An illustration of a tunnel dug by grave robbers that leads to the wooden tomb in the burial mound Archaeologists in Germany have discovered an impeccably preserved wooden burial chamber at the center of an enormous burial mound from the early Celtic period "The Riedlingen grave is a stroke of luck for archaeology," Dirk Krausse the state archaeologist of Baden-Württemberg The large chamber was around 11 feet wide by 13 feet long (3.4 by 4 meters) walls and ceiling were constructed out of massive oak timbers that were exceptionally preserved thanks to damp conditions from groundwater and aquifers This would have protected the wood from exposure to oxygen Related: Possible 'mega' fort found in Wales hints at tension between Romans and Celtics The chamber was uncovered at the center of a huge burial mound with a diameter of 213 feet (65 m) and a height of almost 20 feet (6 m) Its size led archaeologists to identify the entire complex as one of the few princely burial mounds that the Celts in southwestern Germany built for elite individuals between 620 and 450 B.C Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox The preserved wood will allow archaeologists to use tree-ring dating to determine the exact year of the chamber they have dated the wood of what may be a tool left by Celtic builders to 585 B.C has led the archaeologists to hypothesize that the burial chamber was also built that year Skeletal remains of a man from the secondary burial who lived around 500 B.C.(Image credit: Copyright State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council / Quentin Sueur)Archaeologists discovered ceramic vessels dating to the early sixth century B.C that were buried in a pit beneath the burial mound.(Image credit: Copyright State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council / Yvonne Mühleis)A bird's-eye view of the excavation site near Riedlingen Germany.(Image credit: Copyright State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council / Quentin Sueur)Despite its sturdy structure ancient looters were able to infiltrate it An excavation revealed that grave robbers had built two tunnels in the burial mound and created an entrance hole in the chamber's ceiling which may explain the lack of valuable grave goods within the tomb The team also discovered a number of nails in one of the looters' tunnels They may have come from a four-wheeled chariot buried with the deceased — a custom that has been noted in other princely Celtic graves The team uncovered human remains in three locations There were bones within the chamber; bones in a second likely later grave closer to the burial mound's surface; and cremated remains in two older urns dating to around 600 B.C —Early Celtic elites inherited power through maternal lines, ancient DNA reveals —2,300-year-old Celtic helmet discovered in Poland —2,000 years ago, a bridge in Switzerland collapsed on top of Celtic sacrifice victims, new study suggests The individual in the chamber was a young male who died between the ages of 15 and 20 years old and stood between 5 feet The individual in the shallower grave was a slightly older male between the ages of 25 and 35 Excavation of the site and analysis of the human remains are ongoing Margherita BassiLive Science ContributorMargherita is a trilingual freelance writer specializing in science and history writing with a particular interest in archaeology She earned her BA from Boston College in English literature and her journalism MA from L'École Du Journalisme de Nice in International New Media Journalism Archaeologists discover hundreds of metal objects up to 3,400 years old on mysterious volcanic hilltop in Hungary Aristos is a Newsweek science and health reporter with the London He is particularly focused on archaeology and paleontology although he has covered a wide variety of topics ranging from astronomy and mental health Aristos joined Newsweek in 2018 from IBTimes UK and had previously worked at The World Weekly He is a graduate of the University of Nottingham and City University You can get in touch with Aristos by emailing a.georgiou@newsweek.com. Languages: English either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Archaeologists have discovered a prehistoric burial chamber that is thought to have been constructed around 2,600 years ago The preserved wooden burial chamber unexpectedly came to light during excavations near the town of Riedlingen in southwest Germany the State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg announced in a press release It is located in the center of a large burial mound that measures more than 210 feet in diameter and stands over 6 feet high today although it may have once reached around 20 feet high "The newly discovered burial chamber represents an extraordinary testimony of our rich monument landscape the [burial chamber] is still fully preserved," Andrea Lindlohr an official with the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Regional Development and Housing "The archaeological heritage of Baden-Württemberg is impressive and opens insights into long-gone periods and societies." Celtic peoples who once inhabited southwest Germany constructed so-called "princely burial mounds" such as the one near Riedlingen between around 620 B.C and 450 B.C.—typically for particularly high-ranking individuals archaeologists found the substantial oak timbers of a large completely preserved burial chamber—with its ceiling wall and floor—just below the modern ground surface the find is "unique and of outstanding scientific importance" given that buried wood usually does not preserve for very long usually surviving for a few years to decades under normal conditions Timber was the most important building material during the Early Celtic period but wooden finds from this era are extremely rare "Hundreds of early Celtic burial mounds are known from the area northwest of the Alps but the wooden burial chambers are usually completely rotten The unique preservation of the wood in the form of a complete chamber which can also be dated to the exact year thanks to the preservation of the wood is what makes this discovery so scientifically significant," Dirk Krausse an archaeologist with the State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg Only once before has a fully preserved Celtic burial chamber been discovered in Germany—during an excavation near Villingen in the Black Forest in 1890 The remains were not properly documented at the time and only later partially preserved The reason that the wooden burial chamber was preserved for so long could be explained by the low oxygen conditions within the mound While analysis of the timbers has yet to be completed researchers have dated a clublike wooden artifact likely left behind by the Celtic builders after constructing the chamber This artifact appears to have been made from an oak felled in 585 B.C.—providing a possible date for the construction of the chamber "The Riedlingen grave is a stroke of luck for archaeology: the scientific significance of this fully preserved Celtic chamber grave extends far beyond the boundaries of Baden-Württemberg and southern Germany," Krausse said in the press release Archaeologists will continue to excavate the site over the next few weeks with experts hoping that further analysis of the findings will reveal important insights such as the identity of the individual for whom the burial mound was constructed Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering ET: This article was updated with additional comment from Dirk Krausse Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page LBV Magazine English Edition In a remarkable archaeological discovery in the Danube Plain an early Celtic burial chamber has come to light This find is located at the center of a large burial mound whose monumental structure stretches 65 meters in diameter and still retains a height close to 2 meters These dimensions place it in the exclusive category of the so-called “princely burial mounds” built between 620 and 450 BC for the Celtic elites of southwestern Germany State Secretary for Regional Development and Housing of Baden-Württemberg highlighted the importance of this find during a press conference held at the site: The newly discovered burial chamber is an exceptional testament to our rich cultural heritage Even after 2,600 years since its construction lead archaeologist of the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege in Stuttgart commented on the relevance of this find for archaeology: The discovery of the Riedlingen tomb is a stroke of luck has a scientific impact that transcends the borders of Baden-Württemberg and southern Germany Excavations will continue over the coming weeks with the aim of completing them before the end of the year The team of archaeologists is using advanced excavation and restoration technologies to ensure the preservation and detailed study of the artifacts emphasized the importance of the analyses that will follow after the conclusion of the excavations These studies may shed light on key questions such as the identity of the person buried in this monumental tomb He also highlighted that the preservation of the wooden elements has been possible thanks to the site’s particular hydrological conditions which have preserved the wood under groundwater One of the greatest surprises for the excavation team was the discovery of an oak wood burial chamber located just 70 centimeters below the surface This unique structure was crafted from sturdy oak planks showcasing the complexity and solidity of the construction The chamber measures approximately 3.40 meters wide and 4.05 meters long with walls that originally reached 1 meter in height demonstrates a high level of architectural engineering perhaps designed to protect the burial from potential looters The preservation of a wooden chamber in such good condition is a rarity in archaeology as wood generally does not survive underground for so long This discovery allows for dendrochronological analysis (based on tree growth rings) which has already revealed that the tomb was built around 585 BC evidence of tunnels dug by looters has been documented in the southeast corner of the chamber accessed the interior through a small hole and managed to strip the interior of any valuable items archaeologists have not found metal objects or other valuable materials in the chamber’s soil suggesting that the looting was systematic and meticulous some remains of bronze and iron nails recovered suggest that the chamber may have contained a four-wheeled chariot similar to those found in other elite Celtic tombs such as the famous burial of the Hochdorf prince While it is still unclear whether the tomb’s occupant was male or female several well-preserved human bones have been found preliminarily identified as belonging to a young male archaeologists have discovered other human remains near the surface of the mound Among them are the bones of a man between 25 and 35 years old along with two bronze fibulae and a small rock crystal suggesting that this individual was buried secondarily in the mound A small pit with two ceramic urns containing cremated remains Ministerium für Landesentwicklung und Wohnen / Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email Archaeologists from universities in the United States and Denmark found deep within the Actun Uayazba Kab cave in Belize two small stone tools dated between 250 and 900 AD that… men and women gathered to play a game called Cuju A team of 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dinosaur era—the exact moment when pterosaurs Rome achieved numerous military victories that allowed it to grow and dominate nearly the entire known world in Antiquity Receive our news and articles in your email for free You can also support us with a monthly subscription and receive exclusive content The European Investment Casters' Federation (EICF) welcomed investment casters and suppliers from all over the world to the thirtieth EICF Conference & Exhibition in Bregenz The federation has set itself the task of creating a worldwide exchange and representing the interests of the investment casting industry Part of the work involves organising an annual conference where all the players in the market meet this took place from 8 to 10 May 2023 in Bregenz Beside interesting technical presentations and an integrated trade fair on investment casting the programme also included a company visit to BLANK the BLANK-Group had the pleasure of welcoming approx. 120 guests from all over the world to Riedlingen on 10 May 2023 opened the event by reporting on his many years in the industry "I was active in the EICF myself and am particularly pleased that BLANK is now opening its doors to visitors as host," he said in his speech Chairman of the EICF, and Carlos Olabe expressed their gratitude for the visit and the opportunity to experience the production at BLANK he introduced the town of Riedlingen to the visitors and the importance of BLANK as the largest employer in Riedlingen for the region gave an insight into the processes at BLANK in a short presentation the tour of the company started which led through all the production departments in the company "The open casting in the foundry is always particularly impressive," said Lenert "The automated handling of the shells by a casting robot was also a highlight here an exchange is particularly important for innovations and the further development of the industry We were very pleased to be part of the EICF event and thus to be able to make our contribution to this beautiful event." I would like to receive the bi-weekly Foundry-Planet newsletter with all latest news Plus the special newsletters – all can be cancelled anytime and at no cost has been pretty much forgotten in his hometown The fact that he left 165 years ago might have something to do with it but you’d think that a local boy who crossed the ocean and founded what became the second-largest brewing company in America would merit at least some notice Perhaps a brewer is without honor in his own country particularly a country as beer-soaked as southern Germany drawing heavily on German research materials gathered a half-century earlier for Miller’s centennial a medieval town of 8,500 on the upper Danube River Its distinguishing features include scores of half-timber buildings and a stone gate left over from a 500-year-old town wall It was a drizzly Friday afternoon when we arrived —market day The cobblestone town square was filled with vendors selling fruit With no map to guide us and no agenda to pursue we followed signs to Riedlingen’s city museum that I was looking for information about brewer Frederick Miller “We’ve been expecting you,” she said I hadn't even known there was a museum in Riedlingen and our sole contact with anyone in town was an Airbnb reservation for a room that night I’d mentioned my interest in Miller when we confirmed the online booking but I hadn’t expected it to become general knowledge RELATED: Stingl: Miller Brewing's most valued historical artifacts are finally getting some love RELATED: Molson Coors consolidation will bring hundreds of corporate jobs to Milwaukee, drop Miller name a retired school principal and the town’s unofficial historian that featured one-page biographies of 42 famous Riedlingeners from the last 500 years Milwaukee’s own Frederick (Friedrich his two-paragraph profile tucked in among sketches of long-forgotten opera singers in walked the answer to our mystery: Karl Pöhlens a retired auto mechanics instructor who was about to begin his volunteer shift at the museum were fellow history-lovers who had assumed that we would find our way to the museum and had told Marina Haegele to watch out for us We gladly accepted Karl’s offer to show us around central Riedlingen The highlight for me was Frederick Miller’s family home an unmarked three-story building that was clearly the same one in the old photograph we’d used in “Miller Time.” The highlight for Karl was his museum’s prized possession: a piano built by Riedlingen native Conrad Graf and owned by Beethoven himself (Sonja got to play a few remembered bars of Rachmaninoff.) Ursula put me on the phone with Winfried Assfalg Assfalg said that everything he knew about Frederick Miller was contained in the brief sketch in his book no Miller relatives still living in the area and the cemetery that would have contained the family’s graves no longer existed Assfalg to estimate how many Riedlingen residents in a sample of 10 would say they’d heard of Frederick Miller “Why don’t you ask them yourself?” but not before a wonderful dinner with our hosts at a bierstube in a small village near Riedlingen The setting was a 500-year-old brewery on a trout stream and laughing in a picture-perfect embodiment of Gemütlichkeit I positioned myself in the town square and approached a wildly unscientific sample of Riedlingeners only two had ever heard of Frederick Miller One was a man in his 60s who lived two doors away from the Miller house The other was a young father with a baby in tow who had learned two basic facts about Frederick Miller in the local schools: “He went to America and became a famous person.” His wife Two out of 12 positive responses would suggest that Fred Miller’s memory has been practically erased in the place of his birth One question remained before we departed: Were Miller products for sale in the brewer’s hometown A visit to Riedlingen’s main grocery store returned a resounding “No.” The supermarket’s beer selection was and Hasseroder — all apparently regional brews — as well as a few more familiar names like Heineken The only brand from the western side of the Atlantic was I asked a clerk if his store ever stocked American beer There was one more stop on our pilgrimage to Miller Land From Riedlingen we drove 15 miles down the Danube River to Sigmaringen a market center twice the size of Frederick Miller’s birthplace After serving a 10-year apprenticeship elsewhere in the region Miller had become a full-fledged brewmaster in Sigmaringen leasing the royal brewery in the castle of the Hohenzollern family Perched on a rocky palisade high above the Danube the castle is the area’s major tourist attraction We took the standard tour with a group of Germans and period weaponry to stock a museum that would be a three-star attraction in America When the tour was over, I asked our guide if he knew anything about Frederick Miller and his Sigmaringen connection. “Yes,” he replied, “but only from the movie.” I was once again dumbstruck. The movie he had seen turned out to be “With this Ring,” a short (40-minute) and deservedly obscure feature produced by a Hollywood team in 1954 for Miller’s centennial Google “with this ring Miller.”) The film is a hoary hodgepodge of legends but a third of the action takes place in Sigmaringen and it’s obviously still shown there on occasion Our guide took us to the castle’s tour manager for more details had seen “With this Ring,” and told me that the brewery it supposedly depicted had closed not long after Frederick Miller left for America in 1854 Then came the most surprising news of all: Zoller-Hof was still in operation practically across the river and she thought they were producing a beer in tribute to Frederick Miller and I hurried across the Danube to Zoller-Hof’s retail sales outlet there was a stack of six-packs on the floor bearing the name “Old Fred.” It was the only brand labeled in English “This Amber Lager,” the carton read The beer is a testament to what Old Fred would have brewed in his times using the same water source and the highest quality locally sourced raw materials.” I poured a glass and found Old Fred to be a tasty lager and very much in tune with current American tastes There was a satisfying sense that I had closed a circle A beer from Frederick Miller’s homeland had crossed to the New World home where he found his fame Even though that fame never made the return trip to Germany John Gurda writes a column on local history for the Ideas Lab on the first Sunday of every month. Email: mail@johngurda.com The town of Riedlingen in south-west Germany has announced plans to build a family of four new bridges; the Hochwasserkanalbruecke two pedestrian bridges - Inselbruecke and Stadtgrabenbruecke - and Holzbruecke which will be the final piece of the flood prevention measures The city council has engaged structural engineers Schlaich Bergermann Partner and landscape designer Knoll Neues Gruen to plan and build structures that will revamp the town and improve quality of life for its citizens The council wants to preserve the characteristics of its surrounding thus landscaping and lighting design are to be considered from very early stages of the design phase to ensure successful implementation of the project.  Sign up to get our twice-monthly email update