Celtic burial chamber, Riedlingen, Germany
RIEDLINGEN, GERMANY—According to a Newsweek report, a 2,600-year-old burial chamber has been discovered in an area of southwestern Germany once occupied by Celts. The chamber, which was lined with oak timbers, was found in a large burial mound on the plains of the Danube River. A wooden club-like object in the tomb is thought to have been left behind by a builder. The mound measures more than 210 feet in diameter, and stands more than six feet tall, although Andrea Lindlohr of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Regional Development and Housing said that it may have once been 20 feet tall. “The Riedlingen grave is a stroke of luck for archaeology: the scientific significance of this fully preserved Celtic chamber grave, investigated using modern methods, extends far beyond the boundaries of Baden-Württemberg and southern Germany,” commented archaeologist Dirk Krausse of the State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg. Researchers hope to determine who was buried in the mound. To read about a cache of Celtic gold coins uncovered in northeastern Germany, go to “Golden Lucky Charms.”
Ceramic vessels found in a pit under the burial mound served as urns.