WEALTHY GERMAN STONE AGE AND EARLY MEDIEVAL GRAVES DISCOVERED

Archaeological treasures, including Stone Age pottery and medieval graves with swords and jewellery, have revealed a long history of human habitation near the Danube River in Germany. At the site, archaeologists discovered one grave from the Neolithic, or Stone Age, that dates to the 3,000 BCE and contains distinctive pottery from the Corded Ware culture. They also found 140 early medieval graves, dating to between 500 and 600 CE, containing goods including swords, lances, shields, drinking glasses and earrings. “Our Gutmadingen district is probably much older than we previously assumed,” said Mayor Martin Numberger. The district had previously been dated to 1273 based on the first written records of settlement there.

The Stone Age grave points to the presence of The Corded Ware people. These people were probably pastoralists who kept animals such as cows and sheep, and some also practiced early farming of crops such as barley. The early medieval graves date to the century after the end of the Western Roman Empire, which fell in 476 CE.

Early medieval weapons and jewellery found in southwestern Germany near the Danube River