Subterranean tunnel, possibly used for medieval cult rituals, discovered in Stone Age tomb in Germany

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Subterranean tunnel, possibly used for medieval cult rituals, discovered in Stone Age tomb in Germany

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While excavating a Stone Age burial site in Germany, archaeologists came across a mysterious “earth tunnel” that someone had dug in the Middle Ages, thousands of years after the tomb was dug, perhaps to hide their stealthy ritual practices.

At the end of 2025, the German State Office for Heritage Management and Archeology (LDA) Saxony-Anhalt was investigating land near the village of Dornberg for a construction project. Archaeologists initially discovered a trapezoidal ditch dating to the fourth millennium BC, several Neolithic burials from the third millennium BC and a Bronze Age burial mound dating to the second millennium BC, according to a translated document dated January 29. statement.

But during excavations, archaeologists spotted a long oval pit and a large stone slab. The pit, which measured approximately 6.5 feet (2 meters) long and 2.5 feet (0.75 m) wide, intersected the Neolithic burial ditch at right angles. Although excavators initially thought it was another tomb, the pit continued to function and became a tunnel system known in German as an “erdstall”, meaning “earth tunnel” or “shaft”.

dug tunnel

A large niche in the earth tunnel after the removal of the cover stone. (Image credit: © Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Ulf Petzschmann)

According to the LDA, earth tunnels are underground systems with chamber-like extensions found in geographic regions with firm but easily exploitable ground. Hundreds of these systems have been discovered in Bavariaand all were probably made in the Middle Ages. Archaeologists believe that no one ever lived in the underground chambers, but they are not sure what the tunnels were used for. Theories range from hideouts to spaces intended for cult activities.

Most land tunnels lack archaeological artifacts. But the recently discovered one contained a metal horseshoe, a fox skeleton, fragments of a globe-shaped ceramic pot and a layer of charcoal in one of the narrow, curved passages. The entrance to the earthen tunnel had been deliberately blocked off at one point by a group of large stones, archaeologists determined, perhaps to hide clandestine activity in the tunnel.

a metal horseshoe and fragments of a ceramic pot

Fragments of late medieval pottery and a metal horseshoe were discovered in the earth tunnel. (Image credit: © Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Ulf Petzschmann)

“The question arises as to how to interpret the results,” the LDA researchers wrote in the press release. Taken together, the artifacts suggest that someone started a short-lived fire in the tunnel and dumped some of their belongings. And because the Stone Age trapezoidal ditch was probably still recognizable from the ground even thousands of years later, it may have been known as a sacred space to the medieval person who built the tunnels.

“However, perhaps the site, because of its importance as a pagan tomb, was generally avoided by the local population and was therefore particularly well suited as a hiding place,” LDA officials wrote.