Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps

Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps

The Neolithic and Bronze Age pile dwellings belong to the archaeological sites of Europe because of their outstanding preservation conditions, which prevail under water. Today, replicas of pile dwellings still exist. For 150 years, however, more and more finds have come to light. In cooperation with museums and universities, excavations and research projects were carried out with the monument authority of the Alpine countries, as well as the State Office for Monument Conservation Baden-Württemberg. They also carry out projects for the conservation and rescue of threatened sites. In the meantime, around 120 pile dwellings/settlement buildings have been discovered in southern Germany.

Picture: A.Murmann CC BY-SA 4.0

Most of the buildings are located in the shallow water zone of Lake Constance or bogs. There have been pile dwellings for more than 4000 years. You can follow prehistoric cultures and their technology, economy and environment in detail. Different forms of settlement and developments of simplified farming techniques emerged. One can see, among other things, the change in the spectrum of cultivated plants. But also see changes in hunting that have to do with changing environmental conditions. But also the development of wheels and cars.                               By Nik