Huge archaeology breakthrough as 2,600-year-old burial ground is dug up

An impeccably preserved wooden Celtic burial chamber has been uncovered by archaeologists in souther (Image: State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council / Quentin Sueur)

A 2,600-year-old grave, discovered in near perfect condition, has been discovered in Germany, marking only the second of its kind in the whole country.

The wooden burial chamber was uncovered at the centre of an enormous burial mound from the early Celtic period.

Wood buried underground in dry or normal conditions usually decomposes within decades at most, so the fact that the chamber is in such an impeccable condition is a rare discovery. 

Experts have described the find as one of "outstanding scientific importance," according to a translated statement from the local government.

"The Riedlingen grave is a stroke of luck for archaeology," said Dirk Krausse, the state archaeologist of Baden-Württemberg.

The chamber was unearthed at the centre of a huge burial mound with a height of almost six metres. (Image: State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council / Quentin Sueur)

The large chamber was an impressive 3.4 by four metres, with its floors, walls and ceiling constructed from massive oak timbers. It is thanks to the damp conditions from groundwater and aquifers that they remain so well preserved as this would have protected the wood from oxygen exposure, which leads to decay.

The chamber was unearthed at the centre of a huge burial mound with a diameter of 65 metres and a height of almost six metres. 

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.

The ancient Celts are understood to have lived in continental Europe as far east as modern-day Turkey and included different groups. This included the Gauls of what is now France and the Celtiberians in the Iberian Peninsula.

Their original home territories are thought to have included parts of France, the Czech Republic and southern Germany, where this tomb was found. 

The preserved wood will allow archaeologists to to use tree-ring dating to determine the exact year of the chamber. So far, they have dated the wood of what may have been a tool left by Celtic builders to 585 BC. Archaeologists hypothesise that the burial chamber could also have been built that year.

Cremated human remains were uncovered in two older urns dating to around 600 BC. (Image: State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council / Yvonne Mühleis)

Despite its sturdy structure, the excavation revealed that grave robbers were able to infiltrate it. They built two tunnels in the burial mound and created an entrance hole in the chamber’s ceiling.

This may explain the lack of valuable goods within the tomb. The team also discovered a number of nails in one of the looter’s 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 - within the chamber, in a second, likely later grave closer to the mound’s surface and the cremated remains of two older urns dating to around 600 BC buried beneath the burial mound. 

The individual in the chamber was a young male, who died between the ages of 15 and 20. He is believed to have been between five feet, three inches (160 cm) and five feet six inches (168 cm), a bone analysis found.

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 and the wooden chamber is ongoing, the team said.