Lecture
The red treasure of the Alps. Modern garnet mining in the Eastern Alps from the perspective of interdisciplinary research
What actually is garnet, who mined it and what archaeological traces of this trade still exist in the high altitudes of the Alps?
As part of the project “Zillertal Garnet – Studies on the cultural heritage of the Eastern Alpine gemstone industry as reflected in interdisciplinary research”, comprehensive archaeological, historical and mineralogical investigations were carried out between 2021 and 2025.
With financial support from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Heritage Science Austria) and the University of Innsbruck, young researchers from the three aforementioned disciplines were able to successfully work on their dissertations on the subject of garnet in collaboration with the Tyrolean State Archives, the Zillertal Alps High Mountain Nature Park and others.
The lecture will present the results and at the same time provide an insight into the multifaceted world of this field of research.