3,000-year-old settlement — with amazing ovens — unearthed in France. Take a look
A series of immense buildings, dating back three millennia and discovered in France, may have been a central hub of activity and a place to share a large meal.
The ancient site was discovered during works at the Escaut Valley Business Park in Onnaing, and archaeologists quickly realized it was a unique find, according to a March 19 release from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research.
Remnants of a settlement dating from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age — the twelfth century B.C. to the seventh century B.C. — included buildings densely packed together on a 7.4-acre plot, according to the release.
About 20 buildings have been unearthed so far, including some rectangular-shaped buildings more than 80 feet long, archaeologists said.
Pits found around the buildings suggest the site was used for both daily and artisanal activities, researchers said.
Items for spinning and weaving, metalworking and food storage and processing were found.
Archaeologists also uncovered a wooden mystery box that raised questions as to its use, according to the release.
The box is square and about 18 inches long, researchers said, and uses metal pieces to connect the wooden walls. Archaeologists are unsure what may have been stored in the box.
Archaeologists also discovered what they said were amazing ovens that puzzled the research team.
They have a central hearth that is large and circular inside the house, which was then filled with reddened clay blocks and carbon material, according to the release. Some combustion structures were rectangular or more oblong in shape, but all shapes were associated with the interior walls of the buildings they were inside.
One large circular oven was dug out as a silo, and researchers found a thick floor, which suggests particularly intense fires raged in the oven, possibly used for cooking or ceramics, researchers said.
Because so much of the settlement is concentrated in a small space, researchers suggest it acted as a central hub for others in the area and may have held a special status within the society.
The finds add to the well-documented history of this era in northern France, archaeologists said.
Onnaing is just west of France's northern border with Belgium, about a 60-mile drive southwest from Brussels.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research.
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