Bronze Age Skeletons Found in Eastern Germany
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- One of the skeletons unearthed at the burial site was that of a woman in a seated position.
- (© dpa - Bildfunk)
Researchers have revealed a remarkable find uncovered at a high-speed railway line construction site near the eastern city of Oechlitz in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The graves are believed to contain skeletons dating as far back as the Bronze Age.
The find was made because construction on a high-speed German ICE train line connecting the major cities of Leipzig with Erfurt was underway in the area.
The discovery of a group of eight graves revealed a set of corpses staked atop one another, yet appearing to originate from many eras. One woman, however, was buried in a sitting position, the reason for which researchers will try to ascertain through additional DNA tests.
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- An aerial view of the Querfurter ledge (Querfurter Platte) region where the discovery was made.
- (© dpa - Bildfunk)
The graves were uncovered in the so-called Querfurter ledge, an extremely fertile area located between the Saale and Unstrut rivers. Three-quarters of the area has already been excavated, revealing settlements for at least the past 7,500 years. The 100-hectare sized ledge was likely not only a settlement, but also an important transport route.
More than 55,000 artefacts have been uncovered from there including utensils, amber and copper jewelry and weapons. The decorative pieces include small shell discs and dog's teeth with holes bored in them. A Slavic grave dating to the ninth or 10th century has also been found here.
Archeologists will continue digging in the gravesite until mid-2010. They aim to begin documentation in 2011.
