Researchers have found an underwater stone wall from 11,000 years ago in the Baltic Sea close to Germany. A new study shows that the structure could have been used for hunting reindeers back when it was still dry land.
Underwater Stone Wall Found
According to the researchers, local prehistoric individuals could have built the stone wall. The remaining parts of the structure were made from 1,670 stones and span roughly 975 meters in length. It also stands tall at a height of one meter and has a width of two meters.
The stone wall was discovered by the team through sonar and location dives that go as deep as 21 meters. It was found around 10 kilometers east of Rerik in the Bay of Mecklenburg.
The researchers explain in the "A submerged Stone Age hunting architecture from the Western Baltic Sea" study that the wall could be the largest of its kind that dates back to the early Holocene period. Based on other prehistoric walls that are similar to it, the researchers propose that the structure was built on dry land by hunter-gatherers. It may have been built to prompt wild animal herds to go to corrals where they could be killed.
The scientists also suggest that the wall could have been used for hunting reindeer, which was common during that time.
However, due to the melting ice sheets after the previous ice age, sea levels changed, and waters ended up flooding the area around 8,500 years ago.
Built on Dry Land
The discovery of the stone wall came as an accident in 2021. Scientists were able to detect it during a boat trip bound for the Bay of Mecklenburg to educate students regarding marine geophysical techniques.
Marine geophysicist Jacob Geersen from Kiel University explains that it was quite out of the blue. They did not search for the structure, as they did not know of its presence. Nevertheless, they were able to resolve it based on their multibeam echosounder data.
With the help of boat sonar equipment and an autonomous underwater vehicle, researchers were able to map the structure. They have also made dives in different areas along its length. Such sediment samples and investigations show that the wall was purposely built on dry land, as opposed to being a natural structure on the landscape that is now submerged.
According to prehistorian Marcel Bradtmöller from the University of Rostock, who is a co-leader of the study, the wall could have been constructed beside the shore of a prehistoric lake or block. This could have stopped herd animals from escaping.
While the precise date the wall was constructed remains unknown, it is believed that reindeer became extinct in the area roughly 9,000 years ago. This was a few hundred years before the sea flooded the area.
The researchers are hopeful to discover buried artifacts along the wall's length. They hope that these artifacts can shed more light on the use and origins of the wall. They further suggest that some wall parts could have been blinds where people who were to kill the animals could have kept themselves hidden.
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