Archaeologists found a 4,500-year-old cemetery near Förderstedt in the Salzlandkreis district of Germany, revealing ten graves from the Bell Beaker culture. The discovery was made in advance of the expansion of a power line, which extends from Wolmirstedt near Magdeburg to the Isar site near Landshut in Bavaria.
Currently, the three deepest burials of the cemetery were uncovered. "All three deceased were covered by a common burial mound," said project leader and archaeologist Susanne Friederich from the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, according to Die Zeit. The graves were found at a depth of about two meters, indicating effort in their construction.
"The graves were not, as often observed with artificially mounded graves, laid on the surface," explained Christian Lau, the excavation leader. "Rather, the grave pit was dug through the upper soil layers and the loess clay down to the sand and filled with unmixed loess clay," he told Die Zeit. The method of burial has contributed to the preservation of the remains. "As a result, the bones have been very well preserved. Lying directly in the sand, the state of preservation would have been significantly worse," Lau noted.
In one of the three central burials, a vessel with a diameter of approximately 15 centimeters was found. These vessels, filled with food, were placed in the graves for the deceased's journey to the afterlife. The culture is named after these bell-shaped ceramic vessels associated with it.
The second burial yielded a stone arm guard plate measuring about eight by four centimeters. The artifact cushioned the snapping bowstring and prevented injuries to the forearm. "That indicates a male hunter or warrior," said Friederich. Such findings suggest the individual may have been involved in hunting or military activities.
"The third grave is remarkably well preserved. In the back area of a warrior, two arrowheads were found. They were very close together," Friederich stated. In the sediment, a quiver was faintly outlined. The container for the arrows was made of organic material and has since decayed. Only a different color and structure in the sediment indicate that the deceased was buried with his equipment.
The dead of the Bell Beaker culture were always buried in a crouched position, facing east. In these burials, women were placed on the right side and men on the left side of the body. Such consistent burial practices provide valuable insights into the cultural and social structures of the time.
At the time of burial, the graves were deeper or well-protected by a high burial mound. The graves are being recovered in their entirety and examined under laboratory conditions.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.