Heunischenburg
The Heunischenburg is a stone fortification of the late Urnfield period near the Upper Franconian town of Kronach in Germany. Its heyday was in the 9th century BC, making it the oldest stone fortification north of the Alps that is known and archaeologically investigated. Topographical situation The fort is located on a 486-metre-high hill spur of the Wolfsberg, between the Kronach quarter of Gehülz and the village of Burgstall (Mitwitz). The fort probably guarded a copper and tin trading route in the Fichtel Mountains. While a mighty, 110-metre-long rampart protected the vulnerable eastern flank of the military camp, on the other sides the steeply sloping sides of the spur offer a natural protection that was reinforced by a wooden palisade. The typical features of a pincer gate and sally port suggest a late Mycenaean influence, so that contacts to the Mediterranean civilisation can be assumed. The strong, but small fort and the many weapons found distinguish the Heunischenburg clearly from the great centres of settlement of the late Bronze Age. Name Two meanings have been proposed: the term Heunen could refer to a grey, legendary thing from an earlier time. the root word Heunen (Hünen 'giant') could refer to legendary