Evaluation of honey residues from Iron Age hill-top sites in southwestern Germany: Implications for local and regional land use and vegetation dynamics

Organic contents of bronze vessels from royal burial sites dating to the Iron Age in southern Germany were investigated by pollen analysis. All pollen assemblages observed were dominated by non-arboreal pollen of non-wind pollinated species, a characteristic feature of honey. On the basis of investigations on recent honey, estimates of the original amounts of honey present were made. It is suggested that two of the vessels were filled with a freshly prepared, highly concentrated mead, while a third contained possibly a mead or a beverage sweetened by honey. The high diversity of the pollen assemblages differs from recent honeys and points to a high biodiversity in the Iron Age landscapes, but also to the use of honey mixtures that originate from a large area that included the surrounding uplands. Records for several exotic pollen also support this hypothesis. At the Glauberg site, a honey-source area of more than 50-km radius is probable. This corresponds quite well with the average distance between known Celtic centres in central Europe, which is ca. 100 km.