Die Pfahlbaustation des Keutschacher Sees

In 1864 the first palafitte in Austria was discovered in the Keutschacher See in Carinthia. The oldest palafitte to date is situated on top of an underwater hill in the middle of the lake. Considerable finds of pottery, coppercast spoons, stoneartefacts, animalbones as well as antlers have been made. The pottery was all made locally and belongs to the Kanzianiberg-Lasinja group of the Epilengyel complex. The pottery can be divided into an older collection that shows engraved and linear decoration, and a younger collection with curved lines and cross-hatched decoration. There are also intermediate decorations and formal elements between these two types. Thus we have a continuous evolution in the palafitte. The pottery shows influences from the east and the southeast, the Epilengyel complex and the Lasinja-culture. Coppercast spoons and copper dross found in the area of the palafitte are the oldest known proof of copper processing in Carinthia. Burned clay testifies to a fire in the palafitte. We do not know if this was the end of the palafitte.