Silexlagerstätten in der Steiermark

In archaeological research, investigating the mineral raw materials of the various prehistoric periods is very important. Such research has been undertaken in the different Austrian provinces to varying degrees. The aim of the studies upon which this volume is based was to close the gap between data about the northern and western parts of Austria, which for the most part have been well studied, and the south, which had been seriously neglected. One outcome has been that the number of known silica deposits in the area of today´s Styria, originally three, has increased to almost thirty. In the course of research, four deposits were identified as having definitely been used in prehistoric times as sources of raw materials, while another five might possibly have been used for this purpose. In the historical period, two deposits were used for the flint and glass industry, another six have played a role in the modern road construction industry and for cement enrichment. Through the analysis of Styria´s major Neolithic silica inventory, one of the sites mined in prehistoric times, Rein to the north of Graz, was confirmed as having been a tabular chert mine during the period of the Lasinja Culture, with a supply radius of approximately 150 km. The role of this deposit was important, as it supplied almost all of the currently identified Neolithic settlements in Styria, providing them with up to 90% of the stone required for tool manufacture. This disproved the longstanding assumption that grey-white-opaque tabular chert found in southern Austria originated chiefly from southern Bavarian, which has allowed a more precise picture of the Neolithisation of Styria to be drawn.