A pair of ancient tombs have been found in Poland that point to a distinctive Stone Age culture famous for earthen mounds.
Discovered through remote sensing technology during routine fieldwork in the Dezydery Chłapowski Landscape Park, they seem similar to a famous group of tombs which came to be known as “Polish Pyramids.”
Attributed to a Neolithic culture known as the Funnel Breakers, the pyramids were constructed of megalithic stones in elongated triangular shapes and often covered with dirt. A group of particularly noteworthy tombs were found in the historic region of Kuyavia, between the towns of Izbica and Wietrzychowice.
These examples, which also contributed the monikers “giants beds” and “Kuyawy mounds,” were likely built around 4,000 BCE. They stretch around 360 feet in length and form a triangle, the base of which containing the door to the tomb held up by stones weighing over 3 tons.
These two new graves are not quite as old, dating to perhaps 3,500 BCE. They consist of earthen mounds in a trapezoidal shape, some stretching 656 feet in length. Archetypically, one individual would be buried inside in a sitting position at the end of a long hallway surrounded by grave goods.
No human remains were found in the either tomb, but it’s hoped that some items may be found during planned excavations—perhaps a double-headed stone axe or characteristic ceramics, both typical of the Funnel Breakers.
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The team, led by archaeologist Dr. Danuta Żurkiewicz and Dr. Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka from Adam Mickiewicz University, identified that the opening of the tomb was east-facing, a commonality in megalithic architecture around Europe.
Unlike the giants beds, the pair of tombs had lost their large megalithic gate stones. When translated, a report from the Polish Press Agency says that people have always needed stone throughout the ages, and the large pieces at the front of the tomb would have been quarried down to build houses and enclosures.
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