The Sandberg, a hill ridge in the northwestern part of the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria approximately 70 km north of Vienna, has recently emerged as one of the potentially most important archeological sites of the middle La Tène culture in Central Europe. The settlement which flourished there was not fortified, and therefore does not qualify as an oppidum. However, what is known to date suggests that it was not only large (probably covering more than 400,000 sqm) but also a wealthy and powerful center for trade, culture, religion and political power between southern Bohemia and the Danube valley.