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Traces of Stone Age hunter-gatherers discovered in the Baltic Sea

Reconstruction of the post-glacial hunting structure discovered off Rerik in the Baltic Sea
Graphic reconstruction of the hunting structure in a late glacial/early Holocene landscape, based on bathymetric data and an underwater 3D model of the recently discovered stonewall at the bottom of the Baltic Sea . (Image: Michał Grabowski)

In autumn 2021, geologists discovered an unusual row of stones, almost 1 km long, at the bottom of Mecklenburg Bight. The site is located around 10 kilometres off Rerik in 21 metres water depth. The approximately 1,500 stones are aligned so regularly that a natural origin seems unlikely. A team of researchers from different disciplines now concluded, that Stone Age hunter-gatherers likely built this structure around 11,000 years ago to hunt reindeer. The finding represents the first discovery of a Stone Age hunting structure in the Baltic Sea region. The scientists now present their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Read original publicaion »


Download full joint PDF press release by
Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde
University of Rostock
Kiel University, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

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