During the Bronze and Iron Age (2400 until 800 BC; followed by the Iron Age), society became increasingly specialized, with differences between rich and poor growing more pronounced. For the first time ever, weapons were forged that were primarily intended for combat with other humans. Trade flourished, and in the Burgenland region in eastern Austria, swords were found that either were copies of Greek rapiers or were supplied directly from Mycenae. In the mines of Hallstatt in Upper Austria, salt has preserved Europe’s oldest remnants of textiles over thousands of years, and archeologists were eventually able to reconstruct the original pieces of clothing. The first evidence of the wheel dates back to the Baden Culture (Copper Age), while innovative archeological methods that are today used the world over were originally developed in Schwarzenbach, Lower Austria.
 
Together with the film SOUNDS OF THE STONE AGE - METAL AGES forms a mini-series in 2 parts.