Numerous gravel quarries in the middle Elbe valley near Magdeburg have already yielded many significant archaeological discoveries from the period between the Middle Pleistocene (Weichselian glaciation) and the modern era. At the Barleben-Adamsee gravel quarry, in addition to flint tools, five fragments of turtle shells between 42,000 and 50,000 years old have been found. These […]
Germany
Posted inClassical Archaeology
The sculpture of a snake-bodied deity, a hybrid from Roman-Germanic mythology, found at the Roman fort of Stuttgart
Excavations have been ongoing since the beginning of the year at the Roman fort of Altenburger Steige in Bad Cannstatt, the oldest area in the city of Stuttgart, under the supervision of experts from the State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD) of the Stuttgart Regional Council. The archaeologists are investigating the expansion works of the […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Analysis of Schöningen Spears, the Oldest Complete Ones Preserved, Reveals Advanced Wood Processing Techniques 300,000 Years Ago
Back in 1994, something incredible happened during archaeological digs at an open-pit coal mine in Schöningen. Archaeologists found the oldest complete hunting weapons ever discovered, ancient spears and a throwing stick buried alongside old animal bones near a lake, about ten meters deep. Over the following years, they dug up a bunch of wooden pieces […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Roman Fort Remnants Uncovered in Aachen, Germany
Construction crews doing utility work in Aachen, Germany, uncovered the remnants of a late Roman fort from nearly 2,000 years ago. Experts were called in to excavate and analyze the archaeological finds beneath the Pontstrasse street. You don’t often get the chance to glimpse almost two millennia of history without any filters, remarked city planner […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Burial Mounds with a Ritual Path and a Neolithic Chariot Tomb Found in Magdeburg
Near Magdeburg, an industrial area is being developed for the US chip manufacturer Intel. Archaeologists from the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology (LDA) have been investigating the area since 2023. The work will be completed in April 2024, months before construction of the first two semiconductor plants begins. The investigations have once […]
Posted inScience
Researchers Identify World’s Oldest Long-Necked Sea Dinosaur
A team of international scientists, led by paleontologists from the Stuttgart Natural History Museum, has made a remarkable discovery that sheds new light on the early evolution of long-necked marine dinosaurs. The fossil in question, known as Trachelosaurus fischeri, was first described in the early 20th century and has been a subject of debate among […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
First-Ever Discovery of “Pila Fossata”, Intact Defensive Wooden Stakes of the Roman Army in Germany
After successfully concluding archaeological research campaigns at two Roman military camps near Bad Ems, the findings and discoveries have been presented to the public in Mainz. For the first time, researchers have managed to recover sharply pointed wooden stakes from a Roman defensive trench (1st century AD) virtually intact. So far, this defense technique and […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Roman Wooden Cellar Found in the Ancient City of Nida in Frankfurt
In the past few months, the restorers at the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum have completely restored an exceptionally well-preserved wooden cellar from Roman Nida. It was discovered and carefully unearthed in March 2023 during an excavation by the city of Frankfurt Monument Office. The wooden cellar was part of a Roman residential building, likely constructed in […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Europe’s Oldest Megastructure Discovered: 12,000-year-old Wall Submerged in the Baltic Sea
In fall 2021, geologists made an unusual discovery in Mecklenburg Bight bay in Germany – a nearly kilometer-long row of stones on the seafloor. Located about 10 km from Rerik at a depth of 21 meters, the site contained approximately 1,500 stones arranged in such a regular pattern that a natural origin seemed unlikely. A […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Oldest Northern Settlement of “Homo sapiens”, Where Humans and Neanderthals Coexisted for Millennia, Discovered
A genetic analysis of bone fragments excavated from an archaeological site in central Germany provides conclusive evidence that modern humans – Homo sapiens – had reached northern Europe around 45,000 years ago. This dates their arrival thousands of years earlier than previously thought and shows that they co-existed with Neanderthals for several millennia before the […]
