Researching Change – Understanding Change – Facing Change. 3500 years of human-environment relations in the Hallstatt/Dachstein region

• 1. Introduction
• 2. The UNESCO World Heritage Area Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut: a core area to study change and adaptation
• 3. Studying Change and Adaptation
  • 3.1 FACEALPS – Facing change in the Alps. 3500 years of human-environment interrelation in the UNESCO World Heritage Region of Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut
  • 3.2 Hipercorig. Accessing a deep time window into the past of the World Heritage area Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut
  • 3.3 Groundcheck: Saltscape Hallstatt. Human-environment interaction and palaeoclimate at high altitude in the Hallstatt-Dachstein saltscape
• 4. A Core Area to Communicate and Engage with Climate Change
  • 4.1 VirtualArch – generation of scientific knowledge
  • 4.2 Sustainability Parcour
  • 4.3 Hallstatt Game(s) – learning and engaging through gaming
• 5. Conclusions
• Acknowledgements

Figure 1: The UNESCO World Heritage Area Hallstatt-Dachstein Salzkammergut seen from Graseck. Image credit: D. Brandner

Figure 2: The UNESCO World Heritage Area Hallstatt-Dachstein Salzkammergut in 360°. Image credit: D. Brandner/NHM Vienna

Figure 3: The view from the Rudolfsturm tower covers 7000 years of industry. Image credit: D. Brandner

Figure 4: For millennia this remote alpine area was the demographic and economic centre of a wide region. Image credit: D. Brandner

Figure 5: VIDEO. Schematic presentation of Hallstatt Bronze Age and Iron Age mine workings. Image credit: D. Brandner, H. Reschreiter/NHM Vienna

Figure 6: Sketchfab model. Explore the prehistoric mining halls in 3-D. Image credit: D. Brandner/NHM Vienna

Figure 7 a b c: Archaeological finds from the salt mines a) Iron Age pick, b) Bronze Age carrying sack, c) Bronze Age bucket. More finds from Hallstatt in 3-D at https://skfb.ly/onSNI. Image credit: D. Brandner/NHM Vienna

Figure 8: The Natural History Museum Vienna and its labs in 360°. Image credit: D. Brandner/NHM Vienna

Figure 9a: Coring lake Hallstatt with the Hipercorig coring device. Image credit: Reschreiter/NHM Wien

Figure 9b: VIDEO. Time lapse video of the six-week coring campaign. Image credit: Ortler/Rittmannsperger/Kowarik/Strasser/Reschreiter/NHM Wien & UIBK

Figure 10: The Austrian Core Scanning facility at the University of Innsbruck in 360°. Image credit: D. Brandner/NHM Vienna and Univ. of Innsbruck

Figure 11: The karstic plateau of the Dachstein massive, to explore this landscape in 360°. Image credit: D. Brandner

Figure 12: The coring platform is transported to Grafenbergsee via helicopter. Image credit: D. Brandner/NHM Vienna

Figure 13: VIDEO. Drone flight over coring platform at Grafenbergsee. Image credit: R. Scholz/RGK

Figure 14: The final point of the underground tour in the Salzwelten is the Bronze Age cinema. Image credit: Bronzezeitkino, Scenomedia

Figure 15a: Outreach activities span from local science fairs to exhibitions in the Natural History Museum to virtual projects. Image credit: H. Pernkopf/Salzwelten

Figure 15b: Outreach activities span from local science fairs to exhibitions in the Natural History Museum to virtual projects. Image credit: H. Pernkopf/Salzwelten

Figure 16: The goal of Hallstatt VR is, however, not 'only' to present a good optical impression of the prehistoric mines, but to demonstrate the large amount of data used to build the model of the prehistoric mine and where the individual pieces of information come from. Image credit: C. Fasching/NHM Vienna

EAC 2021 'Climate Change and Archaeology Concept Note' https://www.europae-archaeologiae-consilium.org/_files/ugd/881a59_f22a71eae92340e49536b737cf9613fa.pdf

Festi, D., Brandner, D., Grabner, M., Knierzinger, W., Reschreiter, H. and Kowarik, K. 2021 '3500 years of environmental sustainability in the large-scale alpine mining district of Hallstatt, Austria', Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 35 (2021), 102670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102670

Harms, U., Raschke, U., Schwalb, A., Anselmetti, F., Strasser, M., Wittig, V., Wessels, M., Schaller, S., Fabbri, S. and Niederreiter, R. 2020 'Hipercorig – an innovative hydraulic coring system recovering over 60m long sediment cores from deep perialpine lakes', Scientific Drilling 28, 29-41, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-28-29-2020

Grabner, M., Wächter, E., Nicolussi, K., Bolka, M., Sormaz, T., Steier, P., Wild, E.M., Barth, F.E., Kern, A., Rudorfer, J., Kowarik, K., Stöllner, T. and Reschreiter, H. 2021 'Prehistoric salt mining in Hallstatt, Austria. New chronologies out of small wooden fragments', Dendrochronologia 66, April 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2021.125814

Knierzinger, W., Festi, D., Limbeck, A., Horak, F., Brunnbauer, L., Drollinger S., Wagreich, M., Huang, J., Strasser, M., Knorr, K., Reschreiter, H., Gier S., Kofler, W., Herzig, C. and Kowarik, K. 2021 'Multi-proxy analyses of a minerotrophic fen to reconstruct prehistoric periods of human activity associated with salt mining in the Hallstatt region (Austria)', Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 36, 102813, April 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102813

Kowarik, K. mit Beiträgen von Michael Grabner, Julia Klammer, Konrad Mayer, Hans Reschreiter, Elisabeth Wächter und Georg Winner 2019 Hallstätter Beziehungsgeschichten. Wirtschaftsstrukturen und Umfeldbeziehungen der bronze - und ältereisenzeitlichen Salzbergbaue von Hallstatt/OÖ, Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich 50, Linz.

Lauterbach, S., Strasser, M., Tjallingli, R., Kowarik, K., Reschreiter, H., Spötl, C. and Brauer, A. 2017 'Deposits of large-scale mass movements in the sediments of Hallstätter See (Austria) – recurrent natural hazards at a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site', American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2017, abstract #PP44B-02. https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/241064

Lauterbach, S., Strasser, M., Kowarik, K., Reschreiter, H., Mandl, G.W., Spötl, C. and Brauer, A. in prep 'Large-scale mass movements recorded in the sediments of Hallstätter See (Upper Austria) – evidence for recurrent natural hazards at a UNESCO World Heritage Site', Journal of Quaternary Science.

Maixner, F., Sarhan, M. S., Huang, K. D. et al. 2021 'Hallstatt miners consumed blue cheese and beer during the Iron Age and retained a non-Westernized gut microbiome until the Baroque period', Current Biology 31/23, P5149-5162.e6, December 06, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.031

Mandl, F. 2015 'Die Geschichte der Almwirtschaft auf dem Dachsteingebirge', in T. Stöllner and K. Oeggl (eds), Bergauf Bergab: 10.000 Jahre Bergbau in den Ostalpen. Bochu: Veröffentlichung aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum Bochum 207, 37-42.

Ostrom, E. 2015 Governing the Commons. The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316423936

Reschreiter, H., Brandner, D., Cölsch, J., Slamar, I., Prenner, J., Poppenwimmer, F. and Scheucher, A. 2019 'Virtual Hallstatt – experience the hidden World Cultural Heritage Site' in R. Karl and J. Leskovar (eds) Interpretierte Eisenzeiten, Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich 49, Linz. 359-66.

Strasser, M., Berberich, B., Fabbri, S., Hilbe, M., Huang, J-J. S., Lauterbach, S., Ortler, M., Rechschreiter, H., Brauer, A., Anselmetti, F. and Kowarik, K. 2020 Geomorphology and Event-Stratigraphy of Recent Mass-Movement Processes in Lake Hallstatt (UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape, Austria), Geological Society, London, Special Publications 500, 31 March 2020. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP500-2019-178