3 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists unearth 6,000-year-old two monumental mounds containing wooden grave chambers in Germany

Archaeologists from the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt (LDA) have uncovered a significant Neolithic burial landscape on the Eulenberg near Magdeburg, Germany, during an excavation that was spurred by impending construction activities by US chip manufacturer Intel.

200 meters separated the two roughly 6,000-year-old monumental mounds that contained several burials each and were made of wood. For an extended period, the landscape undoubtedly continued to be significant to prehistoric people. Around 1000 years later, the corridor in between the mounds was used as a processional route where cattle were sacrificed and people buried.

A small hill known as Eulenberg is partially included in the 300-hectare large industrial park. Excavations have revealed two mounds from the Baalberge Group (4100–3600 BC), a late Neolithic culture that inhabited Central Germany and Bohemia. These two mounds contained wooden grave chambers containing multiple burials. These chambers are trapezoidal and their length is between 20 and 30 meters.

The corridor in between was probably a procession route around a thousand years later, during the period of the Globular Amphora Culture (3300–2800 BC). Along this path, pairs of young, 2-3-year-old cattle were sacrificed and buried. In one case, the grave of a 35 to 40-year-old man was dug in front the cattle burials, creating the image of a cart with a driver or a plow pulled by cattle, orchestrations that are already known from other older and contemporary burials. They symbolize that with the cattle the most important possession, the security of one’s own livelihood, was offered to the gods.

Excavation of two around 5,000-year-old cattle burials.
Oliver Dietrich. Photo: State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt
Excavation of two around 5,000-year-old cattle burials. Oliver Dietrich. Photo: State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt

Around 1,000 years later, a palisade ditch that was still 50 cm wide took up the course of the former procession route and deliberately included the larger of the two burial mounds in the approximately 3 hectare large burial landscape. It passed over the cattle burials but did not destroy them.

In addition, several Corded Ware Culture burial mounds (around 2800-2050 BC) with diameters of around 10 m were discovered in around 600 m distance. The consistency in the ritual use of this part of the Eulenberg is astonishing, and the subsequent analysis of the finds promises even more interesting insights.

The State Office for Monument Protection and Archaeology plans to conclude the excavations by the end of April, paving the way for the construction phase. With the impending construction of semiconductor plants by Intel, efforts to preserve and document the archaeological heritage of the site remain crucial.

State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt

Cover Photo: Oliver Dietrich / State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt

Related Articles

Archaeologists Uncover Exceptional Roman Mausoleum Near Lyon, Modeled After Augustus’ Tomb

23 August 2025

23 August 2025

Archaeologists in France have unearthed a remarkably well-preserved Roman mausoleum in Saint-Romain-en-Gal, near Lyon, that was modeled on the famous...

Recent Excavations in Spain Reveal 7th Century BCE Religious Structure, Showcasing Eastern Influences within Tartessian Culture

18 February 2025

18 February 2025

A research team led by the National University of Distance Education (UNED) has made an important archaeological discovery at the...

Symbol of Eternal Loyalty Found on Rare Medieval Sword in the Netherlands

14 June 2025

14 June 2025

A remarkable medieval sword, dating back nearly 1,000 years, has been discovered in the Dutch province of Utrecht bearing a...

The Worst Torture Device in History “Brazen Bull”

2 February 2021

2 February 2021

Agrigentum Tyranny today is in the provincial borders of Agrigento in the Sicily Autonomous Region in the southwest of Sicily....

The excavation, which started in a cave in Turkey’s Mardin, turned into a huge underground city

19 April 2022

19 April 2022

In an underground city known used as a settlement in the early Christian era, in the Midyat district of Mardin,...

Archaeologists may have found the Sanctuary of Samian Poseidon described in ancient texts

11 October 2022

11 October 2022

During excavations in the foothills at the ancient acropolis of Samicum in Greece, archaeologists may have found the sanctuary of...

Over 70 Archaeological Sites Identified in Canada’s Chilcotin Region, Uncovering Secwépemc Pit Houses Over 4,000 Years Old

29 March 2025

29 March 2025

Recent archaeological findings indicate that the Secwépemc people’s historical presence in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia, Canada, is more...

Funerary urn depicting Maya corn god uncovered during Maya Train work

10 January 2024

10 January 2024

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducting salvage work along section 7 of the Maya Train...

Headless skeletons discovered in Prehistoric mass grave

14 January 2023

14 January 2023

Archaeologists have found a mass grave site containing 38 decapitated burials at a Neolithic settlement in Vráble, Slovakia. The remains...

A new study attributes Japanese, Korean and Turkish languages all to a common ancestor in northeastern China

11 November 2021

11 November 2021

According to a new study, modern languages ranging from Japanese and Korean to Turkish and Mongolian may have had a...

A Previously Unknown Bronze Age Settlement Discovered in Switzerland

18 February 2024

18 February 2024

In advance of a construction project in Heimberg, the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern carried out a rescue...

Hittite Royal Seal Warns ‘Whoever Breaks This Will Die’

7 July 2024

7 July 2024

During the excavations in Kırıkkale, a cuneiform seal used by the royal family during the Hittite Empire was unearthed. The...

Archaeologists unearth 128 ancient urn burial tombs for children in north China

22 November 2021

22 November 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered urn burial chambers containing the remains of 128 infants among the ruins of an ancient city of...

Ancient Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals Offer Clues to the Origin of Writing

6 November 2024

6 November 2024

Researchers from the University of Bologna have discovered an association between proto-cuneiform and even older stone images engraved on ancient...

Oldest Recorded Gynecological Treatment

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

In their latest research, scientists have come across a treatment practice in a mummy from 4000 years ago, as written...