15 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

60 Elongated Structures of Unknown Function and Neolithic Silos Discovered in France

The Pfulgriesheim site, located in northeastern France’s Alsace region, underwent extensive archaeological research before being developed as a new urban area. The excavation led to the discovery of over a thousand archaeological structures, including an important settlement center from the Late Neolithic period and isolated medieval funerary monuments.

The Pfulgriesheim site in question is located on a small loessic eminence that towers twenty meters above two small rivers, the Souffel to the south and one of its tributaries, the Leisbach, to the north.

The excavation also highlighted the poverty of Iron Age structures in very low-status settlements. A large number of agricultural structures were unearthed.

These investigations have made it feasible to piece together the history of human habitation in this region, offering insightful knowledge about the prehistoric occupants and their thousands of years of way of life.

The Late Neolithic is home to one of Pfulgriesheim’s most important discoveries. Evidence from this phase indicated the presence of a sophisticated storage system made up of big silos buried in the loess soil. These large silos, designed to store food and other resources, were found in a good state of preservation, with some of them dug to a depth of up to 2 meters.

View of the upper levels of a Late Neolithic silo (4000-3400 B.C.), largely filled with burned cob, Pfulgriesheim. Photo: Heidi Cicutta / INRAP
View of the upper levels of a Late Neolithic silo (4000-3400 B.C.), largely filled with burned cob, Pfulgriesheim. Photo: Heidi Cicutta / INRAP

The silos were organized in groups, spaced a few meters apart. No traces of buildings associated with these silos were found at Pfulgriesheim; however, at least one silo in each group contained large quantities of burnt mudbrick, up to about half a tonne, suggesting the presence of buildings nearby.

Following a pattern that is now well known for this period in the region, that of burials in circular pits, around ten silos yielded burials. Future dating techniques and pottery analysis will help clarify the chronology of these burials and establish whether or not they occurred during the same period, providing insight into the occupation and management practices of these human groups.

The discovery of about sixty elongated structures, or “clefts,” at the site is another fascinating finding that has piqued the interest of archaeologists. Though their precise purpose is still up for discussion, these extremely narrow, V-, U-, or Y-shaped structures have been identified as potential hunting-related installations or traps.

Cross-section of a Neolithic cleft, Pfulgriesheim. Photo: Anaïs Viennot / INRAP
Cross-section of a Neolithic cleft, Pfulgriesheim. Photo: Anaïs Viennot / INRAP

Since there isn’t enough archaeological evidence to make a firm age and function determination just yet, precise dating of these “clefts” using carbon-14 analysis will be essential. However, based on parallels with analogous discoveries in other parts of eastern France, the main hypothesis posits that these structures might have a hunting connection.

Two minor Iron Age settlements, specifically from the La Tène period, have also been found during the excavation. The first settlement, which dates to the early La Tène period (480–280 B.C.), is made up of multiple silos and a sunken building with a square shape, which is a fairly typical typology for that era.

View of an excavated building from the Early Stone Age (480-280 BC) at the end of the excavation, Pfulgriesheim (Bas-Rhin). Photo: Fanny Bricka, Inrap
View of an excavated building from the Early Stone Age (480-280 BC) at the end of the excavation, Pfulgriesheim (Bas-Rhin). Photo: Fanny Bricka, Inrap

Three of the sides of the enclosure that surrounded the second settlement, which dates to the late La Tène period (150–25 B.C.), have been partially preserved. It looks like this settlement is a small rural business that is most likely a part of a larger territorial system that is governed by surrounding farms.

Three circular funerary enclosures dating from the 7th century AD (Early Middle Ages) were also discovered on the site.

INRAP

Cover Image Credit: Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (INRAP), Simon Diemer

Related Articles

The 2000-year-old origin mystery of the Etruscans solved

25 September 2021

25 September 2021

A genetic analysis of DNA taken from ancient skeletons appears to have answered a conundrum that has captivated researchers for...

Medieval ‘Testicle Dagger’ Unearthed at Swedish Fortress

19 May 2025

19 May 2025

Archaeologists in Gothenburg, southwestern Sweden, have made a rather striking discovery at the site of the ancient Gullberg Fortress: a...

Mysterious 1,600-Year-Old Roman-Era Burial Unearthed in Delbrück-Bentfeld, Germany

15 June 2025

15 June 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered a rare and mysterious Roman-era burial in Delbrück-Bentfeld, Germany, revealing a unique glimpse into the region’s ancient...

Southwest Germany’s Oldest Gold Artifact Found

28 May 2021

28 May 2021

Archaeologists discovered the 3,800-year-old burial of a woman who died when she was around 20 years old in what is...

Deadly 7.7 quakes hit Turkey destroys historical Gaziantep Castle

6 February 2023

6 February 2023

A deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, with tremors felt in the neighboring provinces, has...

First Visual Evidence of the Milky Way Found in Ancient Egyptian Cosmological Vignettes

1 May 2025

1 May 2025

Did ancient Egyptians gaze upon the Milky Way and immortalize its form in their artwork? New research suggests this very...

Viking Tomb Discovery in Denmark May Reveal Elite Family Linked to King Harald Bluetooth

20 June 2025

20 June 2025

A stunning archaeological discovery near Aarhus, Denmark, has revealed 30 Viking Age graves that may belong to a powerful aristocratic...

A 4000-Year-Old Seal Found in the prehistoric coastal site of Kalba on the Gulf of Oman

5 April 2024

5 April 2024

Archaeologists discovered a Gulf-type seal made of soft stone dating to the end of the third millennium BC at Kalba,...

Nearly 300-million-year-old Oldest known fossilized reptile skin found in Oklahoma cave resembles that of modern crocodiles

17 January 2024

17 January 2024

Paleontologists say they’ve identified and described the oldest fossilized reptile skin ever found. A team of paleontologists from the University...

Well-Preserved Funerary Enclosures, Mausoleums, and Gladiator Epitaph Discovered in Ancient Roman Colony of Liternum, Italy

22 March 2025

22 March 2025

Recent archaeological excavations in the ancient Roman colony of Liternum, located in present-day Giugliano in Campania, Italy, have unveiled significant...

Negev desert archaeological site offers important clues about modern human origin

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

The archaeological excavation site at Boker Tachtit in Israel’s central Negev desert offers evidence to one of human history’s most...

Artifacts found in Japan could be prototypes of ninja weapons

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

Artifacts discovered in the ruins of structures associated with warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 1590 Siege of Odawara may be prototypes of...

4,400 Years Old Shaman Snake Staff Found in Finland

29 June 2021

29 June 2021

A very well-preserved 4,400-year-old Shaman Snake Staff made of wood has been found in Finland. The “Snake Staff” found is...

Huge funerary building and Fayoum portraits discovered in Egypt Fayoum

4 December 2022

4 December 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission working in the Gerza archaeological site in Fayoum revealed a huge funerary building from the Ptolemaic...

Archaeologists Uncover lost Indigenous Settlement of Sarabay, Florida

9 June 2021

9 June 2021

The University of North Florida archaeological team is now quite sure that they have uncovered Sarabay, a lost Indigenous northeast...