Impressive preservation: Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed a 4,500-year-old cemetery (photos).

During construction work in Germany, archaeologists uncovered a 4,500-year-old burial site associated with the Bell Beaker culture. The burial site, located near Ferderstedt in the Salzland district, contains ten graves, including three warrior burials, writes Arkeonews.

The Bell Beaker culture, named after its distinctive ceramic vessels, adhered to specific burial customs that often included grave goods intended to accompany the deceased into the afterlife.

Project leader and archaeologist Susanne Friedrich from the State Office for Heritage Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt confirmed that all three individuals were buried in a single mound in a hunched position facing east. Women were typically placed on their right side, while men were laid on their left.

Among the most notable artifacts found in the graves is a bell-shaped ceramic vessel, approximately 15 centimeters in diameter, discovered in one of the central burials. In another grave, a stone arm guard was found for protecting the arm—scholars noted that this indicates a male hunter or warrior.

In the third burial, archaeologists uncovered two arrowheads near the deceased's back, along with faint traces of a quiver that had deteriorated over time but left an imprint in the sediment.

As Friedrich noted: "This arrow container was made of organic material and has decayed. Only the different color and texture of the sediment indicate that the deceased was buried with their equipment."

The excellent preservation of these graves is attributed to their depth and the surrounding loess clay. Excavation leader Christian Lau explained that "the graves were not placed on the surface, as is often observed in artificially raised mounds. Instead, the burial pit was dug through the upper soil layers and loess clay down to the sand and filled with unmixed loess clay." If the bodies had directly contacted the sand, their condition would have significantly deteriorated.

The discovery was made as part of an archaeological assessment conducted in preparation for the expansion of SuedOstLink, a major direct current transmission project spanning approximately 540 kilometers from Wolmirstedt near Magdeburg to the Isar site in Bavaria. Researchers are currently continuing to investigate the site to uncover more details about these ancient burials.

We also reported on the "rhinoceros" beneath the roadway. Archaeologists discovered a 1,500-year-old Roman-era stone coffin weighing 750 kilograms.