Industry, Commerce, and Temperate Europe's First Cities: Preliminary Report on 1987 Excavations at Kelheim, Bavaria

Abstract Field research at Kelheim in Bavaria, West Germany is investigating the emergence of the first urban centers in temperate Europe, during the final centuries of the Iron Age. This study is focusing on changes in industrial and commercial systems as key factors in the development of the urban site at Kelheim. Early results show that remains of iron smelting and forging, as well as final products of the iron industry, are abundant on the site. They further suggest that the settlement comprised a loose agglomeration of small industrial units rather than a planned community reflecting a centralized organization.