Objects of about 5,000 years, allegedly used in the neolithic period, were found by Swedish archaeologists in a swamp on the outskirts of the Gerstaberg region near Järna, Sweden. The muddy and oxygen feature of the area favored, according to experts, the high preservation of historical items.
According to Arkeologena, a Swedish consultancy specializing in archeology and conservation of cultural heritage, the works were concentrated in an area of 3,600 square meters, where there was once a lake used for fishing and collecting water nuts.
Over time, the lake became swamp, and human items, as well as animal remains, were preserved under the mud of this ecosystem for thousands of years, acting as a kind of capsule of natural time.
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“By examining the swamp recently, archaeologists have found not only many sea urchins, but also quite unusual: well-preserved wood structures, protected for thousands of years in an oxygen-free environment,” said Arkeologena in a text released on her site.
These structures include trunks and wickers (flexible wood) made of branches. As for the animals, fish were found, such as sturctions, with clear cuts of cuts. “Using the carbon-14 method, the items were dated in two periods: 3,300-2,900 BC and 2,900-2,600 BC,” said the consultancy, which is also part of the Swedish authority of historical museums.
Archaeologists believe that objects were used to support hiking through lake muddy, facilitating the collection of sea nuts, as well as to make baskets (with the wicker, for example), used to transport the nuts or fishing nets.
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In the vicinity of the swamp, an area of activities with fireplaces and a small construction supported by poles was found, “probably linked to the collection and handling of sea nuts,” according to Arkeologen.
“However, it is still unclear which neolithic cultural groups worked there, and no key artifact, such as culturally typical ceramics, was found during preliminary investigations,” he added.
Research work began in the summer (in the northern hemisphere) and should deepen in the seasons of autumn and winter. The proposal is to analyze an area of 36 thousand square meters.
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“The hope is that this provides us with new knowledge about how people in the region around Järna used natural resources during the neolithic period.”
The neolithic, also called “Polished Stone Age” or “Pedra Nova”, is a period of prehistory between 10,000 AC and 3,000 AC, whose entry was marked by the agricultural revolution.
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According to Arkeologena, the work will be documented with videos on social networks and, when the project is ready, the wooden structures and the surrounding environment will be recreated in 3D, with the aim of providing direct digital immersion in the Stone Age.
