7,000-year-old bones uncovered at construction site in startling find

Archaeologists working ahead of a planned elementary school in Leipzig, Germany, have found a grave dating to about 7,000 years ago. It is the oldest known grave within the city, offering rare evidence of early settlement in an area where ancient bones are often poorly preserved.

The burial is linked to the Neolithic Linear Pottery culture, when communities were moving towards settled farming and livestock raising. The person was buried on their left side with legs drawn up, and no grave goods were found; archaeologists dated it through the body’s position and the grave’s relationship to nearby remains. The excavation also revealed a 98-foot wooden house and traces of at least two others.