Auf den Spuren der Räter in Tirol: Die archäologischen Ausgrabungen auf der Hohen Birga und das Rätermuseum in Birgitz 2023

On the "Hohe Birga", a wooded hill north of Birgitz, is the largest settlement from the Late Iron Age in Tyrol that has been researched to date. The Rhaetians settled here over 2,000 years ago, inhabiting the Alpine region from the Lower Engadine in the west to the Virgen Valley in the east and as far south as Lake Garda. The heyday of their culture can be dated to the 4th-1st century BC, until the Romans subjugated the Rhaetians in the course of their Alpine campaign in 15 BC.
The first stop is the Rätermuseum in the centre of Birgitz, which offers an insight into the everyday life and living environment of a settlement from the Late Iron Age through the presentation of the numerous finds excavated on the "Hohe Birga", such as ceramic vessels, but also jewellery and tools made of metal as well as objects made of glass and bone.
Afterwards, it is a few minutes' walk to "Hohe Birga", where two partially reconstructed buildings uncovered during archaeological excavations in recent years can be viewed. In addition, the topography of the hill provides a better understanding of the settlement pattern in the Iron Age.