21 June 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

A carved Hand Imprint unearthed in a 1,000-year-old Jerusalem defensive moat

26 January 2023

26 January 2023

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday that archaeologists discovered the remains of a moat and a mysterious hand imprint...

Ancient Egyptian cult drank a trippy mix of drugs, human blood, and bodily fluids

7 June 2023

7 June 2023

Researchers have identified some of the components of found in an ancient Bes vase dating back to Ptolemaic era Egypt....

The oldest evidence of human use of tobacco was discovered in Utah

11 October 2021

11 October 2021

According to recent research, burnt seeds discovered in the Utah desert suggest that humans used tobacco initially and that some...

Women with Sart Renovate Largest Synagogue of Ancient World

4 August 2023

4 August 2023

Village women take part in the renovation works of the largest synagogue in the ancient world, located in the ancient...

Rare Sassanid-era Inscription on Loyalty and Justice Unearthed in Marvdasht, Southern Iran

11 June 2025

11 June 2025

A rare Sassanid-era inscription has been unearthed in the historic region of Marvdasht, located in Iran’s Fars province, revealing deep...

Archaeologists uncover 850-year-old 170 silver medieval coins in an ancient grave, in Sweden

27 April 2024

27 April 2024

During archaeological excavations in a medieval graveyard in Brahekyrkan on the Swedish island of Visingsö, archaeologists uncovered about 170 silver...

Sensational Discovery in Kazakhstan: Rare Turko-Sughd Early Medieval Coin Discovered in Almaty Region

24 June 2024

24 June 2024

A sensational discovery was made in the Kogaly Valley, two hours from Almaty, Kazakhstan. For the first time in Kazakhstan,...

Archaeologists Discover Fragment of Medieval Inscription of Church in Melnik

1 March 2024

1 March 2024

124 artifacts made of stone, ceramics, and metal were discovered during archaeological excavations in the Church of the Holy Mother...

Iron Age Warriors Bend the Swords of Their Defeated Enemies

22 April 2021

22 April 2021

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) announced that a metal detector has discovered “one of the largest Iron Age...

Secrets of the Galloway Hoard Revealed

27 May 2021

27 May 2021

Experts have uncovered fascinating secrets of a Viking Age hoard discovered by a metal detector to be presented to the...

Archaeologists made a remarkable discovery in Kosovo: Evidence that the great Byzantine Emperor was of Dardanian origin

19 August 2023

19 August 2023

A mixed team of international and local experts led by Professor Christophe J. Goddard has unearthed a monumental inscription of...

Archaeologists discovered the earliest Iron Age house in Athens and Attica

26 May 2023

26 May 2023

A research team from the University of Göttingen discovered the earliest  Iron Age house in Athens and Attica. Archaeologists from...

“Secret” Excavations in Luxembourg Reveal 141 Roman Gold Coins from Nine Roman Emperors

13 January 2025

13 January 2025

Archaeologists uncovered a Roman gold coin hoard of 141 Roman gold coins dating to the second half of the 4th...

Iconic Double Arch collapsed after an ancient pyramid in America, Tribes Link Fall With ‘Bad Omen’

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

Two ancient North American structures collapsed within just nine days of one another. The iconic Double Arch, also known as...

Human Presence in Malta Earlier Than Previously Thought: Hunter-Gatherers Navigated 100 km by Sea 1,000 Years Before Farmers

14 April 2025

14 April 2025

Recent archaeological findings have dramatically reshaped our understanding of human history in the Mediterranean, revealing that hunter-gatherers were capable of...