Rescue excavations in Rechnitz, Burgenland, Austria, have uncovered monumental circular earthworks from the Neolithic period, dating back more than 6,500 years. The discovery is part of the “Circular Enclosure and Stone Age Village” project under the province’s Archaeology Master Plan. The findings come ahead of construction for a new archaeological visitor center.
Neolithic earthwork circles discovered in Austria
Archaeologists identified three Middle Neolithic circular enclosures on the outskirts of Rechnitz using aerial photography and geophysical surveys. Built between 4850 and 4500 B.C., the structures measure up to 105 meters (344 feet) in diameter.
Nikolaus Franz, head of Archäologie Burgenland in the Department of Education, Culture and Science, explained that the close grouping of these large earthworks marks Rechnitz as a significant center during the Middle Neolithic period. He emphasized that construction in the area could endanger the buried remains, making thorough excavation and documentation crucial.
The site also overlaps with two Neolithic settlements. Most of the house plans uncovered date to the Early Neolithic, a period tied to the so-called Neolithic Revolution, when communities first began farming and domesticating animals. Some structures suggest habitation extended into the Middle Neolithic, coinciding with the construction of the monumental enclosures.
“These excavations provide a true glimpse into the Stone Age,” Franz said. He noted that researchers are gaining insights into early settler families who introduced agriculture and livestock to the region in the 6th millennium B.C. After millennia of hunting and gathering, the transition to permanent farming communities marked a turning point in human history.
Ongoing works
The work is being carried out in cooperation with the municipality of Rechnitz and the specialist firm PANNARCH and will continue until early September. Archaeologists have already identified pits, postholes, and ceramic fragments that point to Neolithic settlement activity. They also confirmed the ditches of an Early Neolithic earthwork previously detected only through geomagnetic imaging.
Samples from the site will undergo bioarchaeological testing, while soil profiles are being examined at the University of Vienna’s Institute of Geography and Regional Research. These studies aim to reconstruct the development of farmland and analyze the region’s geological history.
Between 2011 and 2017, earlier surveys documented four monumental earthworks in Rechnitz’s southern municipal area. Three of these were circular enclosures, faintly visible on the surface but clearly defined through geomagnetic data.
At more than 6,500 years old, the Rechnitz earthworks predate both the Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge by roughly 2,000 years, offering a significant contribution to understanding Europe’s prehistoric heritage.