Approach and content of the conference

La Tène period cult practices, as they manifest in sacred places, sacrifices and feasts have a specific fascination in popular science, but also are a highly interesting field of study for interdisciplinary research. Within the framework of this international conference, the current status of research at the most diverse sites of La Tène period cult and religious practice are presented and debated. The focus is on the evidence, the reconstruction and the interpretation of different cult practices in the archaeological context, whereby similarities and differences of the individual manifestations are to be discussed.

In addition to archaeological research, there is a significant emphasis on the interdisciplinary research of these sacred sites: in particular, specialist disciplines such as anthropology, archaeozoology and archaeobotany or various other scientific analysis on archaeological material etc. enable significant contributions to an interpretation approach that is as holistic as possible.

The impetus for this international conference was on the one hand by the book presentation on the many years of interdisciplinary rescue excavations and research in the Celtic cult area on the Perl‐ /Stadläckern on the Frauenberg near Leibnitz/Styria as well as the results of 30 years of interdisciplinary research on the sanctuaries on the Sandberg in Roseldorf/Lower Austria.