Salt has been mined in Hallstatt for more than 7000 years. The oldest company in the world dates back to that time and was based there: one site, one product. For 7000 years, people have lived and worked and made cultural history in Hallstatt - the place even lent its name to an entire Iron Age period, the Hallstatt culture. 150 years ago, mine manager Johann Georg Ramsauer was a key figure in establishing modern archaeology in Hallstatt. After 7000 years, the graves in the steep valley and the sites of the prehistoric adits began to release their secrets. Today the team of archaeologists led by Anton Kern keep discovering breathtaking finds. Text in English & German. AUTHOR: Anton Kern is the director of the Department of Prehistory at Vienna’s Natural History Museum. He is in charge of unrivalled archaeological treasures, among them the extraordinary Venus of Willendorf. Since 1993, he has led the excavations at the prehistoric burial site of Hallstatt. Lois Lammerhuber is a photographer and publisher. His photos have been published in hundreds of books and magazines and received international prizes. In 1996, he founded the Edition Lammerhuber publishing company. Rudolf Gamsjager is honorary president of the Musealverein Hallstatt and a member of the board of the OOE Museen. Stefan Maix has been chairman of the board of the OEsterreichischen Salinen AG. Hans Reschreiter he has been working at the Department of Prehistory of the Vienna Natural History Museum since 1992, where he is in charge of the collection and involved with excavations at the Hallstatt salt mine. Andreas Schwab is a freelance author and editor. Since 1990 he has been press spokesman of the city of Vienna; since 2009 he has been in charge of internal communication at the Magistratsdirektion Wien for the ‘Hauptbahnhof Wien’ project. SELLING POINTS: .The first book to present a collection of the most spectacular finds from one of the top ten archaeological digs in the world .7000 years of life and culture in one book. Each object is a work of art in itself, every turn of the page an exciting step into an unknown world, long forgotten .7000 years of world sensations in one book: the oldest rope ever found, the oldest staircase, the oldest gloves, the oldest backpack, the oldest file, the oldest saw and the oldest company in the world .Award-winning photographer Lois Lammerhuber presents key archaeological finds in an enchanting light, in various museums as well as at the actual digs. Long-term director of the Hallstatt dig, Anton Kern, provides a first-hand account of his archaeological treasures .Anton Kern, who led the excavation work for many years, provides a scientific and elegant account of the archaeological treasures unearthed in 150 years of digging ILLUSTRATIONS: 275 colour
