide views over the surrounding countryside.