While Constructing A Railroad On A Danish Island, The Remains Of A Stone-Paved Cellar From The Stone Age Were Discovered, And Over 1,000 Artifacts Were Found Inside
During the construction of a railroad, the remains of what appeared to be a stone-paved cellar from the Stone Age were discovered.
A cellar dating back to this period would represent an example of advanced technology, as no other cellars from the Stone Age have been found before.
“Stone-paved sunken floors are so far not known from Neolithic Denmark so that the presented feature represents one-of-a-kind,” wrote the researchers of the study.
The researchers came across the cellar on the Danish island of Falster at a site called Nygårdsvej 3.
Excavations revealed two ancient houses belonging to the Funnel Beaker culture. The cellar was found in one of the houses.
The Funnel Beaker culture was a prehistoric culture that existed in northern Europe between about 4300 and 2800 B.C.
They lived in the areas now known as Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, and the Netherlands.
The culture is named after the pottery vessels with necks shaped like funnels that have been unearthed from archaeological sites.
It was one of the first Neolithic cultures in northern Europe to fully adopt the practice of agriculture. Evidence has shown that the people grew wheat, barley, and rye.
Antony McAulay – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
They also domesticated pigs, sheep, and cattle. The transition to farming was a major change from the hunting and gathering lifestyle that ancient humans had participated in before.
In the houses at the Nygårdsvej 3 site, the researchers discovered multiple post holes, indicating that they planned out their architecture during construction.
A loamy flooring made of sand and clay was found as well, which signified an advanced flooring technique at the time.
One of the houses contained a stone-paved sunken feature thought to be a cellar. It was dated back between 3080 and 2780 B.C. The researchers believe it is a cellar because of the meticulous arrangement of the stones.
More than 1,000 artifacts were uncovered within the cellar, including flint tools, pottery shards, and two fossilized sea urchins.
Stone paving is not out of character for this culture, but it was usually reserved for graves or ritual sites. Yet, it does not seem that the cellar was used for ritualistic purposes.
“The archaeological results from Nygårdsvej 3 show an important insight into the constructions and features of Neolithic Denmark. The fact that a subterranean construction has been present at the site underlines how each site can extend our knowledge about the Stone Age,” wrote the researchers.
If the stone-paved sunken feature is confirmed to be a cellar, it would illustrate the culture’s advanced ability to preserve food and additional resources.
In underground cellars, temperatures are more stable, so they are better for keeping food items cool in the summer and above freezing in the winter.
Neolithic soil cellars are common in Denmark, but there is only one known paved cellar from a later period (the Bronze Age) on Falster.
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