Archaeologists from the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Cultural Heritage and Archeology (LDA) have discovered an important Neolithic burial site in Eulenberg, near Magdeburg, Germany, due to upcoming construction works by US chipmaker Intel.

Two monumental burial mounds, each containing several graves and made of wood, about 6,000 years old, were separated by 200 meters. For a long time, landscape undoubtedly remained important to prehistoric people. About 1,000 years later, the corridor between the mounds was used as a ceremonial route where cattle were sacrificed and people were buried.

A small hill known as Eulenberg is part of a large industrial park with an area of ​​300 hectares. Excavations revealed two mounds belonging to the Baalberge Group (4100-3600 BC), a late Neolithic culture that lived in central Germany and Bohemia. These two mounds contained wooden burial chambers containing many burials. These rooms are trapezoidal in shape and are 20 to 30 meters long.

The corridor between them was probably a ceremonial route about a thousand years later, during the Global Amphora Culture period (3300-2800 BC). On this road, 2-3 year old cattle were sacrificed in pairs and buried. In one case, the grave of a man aged 35-40 was dug in front of cattle graves, creating the image of a chariot with a driver or a plough pulled by cattle, like orchestrations known from other ancient and modern ones. funeral. They symbolize that the security of livelihood, which is the most important property along with livestock, is also offered to the gods.

About 1000 years later, a still 50 cm wide palisade ditch stood in the way of the old ceremonial route, deliberately incorporating the larger of the two mounds into a large burial ground of about 3 hectares. He passed by the cemeteries but did not destroy them.

In addition, several mounds of the String Ceramic culture (ca. 2800-2050 BC) with a diameter of about 10 m were discovered at a distance of about 600 metres. The consistency in the ritual use of this part of the Eulenberg is impressive. and further analysis of the findings promises to reveal even more interesting ideas

The State Administration Responsible for the Protection of Monuments and Archeology plans to complete the excavations by the end of April, paving the way for construction. With Intel’s threat to build semiconductor factories, efforts to preserve and document the region’s archaeological heritage remain important.