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chapter 22

l a n d tr a nsport in the
bronze age
m arion uckelmann

Introduction

From the Neolithic on there was a gradual change in large parts of Europe towards a settled
form of life, but this did not mean that people were all tied to one place. A small part of the
population, at least, was still mobile, and occasionally there were migrations by entire groups.
There was no cessation in the exploration of surrounding areas, or in contact and exchange
with people and communities both near and far. The motives for human mobility can be
many and varied, as is still the case today: the exchange of news, knowledge, and goods; the
search for resources; marriage partners; craftsmen, who were both absorbing and passing on
knowledge; refugees; expelled persons; adventurers; traders; explorers; and messengers (e.g.
of a religious or military nature).
Attesting to this mobility are, on the one hand, foreign objects, whether raw materials or
finished goods, and on the other, the means of transport and the routes that are, however,
only rarely found. In rare cases ‘foreign people’ can be recognized in archaeological finds, for
example as bearers of objects not known locally in that form (e.g. ‘foreign women’; Jocken-
hövel 1991), and also through scientific methods (including DNA and strontium isotope
analysis). One of the best-known examples is probably the Early Bronze Age ‘Amesbury
Archer’ who grew up in central Europe or Scandinavia, more probably in an Alpine region,
and was buried with a rich set of grave goods of the Beaker culture in the vicinity of Stone-
henge (Fitzpatrick 2009: 177) (see Chapter 10).
From the large numbers of bronzes one can detect a lively exchange between different
regions of Europe and beyond, into the Mediterranean, North Africa, Asia Minor, and the
Eurasian Steppes. Only those transported objects that are not perishable survive, such as
metal, stone, and ceramic objects, and raw materials. The term ‘imported goods’ describes
objects and raw materials that are unusual or absent in the area where they were found (e.g.
Primas 2008: 149). The quantities of material are sometimes too large and heavy to have been
carried by humans, although considerable quantities could have been carried by trained
porters (see below).
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From as early as the Neolithic, depictions show bovids first drawing a plough, and later a
cart. It can be assumed that they were also used as pack animals during this time. Horses
appear frequently in Bronze Age settlements, but there is still wide disagreement whether, as
with other domestic animals, they were used for meat and/or milk, and only later as draught
and ridden animals. Certainly evidence for the latter is only attested for the Late Bronze Age.
Simple wagons or carts are known from the Late Neolithic, but their development is diffi-
cult to trace. At present, on the grounds of new finds and improved dating techniques, there
are various approaches, monocentric or polycentric. It is generally accepted that the wagon is
found in various regions of Europe, Asia, and the Near East from the middle of the fourth
millennium bc (see essays and discussions in Fansa and Burmeister 2004).
These vehicles are simple carts with two or four wooden disc wheels (Fig. 22.2b). In the
course of the Bronze Age lighter wheels with perforations and a replaceable hub appear. It is
possible that spoked wheels developed from these in order to be used in both four-wheeled
wagons and two-wheeled chariots, whilst simple carts with disc wheels continued to be used.
The evidence for vehicles in the Bronze Age consists of individual elements, mostly wooden
and hence preserved only in special conditions, such as bogs. In the course of the Bronze Age
more elaborate chariots were constructed, frequently with bronze components and fittings.
These are often found as grave goods and objects in hoards. In addition there are many picto-
rial representations, even in regions where the original objects have not yet been found, as
well as a great number of miniature chariots in graves that were probably used in a ritual con-
text (Vosteen 1999).
Amongst the most important innovations of the Bronze Age are the spoked wheel; the
exchangeable hub; the steering function of the front axle; and the use of the horse as a draught
animal. The spoked wheel brought a considerable reduction in weight. Horses as draught
animals can cover long distances in a short time if the terrain and subsoil are favourable.
Sledges and slide-cars (travois), drawn by man or beast, were probably used earlier than wheeled
vehicles, but are difficult to attest as they seldom survive and only rarely appear in images.

Means of Transport: Humans, Oxen, Horses

To calculate the speed and loads of the various means of transport, a multiplicity of variables
must be considered. To give greater precision to this investigation, GIS analyses were used by
various projects in which least-cost-path and cost-surface analysis were carried out in order
to understand which of the possible paths required the least effort for humans.
A recent study (Murrieta-Flores 2010) attempts to assemble all the possible determining
factors, for instance:

- terrain, but also the differences caused by the changing seasons (e.g. rivers in flood,
snowed-up mountain passes, drought-affected areas);
- territorial boundaries (rarely identifiable by archaeological means);
- human factors (based on human physiology);
- identifying which paths are still suitable from gradient or subsoil, i.e. which require
the least effort;
- the ‘intrinsic’ will of humans (the role of human agency) as individual or community;
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- geographical features (hills, river valleys, places of special importance) rather than
the shortest distance;
- the need for provisioning, essential in the case of long-distance journeys (e.g. whether
supplies needed to be brought along, or hunted and prepared en route—a time-
consuming process—and whether water was readily available, an essential require-
ment for draught and pack animals).

Only if one attempts to include all these factors can more precise models be created.
The same process would then need to be applied for vehicles drawn by horses and
cattle.

Speed of Transport and Loads

Humans as Bearers
Until recently such models have been relatively rare, but for humans the following values
have been established: men between 20 and 60 years old have an average walking speed of
4.9 km/hour and women 4.4 km/hour (Murrieta-Flores 2010: 7). It is difficult to provide data
for prehistoric people as the available studies derive from medicine and ethnography, yet if
one were to give merely indicative values and not a precise model, it would be realistic to
posit c.20 km (3.8 km/hour, c.5 hours actual walking) for one day’s travel distance (depend-
ing on terrain and weather), with a load of c.20–35 kg. In the case of trained bearers higher
values may be proposed, as emerges from ethnographic and historic evidence, such as for
Mayan and Aztec bearers (Murrieta-Flores 2010).
The evidence for the effects on humans of transporting loads can be established in Euro-
pean prehistory only where there is good preservation of skeletal material, and so far it is
sparse. For instance, from an examination of part of the skeletal material from the Hallstatt
cemetery it was found that men and women probably shared heavy labour in the Iron Age
salt mine. The muscle marks indicate that the men mainly mined the salt and the women car-
ried heavy loads (Pany 2008: 139). This is admittedly only one regionally specific indication
of how labour was divided, but it may nevertheless have a wider significance. In the future,
examination of skeletons will perhaps be able to discern several kinds of division of labour,
and show signs that bearers served as transport workers, in other words not just traders in
the traditional or modern sense.
A wide variety of items, mostly made of organic material, may have served as transport
equipment and containers, such as are still used today. Among these are woven or leather
sacks, bags and pouches, woven baskets, wooden crates, bark containers, and much
besides, but smaller receptacles made of clay and bronze are also possible. Unfortunately
these finds have only rarely been preserved, as in the Hallstatt salt mine where five back-
packs were found, all efficiently designed for carrying and emptying out mined salt blocks
(Reschreiter and Kowarik 2008: 60). These make it likely that elaborate carrying equip-
ment was used to carry the maximum load possible, and to make the work as easy as
possible.
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Animals as a Means of Transport

Animals drawing simple carts or wagons to carry heavy loads are known from the Neolithic,
and their use increased during the Bronze Age. The walking speed of ox teams was around
1.8–2.5 km/hour, and of horses around 3.2–4.3 km/hour. The latter could reach higher speeds
on traversable ground, and depending on their build and condition up to 38 km/hour over
short distances, as is attested by reconstructed Egyptian war chariots. With alternating walk-
ing and cantering one may assume c.10 km per 45 minutes for a pair of horses. The horse thus
significantly increased the speed of transport of humans and wagons, as cattle teams reached
a maximum speed of 3.7 km/hour, or, as recent comparisons show, ox-drawn covered wagons
around 24–28 km per day (Piggott 1983: 89). A modern riding horse can carry about one fifth
of its own weight, thus a horse weighing 350 kg can carry 70 kg, of rider and/or baggage.
A horse with a good harness on good terrain can pull about double its own weight; on rough
ground or steep inclines it can only pull its own weight (Schwindt 1995). A bullock/ox of
c.500 kg weight can, however, pull only about 150 kg, at a speed of 3 km/hour (http://www.
payer.de/entwicklung/entw081.htm#2.2, viewed 17.8.2010), or possibly a slightly faster
3.7 km/hour (Piggott 1983: 89). Riding horses or using them as draught animals requires long
training and is a costly undertaking. The animals must also work together as a team and must
therefore be matched in size, condition, and character.
Wagons drawn by draught animals, particularly cattle, are often found on Bronze Age rock
art (Larsson 2004). Representations of laden pack animals are seldom found, but they occur
for instance in the rock art at Carschenna (Canton Grisons, Switzerland). Harnessed horses
are attested through representations, but also through the remains of bits. There are three-
dimensional representations, as on the famous sun chariot from Trundholm, Denmark,
although the horse is on wheels, like the chariot. There are snaffle and bar bits for two horses
on the four-wheeled wagons of Poing type (ceremonial chariots). Reliable evidence for the
use of horses carrying humans, in other words as ridden animals, are found only in the Late
Bronze Age.
The development of the horse harness is another source of evidence in the study of the use
of horses as draught and ridden animals. How the horse harness was developed and used is
fiercely debated, as it relates to when the riding of horses started. In order to use the animals
to pull carts or to be ridden, and to achieve better steering, reins were required. There are two
different kinds: the nose rein, with a ring or bolt through the nasal septum, which was used
mainly with bovids but also with equids, and reins fastened to the head, which was mainly
used with equids and is still used today. The latter could be made entirely of organic material
or partly also of metal (for early reins and the effect on steering see Dietz 2011). The first indi-
cations of harnessing are found from the end of the third millennium bc in two different
regions, the Carpathian Basin and the Eurasian steppe. On these so-called snaffle-bits the
side or cheek-pieces were used to stop the mouth-pieces from shifting, thus making it easier
to control and direct the animals; with cattle this is not necessary. These bits were made of
antler, bone, or bronze. Two types are developed in the two regions. In the steppes mainly
disc-shaped and for a short period flat cheek-pieces were in use. In the Mediterranean and
Carpathian area bar cheek-pieces were most common, made initially from antler and, from
the end of the second millennium bc, of bronze. These bar pieces were increasingly used in
western and central Europe, and became the preferred form by the end of the Bronze Age
(Hüttel 1981; Boroffka 2004b; Dietz 2011).
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Wagons

From the time of its Neolithic invention, the wooden disc wheel was used on heavy carts
drawn by cattle. These agricultural vehicles were used until the Late Bronze Age, as many
wheels found in the marsh and lakeside settlements of the Alpine foothills show, and they
have continued in use until relatively recent times (Pare 2004; Züchner 2004). Whether the
simple carts and the more elaborate wagons were pulled over long distances or whether they
were just used for short local journeys cannot be said for certain. In the following, a sketch of
the development first of the wheels, from wooden disc to wooden spoked and metal spoked
wheels, and then of wagons, two- and four-wheeled is given.

Disc Wheels
The wheels that survive show that various kinds of wood were used: maple, ash, birch, beech,
oak, alder, elm—in other words a wide variety. An innovation added to Neolithic wheels was
the replaceable hub. The wheel and the hub were made of two different pieces; frequently the
hub was made of softer wood than the wheel. The wood grain of the hub ran at right angles to
that of the wheel and was thus significantly more durable and could support a greater weight.
The disc wheels with diameters of c.70–90 cm are slightly larger than their Neolithic prede-
cessors, as are the spoked wheels that emerged during the course of the Bronze Age (Vosteen
1999; Burmeister 2004: 330). Well-preserved examples are the four wooden wheels with
inserted hubs from Glum (Oldenburg, Germany: Fig. 22.1).
Representations in the form of clay wheel models are known from the Late Neolithic in
central Europe (Seregély 2004), and the many small Bronze Age clay discs, perforated and
thicker in the middle, may also have been wheel models.
An innovation over Neolithic wheels was composite construction out of several wooden
boards, some of which have crescent-shaped cut-outs to make them lighter, which points the
way to the spoked wheel. These are attested in northern Italy, through southern and north-
ern Germany to Ireland in the west, and are evidence of communication and the relatively
fast transfer of technology. A wheel of this kind was discovered in good condition in the
excavation of the Late Bronze Age Wasserburg at Bad Buchau (Germany). Such wheels were
probably used mainly with simple single or double-axle wagons to transport goods, while
the newer spoked wheels of the Bronze Age were used more for religious and prestige pur-
poses, or for warfare.
A hybrid of the disc and the spoked wheel is the strutted or cross-bar wheel. Instead of
spokes oriented to the centre, it has struts across the diameter. These wheels were not as
widely distributed and are used in the period c.1300–900 bc, particularly in southern
Europe.

Spoked Wheels
Spoked wheels on two- and four-wheeled wagons are attested in actual finds, bronze or clay
models, and representations on pottery and rock art. They are lighter but also significantly
more fragile than disc wheels. Horse-drawn, manoeuvrable, and fast, war chariots with
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fig. 22.1 The wooden disc-wheels from Glum, Ldkr. Oldenburg, Germany, made from
alder with inserted bushes made from birch; Dm. 75 cm.
Photo: Landesmuseum für Natur und Mensch Oldenburg.

spoked wheels were an intimidating and efficient means of combat at the beginning of the
second millennium bc in Asia Minor and later in Mycenae and Egypt. The first spoked
wheels to appear in central Europe in the Middle Bronze Age (see below, Vel’ké Raškovce
and Trundholm) were mostly unsuited to their ‘primary function’, the transport of humans
and heavy loads, owing to the often small number of spokes. Thus it is not surprising that
spoked wheels are found almost exclusively as funerary or votive objects.
In Europe, the earliest finds of actual spoked wheels date from the twelfth century bc
(a fragment of a rim from the Barnstorfer Moor, Landkreis Diepholz, Germany: Burmeister
2004: 333). By contrast, they are attested in clay models in eastern and southern Europe from
the Early to Middle Bronze Ages. Also from the Middle Bronze Age are the first Danish spoked
wheels, for example on the famous six-wheeled Trundholm sun chariot, drawn by a horse and
bearing a disc with one side covered in gold sheet (see Fig. 41.6). There is still no explanation
for the gap in time and space between this and the finds from central Europe, but it may be the
result of delays in transmission. The number of spokes varies, but four spokes are most fre-
quently depicted, though five or six spokes do occur; yet there are no finds of wooden four-
spoked wheels. A wooden wheel from the Barnstorfer Moor even has ten spokes, and a wheel
like this could certainly have been used in transporting heavy loads (Vosteen 1999).
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Metal Spoked Wheels

Of special note are the bronze spoked wheels, made through a sophisticated, single casting
process. They are the most ambitious craft endeavour of all Bronze Age bronze objects and
required many kilograms of casting metal; for instance, those from Stade, Germany, have
around 12 kg per wheel (see Fig. 22.2a). Even if the casting was not always perfect, the pieces
were finished and used. They reflect the wider development of bronze wheels at the end of
the Urnfield and beginning of the Hallstatt period. Such finds of the so-called Stade/Hass-
loch/Fa/Coulon type are found from the ninth-eighth centuries bc in the Pyrennean foot-
hills to the lower Elbe, have a diameter of 50–60 cm, and exhibit a wooden running surface
studded with bronze nails. They were components of four-wheeled vehicles. The occurrence
of such wheels together with an Early Iron Age situla in the French grave site of La Côte-
Saint-André (southern France) shows that this was a ceremonial vehicle. The wheels each
have six spokes and show traces of wood in the groove of the rim, but at the hub there were
no signs of friction, which makes it likely that the vehicle was made only for funerary pur-
poses (Vosteen 1999). The large bronze bucket standing on the wagon suggests a cult proces-
sion, in which libation rites may have played a part, as is also suggested by the miniature
chariots considered below.
The everyday use of these vehicles for transporting goods and heavy loads is thought to
have been rare owing to the brittleness and low strength of the wheels, so they were probably
mostly used in a votive context. The four bronze wheels from Hassloch (Germany), each
with five spokes, their wooden rims studded with bronze nails, are presumably from a simi-

(a)

(b)

fig. 22.2 (a) The cast bronze wheels from Stade, Germany; Dm. 58 cm; (b) Schematic draw-
ing of reconstructions of a two-wheeled and a four-wheeled cart.
(A. Photo: Schwedenspeicher Museum, Stade; B. drawing A. Sherratt,
© Landesmuseum für Natur und Mensch Oldenburg).
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land transport in the bronze age 405

lar votive context. The small number of spokes, at least eight in the case of later vehicles, is an
indication of their use in religous ceremonies rather than for carrying loads (Vosteen 1999).

Two-Wheeled Chariots
Currently the oldest two-wheeled chariots with spoked wheels come from Eurasia and were
placed in graves of the West Siberian Sintashta culture. These light chariots were drawn by
two horses. Parts of the harness are also found in the graves. They date from the late third
and early second millennia bc (Epimakhov and Koryakova 2004). Other chariots are found
in the Aegean from the seventeenth–sixteenth centuries bc, but survive almost exclusively in
images (Crouwel 2004: 341). In Egypt under Ramesses II they finally acquired the reputation
as a dangerous weapon that could decide the outcome of a conflict (as at the Battle of Kadesh,
thirteenth century bc). In central and north-west Europe there are few indications of two-
wheeled chariots, the earliest dating to the Middle Bronze Age. Among them is the incised
depiction on a Middle Bronze Age pot from Vel’ké Raškovce, Slovakia, which shows a two-
wheeled chariot with spoked wheels, each with four spokes, with a half-round chariot body
on which a figure is drawn. It is pulled by two animals, presumably horses (Boroffka 2004a:
351). Wagons and carts occur also frequently in Nordic rock art. The two-wheeled chariots
depicted there are each drawn by two horses; in rare but impressive cases a charioteer is
shown in outline standing on the wheel or on the wagon body. There are examples in the art
at Frännarp, for instance, and in the famous grave of Kivik, both in Scania, Sweden.
From their find contexts, two-wheeled chariots in graves can very probably be connected
with an elite, and must be considered as status symbols. These vehicles were probably not
used for transporting loads, but rather for rapid transport and as prestige items. Whether
they were also used as war chariots in battles in these regions of Europe remains highly
debatable (Pare 2004).
In south-west European rock-art depictions of two-wheeled vehicles can also be found,
presumably with disc wheels, with a rather triangular chariot body, quite similar to the
sledges and slide-cars that are also depicted. Here it is more likely that they are carts for trans-
porting loads (Züchner 2004). In the Late Bronze Age in the Iberian Peninsula there are
chariots depicted on so-called warrior stelae. These are mostly two-wheeled chariots that are
interpreted as the prestige vehicles of the warrior (Harrison 2004).

Four-Wheeled Wagons
Evidence for four-wheeled vehicles with disc wheels are found early in the Bronze Age. They
are in the tradition of Late Neolithic wagons, and survive as clay models, known especially
from the Carpathian Basin. These show wagons with high sides and four wheels, the early
ones with disc wheels and the later ones with spoked wheels (Boroffka 2004a: 347). In the
rock art of southern Scandinavia four-wheeled wagons mostly have disc wheels, more rarely
four-spoked wheels, and almost always have cattle as draught animals (Larsson 2004: 392).
An important innovation is the possibility of steering with a swivelling front axle, which is
attested by Late Bronze Age finds, for example in northern Germany (Burmeister 2004: 333).
In the course of the Bronze Age the four-wheeled vehicles are found more and more
often in votive or religous contexts. Wagons certainly continued to be used to transport
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heavy loads, but from the thirteenth century bc there emerged an elaborate four-wheeled
wagon construction whose body and other parts were often adorned with bronze fittings
and appear frequently as funerary goods in rich burials. Two traditions of construction
can be distinguished; one is from north of the Alps and the other in the eastern Car-
pathian Basin. The tradition north of the Alps is particularly visible in the wagon burials
of the thirteenth–twelfth centuries bc at the beginning of the Urnfield period. After an
apparent gap in finds during the following Urnfield period, they reappear in increased
numbers at the end of the Urnfield period, and then make a further, more widespread
appearance in the Hallstatt period (from c.800 bc onwards). As cremation predominated
in the Urnfield culture, and often the funerary gifts were burnt along with the body on
the pyre, only the bronze parts of the wagons have survived. The various finds permit the
reconstruction of a four-wheeled vehicle, with the wheels mostly having four spokes. The
hub is usually conical with bronze fittings, and sometimes the spokes and rims also have
bronze fittings. Such a wagon was drawn by two horses, which is demonstrated by bits or
components of bits in these graves. The wagon body is rectangular and richly adorned in
part with bronze fittings. Frequently the fittings have horn-like or bird-like extensions
and elements of a rail at the edge of the body. The very few finds of wagon body fittings
show that the elaborated four-wheeled wagons spread to large parts of northern and
western Europe (Pare 2004: 358).
The eastern tradition is less well represented in the finds and is distinguished by its cast
hub fittings. As only isolated pieces are known from hoards or single finds, it remains unclear
what the vehicle body looked like and whether the vehicles had two or four wheels.

The Functions of Wagons and Wheels

The vehicles used for everyday transport only rarely survive because they were made of
organic materials. Two-wheeled chariots were used as vehicles in Greece but also in the rest of
Europe, but more to convey the warrior into battle or to participate in prestige processions,
and less to be used as a weapon in conflict, as happened in the Near East (Crouwel 2004).
The significance of the four-wheeled vehicle with spoked wheels in the Bronze Age in cen-
tral Europe is shown by a series of cremation graves from the early Urnfield period (thir-
teenth–twelfth centuries bc), particularly in the Alpine foothills and on the central Swiss
plateau. In these graves were found the deformed remains of the bronze components of four-
wheeled vehicles. Axle caps, axle nails, hubs, and wheel fittings from graves and hoards are
easily recognized as vehicle components; what remains problematic is the unambiguous
identification of the function of the numerous bar-shaped objects, socket-like attachments,
handles, decorative panels, and fittings.
The vehicles were luxury and prestige items of a social elite as well as ceremonial wagons
used for cult purposes. Finds of weapons, tableware, and metal vessels demonstrate the
prominent position of the buried individual, whilst wagon adornments with the character of
amulets or bird figures point to the religous sphere.
The rich grave found in 1956 at Hart an der Alz (Upper Bavaria, Germany), with numer-
ous bronze parts of a four-wheeled vehicle, was the first of this group to be discovered. Today
about a dozen such graves are known. The best known of them, aside from Hart an der Alz,
are the graves of Mengen, Königsbronn (both in southern Germany), Kaisten, St Sulpice
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(both in western Switzerland), and the most recent discovery in Poing (Upper Bavaria). The
graves, all of them male cremations in sometimes huge burial chambers or cists, are mostly
richly equipped, with weapons and/or bronze objects, as well as many clay vessels arranged
as a table service.
The four-wheeled vehicle from Poing was probably pulled by two horses, as there were two
horse bits among the grave goods. As there were no bones in any of the graves, the horses
were clearly not buried with the deceased—as happened in the Middle Ages—but rather only
the bit was included as pars pro toto.
The final function of these vehicles was as a hearse. On the rectangular body of the wagon
the dead person was laid out and taken to the place of cremation, in a manner possibly com-
parable to the ancient Greek custom of ekphora (driving out). In the imagination, this drive
continued into the realm of the dead. It is very doubtful that these vehicles had previously
been used for everyday transport. They were probably used in cult processions or were the
exclusive prestige vehicles of their ‘rich’ owners, who in addition to their secular function as
warriors and chiefs, may also have carried out priestly roles in their community (as so-called
priest-chieftains). At the same time, owing to their many metal parts, the vehicles functioned
as displays of wealth.
The wagon as a funerary gift for a prominent social class declined in significance over the
centuries, but in the Hallstatt period it was revived over a wide geographical area in central
and western Europe. The everyday cart of the Urnfield period continued as an all wooden
vehicle with disc wheels (Pare 1992; 2004).
There is evidence of the dominance of the vehicles among the symbols and cult practices
of the Bronze Age in central Europe not only in grave finds but also in the multiplicity of
model chariots and wagons. At the end of the Urnfield period (tenth–ninth centuries bc) the
Lausitz culture, in the area from Brandenburg to Silesia (north-east Germany to west
Poland), has produced small two- or three-wheeled chariots fitted with a socket, adorned
with birds, bulls, or ‘hybrid creatures’, all stylized to a greater or lesser degree. One may safely
assume these chariots served as an ornament: perhaps as the finial of a shaft of a normal
chariot or mounted on the top of a staff used in cult processions.
Also ornamented with depictions of birds are a few vessels on wheels, the so-called caul-
dron-wagons (Kesselwagen). The largest example, found in Peckatel (Mecklenburg, Ger-
many), has a height of almost 40 cm. These cauldrons could be connected with rain magic
through their similarity to depictions on coins from the Thessalian city of Krannon from the
fourth century bc. The cauldron wagons that survive whole come without exception from
rich graves, for example Milavče, Peckatel, and Acholshausen (Fig. 22.3), which, like the
chariot graves, have clear warrior elements like swords and spearheads as grave goods.

Roads and Paths

The extent to which the vehicles described above were used for actual everyday transporta-
tion of heavy loads cannot be determined with certainty. Presumably the simpler carts and
wagons, few of which survive, were used primarily to transport products at the local level,
such as harvested grain. For wagons especially, relatively firm ground and, ideally, a paved or
levelled path is required. Currently there is no archaeological evidence of an inter-regional
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408 marion uckelmann

fig. 22.3 Bronze cauldron-wagon (Kesselwagen) from Acholshausen, Ldr. Würzburg,

southern Germany; Height 12 cm.
Photo: E. Hahn, Veitshöchheim.

system of roads connecting large parts of Europe, which is a pre-condition for the intensive
use of animal-drawn vehicles in the exchange of raw materials and finished goods.
Many stretches were very probably travelled by waterways (see Chapter 21). For the Bronze
Age it is possible to point directly or indirectly to a number of routeways. These sometimes
very impressive monuments lie far from each other and do not constitute a connected inter-
regional network. Finds from the bog areas of north-west Europe show the existence of
prehistoric traffic networks. In recent decades the focus of research has been in England in
the Somerset Levels (Coles, Caseldine, and Morgan 1982) and East Anglia (Flag Fen: Pryor
2005); Ireland (Raftery 1990); Holland (Casparie 1984); in parts of Jutland, Denmark (Schou
Jørgensen 1993); and in north-west Germany (Hayen 1989; Burmeister 2004).
In Flag Fen, lying in the fenland south-east of Peterborough, eastern England, a large area
was excavated. Amongst other features, a Late Bronze Age raised causeway was found, con-
necting two dry areas and extending on one side into a large wooden platform. The exact pur-
pose of this construction has not yet been idenitfied, but numerous finds—weapons, tools,
and ornaments—from the area around the platform and on the south-west side of the path
indicate the sacrificing of votive gifts in large numbers. The dendrological dates of the wood
extend from the thirteenth to the tenth century bc. However, the finds reflect a much longer
use of the place, which extends up to the Iron Age and the early Roman period (Pryor 2005).
These excavations throw new light on the discussion about whether the paths led through the
bog or only into it in order to procure resources (e.g. hunting and fishing; flint), or exclusively
for votive purposes (see Vosteen 1999). The more finds that are discovered, the more it seems
probable that it was a network to connect dry areas in the fen (see Burmeister 2004).
In north-west Germany prehistoric wooden trackways are known in the Weser-Ems
region in Lower Saxony. So far more than 300 built trackways have been found, and in the
adjoining Netherlands there are 40 more. In this region an extensive system of plank- and
log-paved roads, bridging impassable bogs, had existed since the Neolithic. There are both
narrow footpaths and broad carriageways. The Bronze Age trackways consist of oak planks
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land transport in the bronze age 409

fig. 22.4 Late Bronze Age trackway XII (Le) from a bog near Ockenhausen-Oltmannsfehn,
Ldkr. Leer, Northern Germany.
Photo: Landesmuseum für Natur und Mensch Oldenburg.

with holes at each end; vertical pegs in the holes prevented the planks shifting with the con-
stant movement of the bog(Fig. 22.4). Because of the small turning circles of the vehicles
they are only 2.5 m wide in contrast to the Neolithic paths that had a breadth of up to 4 m.
The trackways were maintained constantly. Numerous discarded parts of vehicles at the edge
of the path indicate the actual use of the tracks as well as breakdowns (Burmeister 2004: 334).
In several areas it has been possible to prove the planning of a network of paths and infra-
structure works. An example is a tree cut into planks, which was used in construction sites 75
km from each other. They date from the end of the eighth century bc and attest an extensive
planned road network. Paving with planks required a large quantity of building wood, and
Bronze Age metal axes undoubtedly facilitated timber procurement, and were instrumental
in making works of this magnitude possible (Hayen 1989).
Trackways have also survived in bogs in Ireland where a large number of the excavated
paths date to the Bronze Age. Here there was greater use of thinner wood, bundles of twigs
and thicker branches (brushwood) with planks being used only for exceptional purposes.
The bundles of twigs were firmly tied together and pressed lengthways into the bog-floor and
secured against shifting by lateral branches. Well-attested examples are the paths in the Cor-
lea and Derryoghil bogs (Fig. 22.5), dating to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (Raftery
1990). The trackways in the Somerset Levels were built in a similar fashion and also suggest
links between the drier areas by either side of the bog (Coles, Caseldine, and Morgan 1982).
Constructions along the routes of the trackways, such as bridges over rivers and fords, are
known, but they are not often found. Examples are the approaches to the Bronze Age lake
settlements of Forschner in southern Germany and Biskupin in Poland. The entry ways to
the gates of Bronze Age fortifications indicate that paths existed, at least in the areas close to
the fortification.
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410 marion uckelmann

fig. 22.5 Bronze Age trackway 10 from Derryoghil, Co. Longford, Ireland.
Photo: B. Raftery.

Paved paths apart from bog paths are very seldom found, and if they are they tend to be
small areas paved with stone or rubble. In Cham-Oberwil, Switzerland, ruts were discovered
under this paving, so that it may be assumed that this part of the road was very frequently
used and paved in order to give vehicles a better surface (Vosteen 1999: 72).
Further evidence of Bronze Age routes is given indirectly by other finds. Thus notable
finds at mountain and upland passes, for example in the Alps, show that these natural thor-
oughfares were used as early as the Bronze Age (Wyss 1970).
From lines of burial mounds one may assume the existence of paths along which
the mounds were placed, perhaps leading between two settlements or to one particular
settlement or monument. Naturally the existence of such paths can only be confirmed by
large-scale excavation. A good example is in the Bronze Age barrow cemetery of
Warendorf-Neuwarendorf (Germany), where a broad clearing is perceptible between the
graves, and wheel-tracks can even be made out. The later megalithic Langbetten are also
arranged in such a way as to flank the track on either side (Grünewald 2008).
There are numerous indications of more recent routeways, which may in part have already
been used in the Bronze Age, but evidence for this is scarce, as most of the ways were probably
not improved by means of built constructions and have left no datable traces. It is risky to
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land transport in the bronze age 411

assume the existence of routes on the basis of distribution maps of Bronze Age objects. The sites
(particularly the find-places of hoards) are merely the places where the objects were deposited,
and these are more likely special places in the landscape than points on traffic routes.

Conclusion

There are numerous indications of extensive transport connections and human mobility in
the Bronze Age, mainly based on the distribution of artefacts. In addition, many discoveries,
direct and indirect, point to the existence of transport technologies—cattle, horses, and vehi-
cle parts. However, on present knowledge, there would not have been an extensive wagon-
based traffic over long distances across Europe, as the ground in many parts would simply
not be suited for this, because of the damp climate. Paved and stabilized paths did exist, as
one can recognize particularly in boggy areas, where such trackways served mainly to link
drier settlement areas.
The everyday vehicle consisted of a simple cart drawn by cattle with two or four disc
wheels, later perforated disc wheels, by means of which goods were transported probably
only over short distances. For longer distances, pack animals and more likely human bearers
were probably used as carriers. For really long distances it is very probable that waterways,
along rivers and coasts, were used. The first vehicles drawn by horses are thought to be chari-
ots, used in combat or to gain prestige, and only later, probably at the end of the Bronze Age,
with better routeways and improved use of reins, were they harnessed as draught animals for
transport. The more elaborate vehicles of the Urnfield period, ornamented with bronze fit-
tings, were not suited to transport over land; at best they were used over short stretches at low
speed. They were used mainly in burial ritual.
The wagon and the wheel had a many-layered significance in the Bronze Age, as is shown
by the different finds and contexts that extend well beyond transport, and to some degree
reflect the fascination that they exercised on humans, not only as a status symbol and reli-
gious cult object but also as a symbol of mobility.

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