Archaeologists working in the Sandomierz-Mokoszyn area of Poland have exposed an extraordinary find: the first longhouse from the early Neolithic period ever found in the Sandomierz Upland. This house, dating back to somewhere between 5300 and 4900 BC (roughly 6,000 years old), was uncovered during rescue excavations launched as part of a project to build a new housing complex.
Traces of the Funnel Beaker Culture
The excavation team, led by Three Epochs studio from Klimontów, initially set out to verify the existence of a settlement from the Funnel Beaker culture (3700-3200 BC), a well-known archaeological cultural community that had left traces in the area before, reports Science in Poland (PAP).
Aerial view of 6,000-year-old Neolithic long house uncovered in Sandomierz-Mokoszyn, Poland. (M. Bajka/Voivodeship Department of Monument Protection in Kielce)
As Dr. Marek Florek from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Sandomierz explained, the team’s suspicions were confirmed when they found large storage pits, likely used as cellars to keep food cool and fresh. They also uncovered fragments of pottery, tools made of flint, stone grinding tools, and the bones of animals – all evidence of the Funnel Beaker culture.
“The discovery of a longhouse is the first find of this type in the Sandomierz Upland… Houses of this type have been known so far from Kujawy, Podkarpacie and Lesser Poland. This is an interesting discovery that indicates that in the early Neolithic period there was a settlement with permanent buildings, not a makeshift camp. Moreover, it also confirms the continuation of settlement in this area over several thousand years.”, Dr. Florek noted.
The real surprise was finding something far older than anyone had expected: remains of a settlement belonging to the Engraved Ribbon Ceramics culture, who were a group of early farmers who migrated to this region from the Transcarpathian area, reports The Heritage Daily.
At the heart of this settlement was the longhouse, a structure built with wooden poles and measuring over 20 meters (65.6 feet) in length and 6 meters (19.7 feet) in width, running along a north-south axis.
Left; Scraper made of Świeciechów flint of the Funnel Beaker culture. Right; Fragment of a vessel from the Linear Pottery culture. (M. Bajka/Voivodeship Department of Monument Protection in Kielce)
The Early Agrarian Cultures of Europe: From Hunter-Gatherers to Settled Communities
The engraved ribbon ceramics culture, active from around 5500 to 4500 BC, left its mark across Central and Eastern Europe, with distinctive pottery designs that included ribbons carved into the clay. These early communities were some of the first in the region to adopt farming and animal husbandry, and traces of their settlements have been found in what is now Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.
Surrounding this house, they also found evidence of farm-related activity – pits and what are known as “cops,” from which the soil used for building the house’s walls was extracted. It’s a glimpse into the daily life of people who lived more than 7,000 years ago.
What makes the discovery even more exciting are the artifacts found within and around the house. Along with ceramics adorned with beautiful, engraved designs, there were also tools made of flint and the volcanic glass, obsidian. This particular obsidian is believed to have come from the area of present-day Slovakia or Hungary, evidence of the vast extent of trade networks, even way back then.
Archaeologists have also uncovered a fragment of pottery from the Lublin-Volyn culture, suggesting that this region may have seen even more waves of settlement over time. All the artifacts are now being prepared for further study and will eventually be displayed at the Castle Museum in Sandomierz.
The spread of early farming cultures across Europe remains a vast field yearning to be studied in greater detail. In the larger scheme of things, the early farming cultures helped transform Europe from hunter-gatherer dominated societies to settled agricultural communities. Crop cultivation and animal husbandry became common practices around which permanent settlements developed, leading to population growth and the development of social structures.
Top image: 6,000-year-old Neolithic long house uncovered in Sandomierz-Mokoszyn, Poland. Source: M. Bajka/Voivodeship Department of Monument Protection in Kielce
By Sahir Pandey
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