Heritage with Related Tags
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
This collection of 111 small, individual sites includes remains of prehistoric pile dwellings (or stilt dwellings) in and around the Alps, built around 5000-500 BC, on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. Excavations at only some of the sites have provided evidence that provides insights into life and how communities interacted with their environment during the Neolithic and Bronze Age prehistory of Alpine Europe. 56 of the sites are located in Switzerland. These settlements are a unique group of archaeological sites, well-preserved and culturally rich, and are one of the most important sources for studying early agricultural societies in the region.
Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki
This Bronze Age burial site, with more than 30 granite burial cairns, provides unique insights into funerary practices and socio-religious structures in Northern Europe more than 3,000 years ago.
Antequera Dolmens Site
Located in the heart of Andalusia in southern Spain, the site includes three megalithic monuments: the Dolmens of Monga and Vieira and the Dome of El Romeral, and two natural monuments: the Cueva de los Inamorados and the Cueva de El Torcal, which are landmarks within the site. The monuments were built during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with large blocks of stone that formed chambers with pediments or false domes. The three tombs, buried beneath the original mound, are among the most remarkable works of architecture of European prehistory and are among the most important examples of European megalithic architecture.
Rock Carvings in Tanum
The rock carvings of Tanum in northern Bohuslän are a unique artistic achievement not only because of their rich variety of themes (depicting humans and animals, weapons, ships and other subjects), but also because of their cultural and temporal unity. They reveal a great deal about the lives and beliefs of the peoples of Bronze Age Europe and are of great quality.
Petroglyphs within the Archaeological Landscape of Tamgaly
Around the lush Tamgaly Gorge, in the vast and arid Chuli Mountains, are clustered some 5,000 petroglyphs (rock engravings) dating from the second half of the second millennium BC to the early 20th century. Distributed in 48 complexes with associated settlements and cemeteries, these petroglyphs bear witness to pastoralism, social organization and rituals of nomadic peoples. Human settlements at the site are often multi-layered, indicating occupation through the ages. Numerous tombs have also been found, including stone walls with chests and sarcophagi (Middle and Late Bronze Age) and stone and earth mounds (gurgans) (Early Iron Age to present day). The central gorge contains the densest concentration of engravings and what are believed to be altars, suggesting that these sites were used for rituals.
Yin Xu
Located near Anyang, about 500 km south of Beijing, the Yinxu site was an ancient capital of the late Shang Dynasty (1300-1046 BC), witnessing the heyday of China's Bronze Age and the golden age of early Chinese culture, craftsmanship and science. A number of royal tombs and palace buildings were unearthed at the site, laying the foundation for China's later architectural style. These include palaces and royal ancestral halls, where more than 80 house sites were discovered, and the only intact tomb of a member of the Shang royal family - the tomb of Fu Hao. The large number of burial objects and the exquisite craftsmanship are testaments to the high level of craftsmanship in the Shang Dynasty. The oracle bones discovered at Yinxu are one of the oldest writing systems in the world and a valuable testimony to the development of ancient beliefs and social systems.
Shahr-i Sokhta
Shahr-i Sokhta, meaning "the burned city", lies at the intersection of Bronze Age trade routes across the Iranian plateau. The remains of the mud-brick city represent the emergence of the first complex society in eastern Iran. Founded around 3200 BC, the city was inhabited during four major periods until 1800 BC, during which time several distinct areas developed within the city: areas where monuments were built, and separate areas for living, burials, and manufacturing. Watercourse diversions and climate change led to the city's final abandonment in the early second millennium AD. The buildings, cemeteries, and large number of important artifacts unearthed here, as well as their excellent state of preservation due to the dry desert climate, make the site a rich source of information about the emergence of complex societies from 3000 BC and the connections between them.
Arslantepe Mound
The Arslantepe Mound is a 30-meter-high archaeological site located in the Malatya Plain, 12 kilometers southwest of the Euphrates River. Archaeological evidence at the site indicates that it was inhabited from at least the 6th millennium BC to the late Roman period. The earliest strata of the Early Uruk period are characterized by adobe houses from the first half of the 4th millennium BC. The most prominent and prosperous period of the site was the Late Chalcolithic period, during which the so-called palace complex was built. Extensive evidence also confirms the presence of the Early Bronze Age, the most prominent of which is the Royal Tomb Complex. Archaeological strata then extend to the Old Assyrian and Hittite periods, including the Neo-Hittite period. The site demonstrates the processes that led to the emergence of state societies and complex bureaucratic systems that predate writing in the Near East. Many exceptional metal objects and weapons have been unearthed at the site, including the earliest swords known to date in the world, indicating that organized forms of combat began to become the prerogative of the elite, who displayed these swords as instruments of their new political power.
Ancient Jericho/Sultan Trapezium
Located in the Jordan Valley, the site is an oval mound containing remains of prehistoric human activities, including the adjacent "Sultan Spring" (Ain es-Sultan), which never runs dry. Due to the fertile soil and convenient water sources of the oasis, permanent human settlements appeared here as early as 9-8 millennia BC. Skulls and statues found on the site show the religious worship customs of the Neolithic residents; archaeological data from the early Bronze Age show signs of urban planning; and remains from the Middle Bronze Age indicate that there was a large Canaanite city-state here, inhabited by a complex social group.