Ipf (mountain) explained

Ipf
Photo Size:	250
Elevation M:	668
Map:	Germany Baden-Württemberg
Label Position:	left
Location:	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Range:	Swabian Jura
Coordinates:	48.8706°N 10.3564°W

The Ipf is a mostly treeless mountain (high), near Bopfingen, Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with a prehistoric hill fort on its top.

The fort is situated on an isolated hill, with a flattened summit surrounded by a stone wall, ditch and large counterscarp (outer bank). The overall diameter is about . Extensive ramparts traverse the slopes to protect a large enclosed area and entranceway. There is evidence of occupation from the Bronze Age (Urnfield culture) through the Iron Age to the early Celtic La Tene period, a span of almost a thousand years (1200 BC – 300 BC).^[1] The summit was already levelled, fortified and densely settled in the Urnfield period.^{[2] [3]} During the early Iron Age Hallstatt period and into the early La Tène period the Ipf was an important 'princely seat' – a regional centre of power and aristocratic residence with long-distance trade connections, including with Greece and Italy. ^[4]

See also

• Urnfield culture
• Hallstatt culture
• La Tene culture
• Heuneburg
• Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave
• Hohenasperg
• Glauberg
• Vix Grave
• Burgstallkogel
• Ipf bei Bopfingen German-language wikipedia page with more information
• Alte Burg (Langenenslingen)
• Magdalenenberg
• Lavau Grave
• Oppidum of Manching

External links

• Mount Ipf in southern Germany. The fortification, spatial organization and territory of a “Princely Seat” of the Early Iron Age (Krause 2021)
• Crossing the Alps: Early Urbanism between Northern Italy and Central Europe (900-400 BC), Edited by Lorenzo Zamboni, Manuel Fernández-Götz & Carola Metzner-Nebelsick (2020) Includes a visual reconstruction of the Ipf hillfort.
• Digital animation/ reconstruction of the Ipf hillfort
• Ipf

Notes and References

1. F. Hertlein: Die vorgeschichtlichen Befestigungen auf dem Ipf. Blätter des Schwäbischen Albvereins, 23. Jg. (1911), Nr. 2, S. 48–55 und Nr. 3, S. 68–74.
2. Book: Vix et le phénomène princier. Mount Ipf in southern Germany. The fortification, spatial organization and territory of a “Princely Seat” of the Early Iron Age. 978-2-35613-360-1. Krause. Rüdiger. July 2021.
3. Web site: Die bronzezeitliche Burg auf dem Ipf – Neue Forschungen zum Burgenbau und Krieg in der Bronzezeit. 9 April 2022.
4. Book: Vix et le phénomène princier. Mount Ipf in southern Germany. The fortification, spatial organization and territory of a “Princely Seat” of the Early Iron Age. 978-2-35613-360-1. Krause. Rüdiger. Brun. Patrice. Chaume. Bruno. Sacchetti. Federica. July 2021.