Ipf (mountain)

{{Short description|Mountain near Bopfingen, Germany}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Ipf

| photo = File:Ipfvonwesten.JPG

| photo_caption = Ipf

| photo_size = 250

| elevation_m = 668

| elevation_ref =

| map = Germany Baden-Württemberg

| map_caption = Location within Baden-Württemberg

| label_position = left

| location = Baden-Württemberg, Germany

| range = Swabian Jura

| coordinates = {{coord|48|52|14|N|10|21|23|E|type:mountain_region:DE-BW_scale:100000_source:dewiki|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| range_coordinates =

}}

The Ipf is a mostly treeless mountain ({{convert|668|m}} high), near Bopfingen, Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with a prehistoric hill fort on its top.

The fort is situated on an isolated hill, with a flattened summit surrounded by a stone wall, ditch and large counterscarp (outer bank). The overall diameter is about {{convert|180|m}}. Extensive ramparts traverse the slopes to protect a large enclosed area and entranceway. There is evidence of occupation from the Bronze Age (Urnfield culture) through the Iron Age to the early Celtic La Tene period, a span of almost a thousand years (1200 BC – 300 BC).F. Hertlein: Die vorgeschichtlichen Befestigungen auf dem Ipf. Blätter des Schwäbischen Albvereins, 23. Jg. (1911), Nr. 2, S. 48–55 und Nr. 3, S. 68–74. The summit was already levelled, fortified and densely settled in the Urnfield period.{{cite book|url=https://una-editions.fr/mount-ipf-in-southern-germany/|title=Vix et le phénomène princier|chapter=Mount Ipf in southern Germany. The fortification, spatial organization and territory of a “Princely Seat” of the Early Iron Age|isbn=978-2-35613-360-1|last1=Krause|first1=Rüdiger|date=July 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/37315489/Die_bronzezeitliche_Burg_auf_dem_Ipf_Neue_Forschungen_zum_Burgenbau_und_Krieg_in_der_Bronzezeit|title=Die bronzezeitliche Burg auf dem Ipf – Neue Forschungen zum Burgenbau und Krieg in der Bronzezeit|access-date=9 April 2022}} During the early Iron Age Hallstatt period and into the early La Tène period the Ipf was an important 'princely seat' – a regional centre of power and aristocratic residence with long-distance trade connections, including with Greece and Italy.{{cite book|url=https://una-editions.fr/mount-ipf-in-southern-germany/|title=Vix et le phénomène princier|chapter=Mount Ipf in southern Germany. The fortification, spatial organization and territory of a “Princely Seat” of the Early Iron Age|isbn=978-2-35613-360-1|last1=Krause|first1=Rüdiger|editor-last1=Brun|editor-first1=Patrice|editor-last2=Chaume|editor-first2=Bruno|editor-last3=Sacchetti|editor-first3=Federica|date=July 2021}}