Category Archives: EUROPE

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Scientists discover intact Ice Age woolly rhino in Siberia

Scientists discover intact Ice Age woolly rhino in Siberia

Russian researchers have just announced the discovery of a remarkably well-preserved woolly rhinoceros that was excavated in August 2020.

Scientists discover intact Ice Age woolly rhino in Siberia
The specimen was excavated in August 2020, and has yet to be transported for thorough analysis.

According to The Siberian Times, the specimen is between 20,000 and 50,000 years old, and was found in such pristine condition that much of its internal organs were still intact. Some are calling this the best-preserved carcass of its kind.

The frozen Siberian tundra offers the perfect conditions to preserve Ice Age remnants like this, while climate change has seen a slew of them melt to the surface. In recent years, experts in Yakutia, Siberia have excavated everything from ancient lion cubs and bison to a horse and woolly mammoths.

Scientists estimate that this latest discovery is about 80 percent undamaged. Indeed, all of its limbs, fur, and most of its teeth remain intact. Scientists are even confident that they can determine the creature’s last meal.

“The young rhino was between three and four years old and lived separately from its mother when it died, most likely by drowning,” said Dr. Valery Plotnikov from Yakutia’s Academy of Sciences. “The gender of the animal is still unknown… The rhino has a very thick short underfur, very likely it died in the summer.”

Footage of the woolly rhino discovered in Yakutia in August 2020.

The specimen was unearthed not too far from where Sasha, the world’s only baby woolly rhino, was discovered in 2014. Sasha is believed to be about 34,000 years old and was around seven months old when she died.

Sasha’s discovery first showed scientists that even baby woolly rhinos had fur, and this latest discovery has only strengthened that theory.

“We have learned that woolly rhinoceroses were covered in very thick hair,” said Dr. Plotnikov of Sasha. “Previously, we could judge this only from rock paintings discovered in France. Now, judging by the thick coat with the undercoat, we can conclude that the rhinoceroses were fully adapted to the cold climate from a young age.”

As it stands, researchers have been unable to further analyze this latest specimen until stable ice roads can form for them to travel back to Yakutia’s capital of Yakutsk.

Most of the animal’s teeth, fur, and internal organs were kept intact beneath the Siberian permafrost for millennia.

Discovered downstream of Tirekhtyakh River, finding the rhino wasn’t a cakewalk, as transportation across Yakutia’s utterly vast and remote territory is incredibly treacherous. Even in the summer, many areas are only accessible by air or boat.

In the winter, however, a rather practical network of ice roads forms, which allows people to travel across the tundra.

Despite having to wait for those roads to form in order to properly assess the specimen, Dr. Plotnikov and his team have already gleaned much from the find.

The horns of this creature, for instance, have suggested that this particular species of woolly rhino foraged for food. The fact that the animal’s internal organs remain intact will also show the scientists a lot about how this prehistoric creature lived.

“There are soft tissues in the back of the carcass, possibly genitals and part of the intestine,” said Dr. Plotnikov. “This makes it possible to study the excreta, while will allow us to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of that period.”

Yakutia is a remarkably fertile place for those in search of Ice Age animals. In just the last few years, researchers have found ancient wolf pups, “pygmy” mammoths, birds, foals, and more. Just this past summer, an Ice Age wolf pup was discovered with the remains of what could have been one of the last woolly rhinos on Earth in its stomach.

As for this latest woolly rhino, it will ultimately be transported to Sweden where researchers have been working to sequence the genomes of several species of prehistoric rhinos.

EUROPE, GREECE, WORLD

The Theopetra Cave and the Oldest Human Construction in the World

The Theopetra Cave and the Oldest Human Construction in the World

The Theopetra Cave is an archaeological site located in Meteora, in the central Greek region of Thessaly. As a result of archaeological excavations that have been conducted over the years, it has been revealed that the Theopetra Cave has been occupied by human beings as early as 130000 years ago.

In addition, evidence for human habitation in the Theopetra Cave can be traced without interruption from the Middle Palaeolithic to the end of the Neolithic period. This is significant, as it allows archaeologists to have a better understanding of the prehistoric period in Greece.

The cave is located on the slopes of a limestone hill overlooking Theopetra village.

Occupation of Theopetra Cave

The Theopetra Cave is situated on the northeastern slope of a limestone hill, about 100 m (330 ft above a valley. The cave overlooks the small village of Theopetra, and the Lethaios River, a tributary of the Pineios River, flows nearby.

According to geologists, the limestone hill was formed between 137 and 65 million years ago, which corresponds to the Upper Cretaceous period.

Based on the archaeological evidence, human beings only began to occupy the cave during the Middle Palaeolithic period, i.e. around 130000 years ago.

The cave itself has been described as being roughly quadrilateral in shape with small niches on its periphery and covers an area of about 500 sq meters (5380 sq ft). The Theopetra Cave has a large entrance, which allows light to enter abundantly into the interior of the cave.

The interior of the Theopetra Cave.

Investigation Begins

The archaeological excavation of the Theopetra Cave began in 1987 and continued up until 2007.

This project was directed by Dr. Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika, who served as the head of the Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology and Speleography when the excavations were being carried out.

It may be mentioned that when the archaeological work was first conducted, the Theopetra Cave was being used by local shepherds as a temporary shelter in which they would keep their flocks. It may be added that the Theopetra Cave was the first cave in Thessaly to have been archaeologically excavated, and also the only one in Greece to have a continuous sequence of deposits from the Middle Palaeolithic to the end of the Neolithic period.

This is significant, as it has allowed archaeologists to gain a better understanding of the transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic way of life in mainland Greece.

Excavations at the Theopetra cave began in 1987 under the direction of N. Kyparissi-Apostolika.

Several interesting discoveries have been made through the archaeological study of the Theopetra Cave. One of these, for instance, pertains to the climate in the area when the cave was being occupied.

By conducting micromorphological analysis on the sediment samples collected from each archaeological layer, archaeologists were able to determine that there had been hot and cold spells during the cave’s occupation. As a result of these changes in the climate, the cave’s population also fluctuated accordingly.

The World’s Oldest Wall

Another fascinating find from the Theopetra Cave is the remains of a stone wall that once partially closed off the entrance of the cave.

These remains were discovered in 2010, and using a relatively new method of dating known as Optically Stimulated Luminescence, scientists were able to date this wall to be around 23000 years old.

The age of this wall, which coincides with the last glacial age, has led researchers to suggest that the wall had been built by the inhabitants of the cave to protect them from the cold outside. It has been claimed that this is the oldest known man-made structure in Greece, and possibly even in the world.

The wall at Theopetra – is possibly the oldest existing man-made structure.

A year before this incredible discovery was made, it was announced that a trail of at least three hominid footprints that were imprinted onto the cave’s soft earthen floor had been uncovered. Based on the shape and size of the footprints, it has been speculated that they were made by several Neanderthal children, aged between two and four years old, who had lived in the cave during the Middle Palaeolithic period.

In 2009, the Theopetra Cave was officially opened to the public, though it was closed temporarily a year later, as the remains of the stone wall were discovered that year. Although the archaeological site was later re-opened, it was closed once again in 2016 and remains so due to safety reasons, i.e. the risk of landslides occurring.

EUROPE, PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Archaeologists Discover 3,000-Year-Old Megalithic Temple Used by a ‘Water Cult’

Archaeologists Discover 3,000-Year-Old Megalithic Temple Used by a ‘Water Cult’

Archaeologists Discover 3,000-Year-Old Megalithic Temple Used by a 'Water Cult'
Archaeologists uncovered a 3000-year-old megalithic temple in Peru

Archaeologists have discovered a 3000-year-old megalithic temple in Peru that an ancient “water cult” used for fertility rituals.

The temple, found at the Huaca El Toro archaeological site, is located in modern-day Oyotún in the Zaña Valley of  northwestern Peru. It is the first megalithic temple, or one made from large stones, found in this valley, which sits between two rivers that join together and give rise to the Zaña River.

The ancient cult, whose members worshiped water, likely built the temple in an area where a new river rises as a kind of “territorial symbolism,” said Edgar Bracamonte, an archaeologist with the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum in Peru, who took part in the excavations.

“Water is the most important element to live, and in this time, water was so difficult to access without technology.” 

The temple dates back 3,000 years, to the Formative period, a stage of ancient American history that predates any major hydraulic works, Bracamonte said.

The temple’s location between the rivers and the presence of the surrounding “pocitos,” or small wells that the ancients used to predict rainy seasons, “show water’s importance to people of [the] Formative period,” he added.

The temple was surrounded with tiny wells or “pocitos” that the ancient people used to predict rainy seasons.

The temple was constructed using different sizes of large, carved rocks, which were moved to the area from mountains around 1.86 miles (3 kilometers) away.

The temple is thought to have been abandoned around 250 B.C. and then used as a burial ground by the Chumy people who, around 1300, reoccupied the site, Bracamonte said.

The team discovered 21 tombs in the temple; 20 belonged to the Chumy people and one belonged to an adult male buried during the Formative period.

During that period, bodies were oriented east to west and buried with a single offering. This adult male was buried with a ceramic bottle that had two spouts and a bridge handle, a style characteristic of the final Formative period, Bracamonte said.

The excavations also revealed that the temple was occupied in three stages — the first between 1500 B.C. and 800 B.C., when people built the structure’s foundations from cone-shaped clay; the second between 800 B.C. and 400 B.C., when the megalithic temple was built with influences from the pre-Inca civilization known as the Chavin; and the third between 400 B.C. and 100 B.C., when people added circular columns that were used to hold up the roof of the temple.

The excavations took place between September and November of this year, but the researchers are continuing to analyze their finds in the lab.

To build this site, ancient people had to move stones from mountains around 1.86 miles (3 kilometers) away.
AUSTRIA, EUROPE, WORLD

1,500-Year-Old Christian Ivory Reliquary Box Discovered in Austria

1,500-Year-Old Christian Ivory Reliquary Box Discovered in Austria

1,500-Year-Old Christian Ivory Reliquary Box Discovered in Austria

Archaeologists have discovered an exceptional Christian ancient ivory reliquary  box in Austria that is thought to be around 1,500 years old.

Innsbruck archaeologists have been excavating in an old hilltop settlement in southern Austria since the summer of 2016. They made the incredible discovery of a Christian reliquary concealed in a previously unknown church two years ago. This reliquary contained an ancient ivory  box, richly decorated with Christian symbols.

The incredible artifact was discovered on August 4, 2022, in an early Christian church on the Burgbichl hill in Irschen, southern Austria, by a team headed by archaeologist Gerald Grabherr. A marble shrine measuring around 20 by 30 centimeters was hidden under the altar in the side chapel area.

The artifact in question is heavily fragmented, but researchers said the pieces once formed a type of round container known as a “pyx” that in this case was made of ivory and richly decorated with Christian motifs.

The shrine contained a heavily fragmented ivory “box” (pyx) richly decorated with Christian motifs – a reliquary that is normally taken away as the “holiest” part when a church is abandoned. In this case, however, it was left behind. It is the first such pyx to be found in an archaeological context in Austria.

The individual fragments of the ivory pyx found in a marble shrine laid out as a panorama.

“We know of around 40 ivory  boxes of this kind worldwide and, as far as I know, the last time one of these was found during excavations was around 100 years ago – the few pyxes that exist are either preserved in cathedral treasures or exhibited in museums,” explains the finder, Gerald Grabherr.

While the archaeologists initially assumed that the remains of a saint – i.e. a relic in the classic sense of the word – were also found in the marble  box, the layering of the fragments found in the shrine indicates that the ivory pyx was already broken in late antiquity and was buried in the altar.

“The pyx was presumably also seen as sacred and was treated as such because it was in contact with a relic. The archaeological and art-historical significance of the pyx cannot be denied,” emphasizes Gerald Grabherr.

At one end, the pyx shows a figure at the foot of a mountain – the man depicted is turning his gaze away and a hand rising out of the sky above him, placing something between the person’s arms.

 “This is the typical depiction of the handing over of the laws to Moses on Mount Sinai, the beginning of the covenant between God and man from the Old Testament,” says Gerald Grabherr.

This is followed by depictions of biblical figures. At the end, you can see a man on a chariot with two horses harnessed to it – and here, too, a hand coming out of the clouds pulls this figure up into heaven. “We assume that this is a depiction of the ascension of Christ, the fulfilment of the covenant with God.

The depiction of scenes from the Old Testament and their connection with scenes from  the New Testament New Testament is typical of late antiquity and thus fits in with our pyx; however, the depiction of the Ascension of Christ with a so-called biga, a two-horse chariot, is very special and previously unknown.”

Since its discovery, the 1,500-year-old ivory pyx has been conserved at the University of Innsbruck.

Ivory stored underground absorbs moisture, making it very soft and easily damaged. Uncontrolled drying can lead to shrinkage and cracks.

Ulrike Töchterle, head of the restoration workshop in Innsbruck, said, “The high humidity in the marble shrine meant there was a high risk of condensation and mold, so we had to ensure a careful and prolonged drying process.”

Over the past two years, the individual pieces of the ivory pyx have been conserved for  scientific analysis. The larger parts are deformed, so the pyx cannot be restored to its original state. However, researchers are working on a 3D reconstruction.

EUROPE, NORWAY, WORLD

A Unique Discovery in Europe: Ancient Stone Circles Cover 2,800-Year-Old Graves of Children in Norway

A Unique Discovery in Europe: Ancient Stone Circles Cover 2,800-Year-Old Graves of Children in Norway

A Unique Discovery in Europe: Ancient Stone Circles Cover 2,800-Year-Old Graves of Children in Norway

Archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo discovered an unknown burial site in a quarry near Fredrikstad, in southeastern Norway.

This find has been found to contain the remains of mostly children, all of whom died more than 2,000 years ago. The burial field is unique in a European context, according to the Museum of Cultural History.

In December 2023, the team of archaeologists, led by Guro Fossum, was initially investigating ancient Stone Age settlements when they found stone formations that turned out to be burial circles.

The children, whose ages ranged from infancy to six years old at the time of their deaths, had their partially burnt bones interred directly beneath the intriguing stone circles, in exquisitely crafted ceramic pots that had long since broken into fragments. After the skeletal remains were dated, it was discovered that nearly all of the children had been buried during Norway’s Bronze and Iron Ages, between 800 and 400 BC.

“The dating shows that the burial site was used over a long period, so they couldn’t all have died in the same natural disaster or outbreak of disease or epidemic,” says Guro Fossum.

The painstakingly built stone circles were found in 2023 while excavating a rural field close to the southern Norwegian city of Fredrickstad. They were situated close to a Stone Age settlement, which was the original site being investigated, and were only 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) below the earth’s surface.

The stone formations were all between three and six feet (one and two meters) in diameter and were either perfectly round or oval-shaped. Some had larger stones placed in the middle or on their edges, signaling some diversity or creativity in the designs.

The tombs show variations in the arrangement of the cremated remains, some placed in urns and others simply under the stone circles. The amount of bones recovered was minimal in many cases, between 0.1 and 240 grams per tomb, which presented a considerable challenge for the archaeologists and osteologists involved in the study.

The children’s graves date from the transition between the Bronze and Iron Ages, with most of them buried between 800 and 400 years BCE.

Aside from the children’s tombs, everyday objects like fire pits and kitchen pits were discovered near the site. This implies that the location may have functioned as a community gathering spot in addition to a cemetery, possibly for funeral-related events.

There was something special about the whole place. The tombs are very close together. They must have been in an open landscape, with nearby communication routes, so everyone knew about them. Furthermore, all the tombs were very beautiful and meticulously worked. Each stone came from a different place and was precisely placed in the formation. We wondered who had made such an effort, says Fossum.

The burial site, unique in the European context, has sparked interest not only for its rarity but also for its emotional implications.

An associate professor of archaeology at the University of Stavanger, Håkon Reiersen emphasizes that this find connects us deeply with the universal human emotions related to the loss and mourning of children, showing that people in the past were not so different from us in terms of how they honored their dead.

Fossum finds it interesting that men, women, and especially children had their own tombs and received the same treatment for centuries.

“It seems that the social structure was more egalitarian, as there wasn’t much difference between the graves. The same types of graves, grave goods, and burial methods were used. This suggests a society where community was important,” she said.

Only one of the graves in the field is dated to after the year 0. From that point on, burial practices gradually changed, with hierarchies and large burial mounds reserved only for those with status.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Gravitational Wave Researchers Shed New Light on the Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Computer Antikythera Mechanism

Gravitational Wave Researchers Shed New Light on the Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Computer Antikythera Mechanism

Gravitational Wave Researchers Shed New Light on the Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Computer Antikythera Mechanism

Astronomers from the University of Glasgow who specialize in studying tiny ripples in space-time have shed new light on the 2200-year-old Antikythera mechanism.

A shoebox-sized device found in fragments and eroded was discovered in 1901 by divers exploring a sunken shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera. The Antikythera mechanism, also known as a “clockwork computer,” is a small bronze instrument that predates any machine of comparable complexity by over a millennium.

The device sat in a museum for fifty years before historians began to take a serious look at it. Decades of subsequent research and analysis have established that the mechanism dates from the second century BCE and functioned as a kind of hand-operated mechanical computer. Exterior dials connected to the internal gears allowed users to predict eclipses and calculate the astronomical positions of planets on any given date with accuracy unparalleled by any other known contemporary device.

Astronomers from the University of Glasgow have used statistical modeling techniques developed to analyze gravitational waves to establish the likely number of holes in one of the broken rings of the Antikythera mechanism – an ancient artifact that was showcased in the movie Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

While the movie version enabled the intrepid archaeologist to travel through time, the Glasgow team’s results provide fresh evidence that one of the components of the Antikythera mechanism was most likely used to track the Greek lunar year. They also offer new insight into the remarkable craftsmanship of the ancient Greeks.

In 2020, new X-ray images of one of the mechanism’s rings, known as the calendar ring, revealed fresh details of regularly spaced holes that sit beneath the ring. Since the ring was broken and incomplete, however, it wasn’t clear how just how many holes were there originally. Initial analysis by Antikythera researcher Chris Budiselic and colleagues suggested it was likely somewhere between 347 and 367.

Now, in a new paper published today in the Horological Journal, the Glasgow researchers describe how they used two statistical analysis techniques to reveal new details about the calendar ring. They show that the ring is vastly more likely to have had 354 holes, corresponding to the lunar calendar, than 365 holes, which would have followed the Egyptian calendar. The analysis also shows that 354 holes is hundreds of times more probable than a 360-hole ring, which previous research had suggested as a possible count.

Professor Graham Woan, of the University of Glasgow’s School of Physics & Astronomy, is one of the authors of the paper. He said: “Towards the end of last year, a colleague pointed to me to data acquired by YouTuber Chris Budiselic, who was looking to make a replica of the calendar ring and was investigating ways to determine just how many holes it contained.

The Antikythera mechanism is housed in the Bronze Collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

“It struck me as an interesting problem, and one that I thought I might be able to solve in a different way during the Christmas holidays, so I set about using some statistical techniques to answer the question.”

Professor Woan used a technique called Bayesian analysis, which uses probability to quantify uncertainty based on incomplete data, to calculate the likely number of holes in the mechanism using the positions of the surviving holes and the placement of the ring’s surviving six fragments. His results showed strong evidence that the mechanism’s calendar ring contained either 354 or 355 holes.

At the same time, one of Professor Woan’s colleagues at the University’s Institute for Gravitational Research, Dr Joseph Bayley, had also heard about the problem. He adapted techniques used by their research group to analyze the signals picked up by the LIGO gravitational wave detectors, which measure the tiny ripples in spacetime, caused by massive astronomical events like the collision of black holes, as they pass through the Earth, to scrutinize the calendar ring.

The Markov Chain Monte Carlo and nested sampling methods Woan and Bayley used provided a comprehensive probabilistic set of results, again suggesting that the ring most likely contained 354 or 355 holes in a circle of radius 77.1mm, with an uncertainty of about 1/3 mm. It also reveals that the holes were precisely positioned with extraordinary accuracy, with an average radial variation of just 0.028mm between each hole.

Bayley, a co-author of the paper, is a research associate at the School of Physics & Astronomy. He said: “Previous studies had suggested that the calendar ring was likely to have tracked the lunar calendar, but the dual techniques we’ve applied in this piece of work greatly increase the likelihood that this was the case.

“It’s given me a new appreciation for the Antikythera mechanism and the work and care that Greek craftspeople put into making it – the precision of the holes’ positioning would have required highly accurate measurement techniques and an incredibly steady hand to punch them.

Professor Woan added: “It’s a neat symmetry that we’ve adapted techniques we use to study the universe today to understand more about a mechanism that helped people keep track of the heavens nearly two millennia ago.

“We hope that our findings about the Antikythera mechanism, although less supernaturally spectacular than those made by Indiana Jones, will help deepen our understanding of how this remarkable device was made and used by the Greeks.”

The paper, titled ‘An Improved Calendar Ring Hole-Count for the Antikythera Mechanism: A Fresh Analysis’, is published in Horological Journal.

EUROPE, GERMANY, WORLD

2,000-year-old Roman Military Sandal with Nails Found in Germany

2,000-year-old Roman Military Sandal with Nails Found in Germany

2,000-year-old Roman Military Sandal with Nails Found in Germany

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman Military Sandal near an auxiliary Roman camp in Germany.

Archaeologists from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation unearthed the military-style footwear while excavating at a civilian settlement on the outskirts of a Roman military fort near Oberstimm.

The settlement would have been occupied sometime between A.D. 60 and 130, according to a translated statement from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD).

This is how the remains of the sole of the Roman sandal were found

Surprising discoveries like the Oberstimm Sole show again and again that even after archaeological excavations are completed, valuable information is gathered.

This underscores the invaluable work of our restorers, says Mathias Pfeil, general conservator of the Bavarian State Office for the Conservation of Monuments (BLfD).

The rare find was disguised by a thick layer of corrosion, giving it the appearance of two indeterminate lumps of bent metal. Even, a curved and heavily corroded metal piece was initially suspected to be the remains of a sickle.

An X-ray at the laboratory of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD) revealed that the corroded lumps were hobnails.

The shoe was a caliga, a heavy-duty, hobnailed sandal that was part of the uniform issued to Roman legionary soldiers and auxiliaries. The shoe would have been worn while the person was marching, with the nails providing traction.

The iron nails were used to reinforce and fix the leather sole. They provided stability and traction to the shoe when walking on difficult terrain, just like modern cleats do.

X-ray analysis confirmed that it is the sole of a Roman sandal studded with nails.

The discovery shows that the practices, lifestyles, and also the clothing that the Romans brought to Bavaria were adopted by the local people, says Amira Adaileh, a specialist at the Bavarian State Office for the Conservation of Monuments.

Individual shoe nails are frequently discovered at Roman sites, but only in certain circumstances are they preserved alongside remnants of the leather sole. 

Comparable findings in Bavaria are known so far from only a handful of sites and they offer important new perspectives on Roman daily life and craftsmanship.

EUROPE, WORLD

Archaeologists discover Europe’s longest prehistoric mound in the Czechia

Archaeologists discover Europe’s longest prehistoric mound in the Czechia

Archaeologists discover Europe’s longest prehistoric mound in the Czechia

Czech archaeologists in the Hradec Králové area in East Bohemia have discovered what is probably the longest prehistoric mound in Europe.

Archaeologists first uncovered an “elongated trapezoidal gutter” during road work between Dlouhé Dvory and Lípa, the Department of Archaeology at the University of Hradec Králové said in a June 19 Facebook post. The gutter was identified as a “typical” structure for an ancient burial mound known as a long barrow.

The mound, which was found along the route of a future motorway near the village of Dohalice, is about 190 meters in length and has a maximum width of 15 meters. 

The length of this gutter, and of the mound in general, is 190 m, making it one of the longest monuments of its kind in the whole of Central Europe.

Mound date back to the Eneolithic period, the Funnel-Beaker culture (3800-3350 BC), and it is in this period that burial complexes, of which the mounds are a part, first appear in this territory.

The massive ancient burial mound as seen from above.

The above-ground portion of the ancient mound was gone, likely destroyed by agricultural work, the department said.

The team has also managed to excavate the entrance to the barrow, which is preserved in the form of a posthole and a gutter.

Archaeologists discovered two central burials, which contained the individuals for whom the mound was most likely built, as well as 28 additional burials.

The graves, like the surrounding mound, are likely to be at least 5,300 years old.  More precise ages will be obtained from the burials through laboratory analysis.

Grave in a mound body.

In the statement, archaeologists said: “The burial mounds were built as monumental funerary objects and as such they contain graves, we call them central burials and assume that they are the burials of the individuals for whom the mound was built. In our case, two central burials were recorded.”

“The first central burial – a grave with an internal pit construction consisting of gutters on the longer sides and post holes at the corners, The grave offering was a ceramic vessel, the body lying on its left side facing north. The second central burial – the grave was without an internal structure, the body was also lying on the left side.”

Archaeologists discovered several objects deposited as offerings near the central burials. Pottery fragments were found in one grave, and four flint arrowheads and a flint blade were found in another.

The grave inventory of the central burials is consistent with analogous sites in Czechia and Poland.