Prehistoric pile settlements in the Alps. Pile buildings in the Alps - ancient rural settlements Old Town of Bern
This is what the shores of Lake Constance looked like during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages for about 4,000 years, from the fifth millennium to the eighth century BC. e. An exhibition was dedicated to prehistoric pile settlements in this region, which in 2016 was held in two museums in Baden-Württemberg.
Prehistoric pile dwellings
In total, the exhibition featured about 1,200 exhibits from Germany and other European countries. Among them is a wheel disk from the third millennium BC. e., made of ash and maple. The disk was found in the vicinity of the city of Biberach.
Prehistoric pile dwellings
Located on the water, they provided better protection from enemies and wild animals. Traces of almost two dozen such settlements have been found on the territory of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. In 2011 they were included in the list World Heritage UNESCO. This photo was taken in Unteruldingen on Lake Constance, where there is a museum dedicated to them under open air.
Prehistoric pile dwellings
Fragment of a death mask (4200 - 3650 BC) and a reconstruction of the mask, made of red plastic, in the monastery of Bad Schussenried.
Prehistoric pile dwellings
These knives, with flint blades and elderwood handles, were discovered during excavations at the site of a prehistoric pile settlement at Allensbach on Lake Constance. The same knife, only smaller in size, was found with Ötzi, an ice mummy of a man from the Copper-Stone Age, discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps in Tyrol.
Prehistoric pile dwellings
This pile settlement, similar to a castle, arose around 1766 BC. e. in a marshy area near Lake Federsee in the Biberach region.
Prehistoric pile dwellings
Ceramic vessels with breast-shaped appliqués (4000 - 3750 BC). The exact location of the discovery is unknown, but presumably Lake Constance.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site includes 111 small individual areas (among 937 known to archaeologists) containing the remains of pile buildings (stilt dwellings). The complex covers 6 countries of alpine and subalpine Europe and consists of the remains of prehistoric settlements dating back to between 5000 and 500 BC. Fifty-six monuments are located in Switzerland.
Due to its location on water, partially underwater and in wetlands, the organic materials enjoyed exceptional storage conditions, which is of great interest for research in the fields of archaeobotany and archaeozoology. Through the study of organic materials, scientists were able to get an accurate picture of the way of life of early agricultural societies in Alpine Europe: their agriculture, livestock farming, metal processing skills.
Thanks to the possibilities of dendrochronology, wooden elements of buildings become invaluable archaeological sources. They allow us to understand the technologies and architectural solutions that were used to build entire prehistoric villages over very long periods of time.
Found fragments of canoes and wooden wheels from two-wheeled carts (dating to around 3400 BC) reconstruct the picture of trade routes through the Alps and nearby plains. Trade in flint, amber, gold, shells and ceramics took place through these ancient routes.
All of the above facts provide insight into the life of about 30 different cultural groups that flourished in their pile houses among the alpine landscapes.
The complex of prehistoric pile dwellings represents a well-defined geographical area in which they were found and in which all cultural groups lived during the period of the structures' existence. By archaeological standards, the structures are virtually intact and therefore perfectly reflect the diversity of cultural groups, their customs and historical periods. Individual elements of the complex and its common boundaries remarkable for their integrity. The visual integrity of some of the monuments is explained by the fact that they belong to the same large settlement.
The physical remains are well preserved and documented. The structure of all archaeological layers preserved in the ground or under water is authentic and does not contain any modern inclusions.
The monuments cannot be presented to the public due to the fact that they are mainly hidden under water. In addition, in regions with intensive urbanization, pile settlements are under threat, for this reason open-air exhibition is not yet possible. IN at the moment The buildings have been partially reconstructed in museums.
General conservation goals are translated into specific projects at the international, national and regional levels. Funding for projects for the Secretariat and participating States is provided by Switzerland. Proposed measures that can have a significant impact on heritage conservation are limited. Given the fragility of the remains and the threat from urban areas, the monument requires monitoring and funding from all 6 participating countries.
Unique historical objects, prehistoric pile settlements, revealing the secrets of the distant past, were discovered on the territory of six modern European countries, including Austria.
A total of 111 sites were found, and in 2011 the prehistoric pile settlements in the vicinity of the Alps were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Along the banks of rivers and lakes of the Alps and their foothills, people of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages built their houses on stilts. Excavations of only a few of them fully and accurately reproduce the life, culture and traditions of ancient farmers. As the best archaeological record of Europe's prehistoric settlements, these wooden structures bear evidence of many different cultures from centuries past. The salty lake water perfectly preserved the buildings themselves, wooden utensils, grain, fruits and remains of fabrics.
Centuries-old layers contain in some places up to 25 settlements of different times, successively lying on top of each other. The unique history of pile settlements in the Alps, their highest cultural value and excellent preservation make the villages a unique part of world heritage.
PILE BUILDINGS, prehistoric village-type settlements located on platforms that rest on stilts; they were first discovered in and around the Alps mountain range. Villages of this type can still be seen today - among primitive tribes living at the mouths of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, on the Sunda Islands (Kalimantan, New Guinea etc.), in Africa and other parts of the world.
Previously, it was customary to call them lake dwellings, since they were characteristic of prehistoric cultures of the Alpine lake region. Most of their archaeological remains are in Switzerland, but they have also been discovered in Savoy (France), in Northern Italy, in Upper Austria, Slovenia and Bosnia. These buildings are divided into two main types: 1) the lake settlement itself, where a number of huts are installed on a platform, the support of which is provided by piles driven into the bottom of the lake, or this platform lies on a road made of brushwood, which is supported by the same piles; 2) a swamp settlement, the huts of which are located on a platform laid directly on the swampy soil.
Since many substances of organic origin are well preserved in lake water, which in another environment could completely decompose, our knowledge of the material culture of lake inhabitants is quite extensive. Wooden utensils, fruits, grain and even pieces of fabric were discovered. In many places there are still remains of piles driven into the lake bed; for example, on a clear day they can be seen through the water of Lake Neuchâtel; during dry periods they simply protrude above the surface in some places.
The lake inhabitants were engaged in fishing and farming, but they also had domesticated animals. In the places of their settlements, grains of barley and wheat, flaxseed, beans, plum pits and apple seeds, bones of cattle, sheep, pigs and goats were found. These people sailed on dugout shuttles, set traps and nets with weights, and wove clothes from hand-woven wool and linen threads; the huts were woven from twigs and wicker, coated with clay and covered with straw. Although they still used flint tools made from chipped pebbles, they more often used “sharpened” axes made of jade and serpentine. Such a chopper or adze was usually set into a deer antler, to which a wooden handle was attached, and small cutting tips were inserted directly into the handle made of wood or deer antler. Animal bones were also widely used - as awls, blades, arrowheads and other household items.
The main core of the lake dwelling culture formed in the region of the Western Alps. More than 125 such settlements are known near four large lakes in the cantons of Neuchâtel, Geneva, Thurgau, and even larger numbers were reported in other cantons of Switzerland - Zurich and others.
IN eastern Alps The settlements of the Middle and Late Neolithic eras were formed rather under the direct influence of neighboring lands, and although they share common Alpine features, in terms of the type of culture these eastern settlements differ significantly from the western ones. The most studied pile settlements of the eastern range are located near Altheim and Mondsee (Upper Austria) and in the territory of the former Yugoslavia - in swamps near Ljubljana (Slovenia), near Vučedol (Slavonia) and in Donja Dolina near Banja Luka (Bosnia); the last settlement existed at the end of the Bronze Age.
Prehistoric pile settlements of the Alpine Mountains are 111 archaeological sites located in the European Alps. These settlements, scattered between Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia, were included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 2011.
Of the 111 monuments, 19 are in Italy and are located in five regions: Lombardy (10) Veneto (4), Piemonte (2), Friuli Venezia Giulia (1) Trentino -Alto Adige (Trentino Alto Adige) (2). They can be found in close proximity to lakes or in areas of high humidity marked by an abundance of water (indeed, in Italy they are concentrated mainly near lakes Garda and Varese).
In Lombardy, namely on Lake Varese (lago di Varese), the most ancient pile structures dating back to the early Neolithic were identified, and in the area of Lake Garda (lago di Garda) they were collected greatest number, more than 30 villages located on both sides of the lake and reservoirs formed during the interglacial period. Small pile dwellings have also been found near the alpine lakes of Trentino Alto Adige and the reservoirs of Piedmont.
Thus, in Italy you can find many wonderful places where you will immerse yourself in prehistoric culture, starting with the charming islet of Isolino Virginia in Biandronno on Lake Varese; The archaeological areas of Polcenigo, Desenzano del Garda, Manerba del Garda, Peschiera del Garda, Muscoline are also open to the public. in Piadena, Cavriana, Monzanbano, Biandronno, Bodio Lomnago, Cadrezzate, Azeglio and Viverone, Arona, Ledro (Ledro), Fiavè, in Cerea and Arquà Petrarca on the shore of the lake Laghetto della Costa.
The settlements were designated a World Heritage Site because they are unique, exceptionally well-preserved, culturally rich archaeological sites that provide important sources of knowledge about the early farming communities of the region.
In particular, Italian archaeological sites are residential settlements of prehistoric communities between 5000 and 500 BC. and serve as a representative example of the use of land and sea resources by ancient European cultures dating between the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.
A feature of these settlements are the “piles”: huts built from straw, wood, reeds or other materials, resting on a wooden platform mounted on wooden piles driven into the bottom or bank of a river, lake, lagoon, swamp, and sometimes even on a dry earth.
Pile settlements give us an accurate and detailed description the world of the first agricultural communities. They are real photographs everyday life prehistoric people, showing their ways of cultivating the land and raising livestock and showing us their technological achievements.
The ancient pile builders of the Alpine Mountains used the same general idea, but they differed both in the locations of the structures and in the construction methods, which varied depending on the characteristics of the soil, climatic conditions and the specific needs of residents.
Sometimes these settlements were built on stilts that strengthened the shore of a lake or river; in other cases, the piles were driven into the bottom of the reservoir, and the platform was fixed above the surface of the water. In addition to the picturesque and amazing buildings themselves, the archaeological finds: fragments of ceramics, tool tips, tool blades, which are especially valuable for studying the life of the inhabitants of pile villages.
