Gräberfeld von Neumarkt an der Ybbs

The Gräberfeld of Neumarkt an der Ybbs lies in the rolling farmland of western Lower Austria, just south of the Danube. The site once stretched north of the present village core, where gravel digging uncovered ancient graves. Rescue digs in 1961 and again in 1997 revealed two separate burial grounds about 200 metres apart. The finds span more than two thousand years, from the start of the Early Bronze Age to the ninth century. Early graves belong to the Unterwölbling culture, where men were laid with their heads north and women south, both facing west. Later graves show the shift to the Böheimkirchen group, when food and drink offerings ended. A woman’s grave rich in copper ornaments and unusual back adornments hints at distant contacts along the Danube. Visitors see the finds in Neumarkt’s school and local history museum. Display cases hold copper pins, shell necklaces and bronze daggers from the first metal users. Sketches by Gustav Melzer, who led the first dig, show each skeleton’s exact position and the objects found with it. The clear, simplified drawings let anyone follow how the dead were laid to rest centuries ago.