Heidengraben

Heidengraben

Shown within Germany
Location	Swabian Jura, Baden-Württemberg
Region	Germany
Coordinates	48°31′59″N 9°27′00″E / 48.533°N 9.45°E / 48.533; 9.45
Type	Circular rampart or oppidum, burial mounds
Area	c. 1,700 hectares
History
Builder	Celts
Material	stone, earth, wood
Founded	late 2nd century BC
Abandoned	early 1st century BC
Periods	Iron Age
Cultures	Celts, La Tène
Site notes
Public access	Yes

Heidengraben ("pagans' moat") is the name given to the remains of a large Celtic fortified settlement (oppidum) dating to the Iron Age, located on the plateau of the Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb) in the districts of Reutlingen and Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The settlement was in use from about the late 2nd century BC to the early 1st century BC. By surface area, Heidengraben is the largest oppidum in all of mainland Europe.

Heidengraben is situated in the municipalities of Grabenstetten, Hülben and Erkenbrechtsweiler in the districts of Reutlingen and Esslingen in southern Germany. It sits on a part of the high plateau of the Swabian Jura at the steep escarpment known as Albtrauf which rises as much as 400 m above the foothills. This area is known as the Grabenstettener Halbinsel. Height above sea level is around 700 m.

The outer fortifications delineate an area of over 1,700 hectares (17 square km), making this oppidum the largest known in mainland Europe. The 2.5 km long walls make strategic use of the escarpment to create this large area surrounded either by wall or steep bluff. The walls cut off the inner area from the rest of the plateau and also divide it from three sections that are hard to fortify or oversee. In front of the wall was a moat. The rampart, in parts still about 3 m high, has eight gates – variants of the late Celtic Zangentor (). One of them, with a 35 m long entry way, is one of the largest and best-preserved of its kind.

The inner fortification, to the south-west, named Elsachstadt, likely marking the core of the Celtic settlement, covers around 153 hectares. It is surrounded by part of the outer wall and another inner rampart with a double moat and three gates. Not much is known about the internal settlement structures, however, as the buildings were made of wood and the area has been subject to erosion and been used for agriculture for centuries. Only the Elsachstadt was apparently also fortified in the direction of the escarpment.