29 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists Uncover 8 Graves Dated 6,500 Years Ago in Lausanne, Swiss

Archaeologists have unearthed eight prehistoric tombs between 5,500 and 6,500 years old in the Swiss town of Pully.

The site is the site of a famous necropolis in the Swiss town of Pulley, located in the suburbs of the city of Lausanne in the Canton of Vaud, on the shores of Lake Geneva, but the last discoveries in the area were made in 1984.

While fresh construction work was being done in the region, a team of specialists was called in to inspect the site. They uncovered eight fresh Neolithic tombs on Chemin de Verney Street dated from 4,500 to 3,500 B.C.

The huge necropolis extends, at the very least, from Chemin de Verney Street to Chemin des Chamblandes Street. With the latest find, the necropolis is believed to be home to about 80 tombs.

It was first discovered over a century ago by Swiss archaeologist, historian, and architect Albert Naef (1862-1936).

The necropolis is located near the location of a previous discovery of 30 Neolithic graves in 1826. Unfortunately, because the artifacts from the Pierraz-Portay site were badly kept, just a few of them have survived.

Three of the tombs being excavated in Chemin de Verney, Pully. Photo: Kanton Waadt/Newsflash
Three of the tombs being excavated in Chemin de Verney, Pully. Photo: Kanton Waadt/Newsflash

The Vaud Canton authorities said in a statement obtained by Newsflash that “archaeological monitoring of the work on Chemin de Verney, entrusted to the company Archeodunum SA, was carried out between 28th June and 17th August 2021.”

The statement added: “In an area of barely 10 square meters, eight vault tombs, made of molasse slabs, have been unearthed.”

Molasse is a term that usually means sandstone, shale, and other forms of stone that result from new mountain chains forming and rising. They can typically be found in the Alps and in the Himalayas.

Tomb T5 with collapsed cover slab in Chemin de Verney, Pully. Construction work in the area left the cover slabs of the newly discovered tombs severely fragmented. Photo: KANTON WAADT/ZENGER
Tomb T5 with a collapsed cover slab in Chemin de Verney, Pully. Construction work in the area left the cover slabs of the newly discovered tombs severely fragmented. Photo: KANTON WAADT/ZENGER

The statement also said: “They appeared at a shallow depth and their cover slabs, which were very fragmented, were only very partially preserved.

“Two graves were intact in the center of the trench, the others having suffered damage caused by recent digging in connection with urban networks.”

The statement also said that only three tombs yielded skeletal remains, in the form of skulls, due to the urban network construction work.

They said that these new sarcophagi represent a rare opportunity to complete the mapping of the necropolis, which still remains “difficult to fathom” given the absence of “extensive, recent digs” at the site.

Ananova News

Related Articles

Military Team Discovers Remarkable 2,000-Year-Old Celtic Artifacts, Including Chariot Parts and Bridle-Bit

4 February 2025

4 February 2025

Military personnel and veterans at RAF Valley in Anglesey on the island of Anglesey, Wales, have uncovered sensational Iron Age...

During the demolition work, a 2,500-year-old bull heads alto relievo was discovered in Sinop

20 April 2022

20 April 2022

During the demolition work of the buildings in front of the historical city walls for the City Square National Garden...

Archaeologists have found a mysterious prehistoric site, believed to be a 6,500-year-old Stone Age cemetery, near the Arctic Circle

4 December 2023

4 December 2023

Archaeologists have found a mysterious prehistoric site believed to be a 6,500-year-old Stone Age cemetery just 50 miles (80 kilometers)...

The International Congress of Hittitology will be held in Istanbul for the first time in its history

29 December 2021

29 December 2021

The International Congress of Hittitology, which has been held every three years since 1990, was postponed for one year due...

New Study Reveals the Contribution of Female Scribes in Medieval Manuscript Production

2 April 2025

2 April 2025

A recent study sheds light on the often-overlooked contributions of women in the production of handwritten manuscripts during the Middle...

The 3200-year-old Mycenaean figure that brought Ephesus together with the Hittite civilization: Found in the excavations of Ayasuluk Tepe

11 June 2022

11 June 2022

A 3,200-year-old Mycenaean figurine that could change the perspective on the history of civilization in Western Anatolia during the Bronze...

3.300-year-old Hittite Inscription was Used in Gate Construction

10 May 2021

10 May 2021

Our cultural assets become victims of ignorance one by one. The works that will illuminate the darkness of history continue...

Ancient Three Fortresses: Layered Defense on Egypt’s Eastern Border at Tell Abu Saifi

11 May 2025

11 May 2025

Archaeological excavations at the strategically significant Tell Abu Saifi site in North Sinai have unearthed compelling evidence of Egypt’s long-standing...

Archaeologists Unearthed a Rare Hoard of Hasmonean Coins in Jordan Valley

31 December 2024

31 December 2024

A team of archaeologists from the University of Haifa discovered a rare hoard of approximately 160 coins during an excavation...

In Ryazan, the first birch bark letters were discovered

13 September 2021

13 September 2021

The first birch bark letters were found at the Vvedensky excavation site in the Kremlin in Pereyaslavl Ryazan (modern Ryazan)....

The 7th-Century Lombard Kings’ Tombs Found in Pavia, Italy

24 December 2024

24 December 2024

The excavations, conducted between September and October by the Catholic University, uncovered numerous burials attributed, on the one hand, to...

A Large Roman Building Discovered on the Limmat

13 April 2024

13 April 2024

In the Steinacher area (Canton of Aargau) on the Limmat there was a Roman settlement that was significantly larger than...

Medallion of Emperor Caracalla Minted in Pergamon Found in Roman Tombs in Bulgaria

13 February 2024

13 February 2024

One of the valuable discoveries from the Roman tombs discovered near the village of Nova Varbovka in Strazhitsa municipality in...

Birkleyn Caves is “the Place Where The World Ends”

18 January 2025

18 January 2025

The Birkleyn Caves were known as “the place where the world ends” and as “the place where the water of...

Famous  Roman Dictator Julius Caesar’s Perfume Recreated

2 August 2024

2 August 2024

The Romans are long regarded as heroes in the history of ancient civilizations because of the legacy they have left...