18 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

Ancient Curse Tablets Reveal Dark Spiritual Practices in the Roman Empire – and Their Echo in the Bible

17 June 2025

17 June 2025

New Research Connects Ritual Cursing to the Book of Revelation From jealous lovers to petty thieves, people in the ancient...

Mosaic Discovered in Illegal Dig in Zile Points to Ancient Roman Public Structure

12 July 2025

12 July 2025

Zile, a district in the Tokat province of northern Türkiye, has long been recognized as one of Anatolia’s most historically...

Archaeologists find remains of Norman Bridge during dig in Chichester’s Priory Park, England

1 June 2024

1 June 2024

During an excavation in West Sussex, England, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a military causeway, or bridge, that led to...

A Colonnaded Hall with Extraordinary Frescoes of Still Life Found in Pompeii

27 December 2024

27 December 2024

Archaeologists in the famous ancient Roman city of Pompeii, one of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites, have revealed extraordinary...

Rock tombs dating back 1,800 years have been discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Blaundus

1 October 2021

1 October 2021

In the ancient city of Blaundus, located in the Ulubey neighborhood of the western Anatolian city of Uşak, 400 rock-cut...

A courtesan ‘hetaira’ tomb was discovered in a burial cave during excavations in Via Hebron

27 September 2023

27 September 2023

During excavations in the Via Hebron in Jerusalem, a burial cave containing the tomb of a courtesan (hetaira in Ancient...

Three Roman Graves Uncovered in Portugal

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Three burials dating to the 5th or 6th century AD have been unearthed in the ancient Roman city of Ossónoba...

Ancient Herpes DNA Points to Oral Herpes’ Beginnings: First kisses may have helped spread cold sore virus

28 July 2022

28 July 2022

The ancient genomes of the herpes virus, which commonly causes lip sores and currently infects about 3.7 billion people worldwide,...

Receding waters in Lake Van reveal rock-cut Urartian port

22 September 2022

22 September 2022

Located in the eastern province of Van in Turkey, the falling water level of Lake Van, with the decrease in...

2,400-Year-Old Puppets with Dramatic Expressions Uncovered: May Have Played Key Roles in Rituals atop El Salvador’s Pyramid

5 March 2025

5 March 2025

A recent archaeological find in El Salvador has unveiled a captivating glimpse into the rituals of the region’s Indigenous people,...

The earliest known depiction of biblical heroines Jael and Deborah was discovered at a Jewish synagogue in Israel

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

The earliest known depiction of biblical heroines Jael and Deborah was discovered at a Jewish synagogue at Huqoq in Israel,...

Archaeologists Find Ornate Roman Domūs in Nimes

25 February 2021

25 February 2021

Archaeologists conducting archaeological excavations in the French city of Nimes have discovered the remains of two high-status Roman domus (houses)....

Arrowhead from the Biblical Battle Discovered in the Hometown of the Giant Goliath’s

30 May 2021

30 May 2021

A bone arrowhead discovered in the ancient Philistine city of Gath might have been used fired off by the city’s...

Analyses of a 2,900-year-old iron chisel from Portugal revealed surprisingly high-quality steel

22 September 2023

22 September 2023

Steel tools were believed to have only become widespread in Europe during the Roman Empire, but a recent study shows...

A coin of Queen Fastrada and Charlemagne found – First of its kind

8 May 2023

8 May 2023

A coin purchased by the Charlemagne Center in Aachen, Germany, bears the name of Queen Fastrada. This is the first...