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taylorvich [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-archaeologists-uncover-europe-hidden-bronze.html [phys.org]

Archaeologists from University College Dublin, working with colleagues from Serbia and Slovenia, have uncovered a previously unknown network of massive sites in the heart of Europe that could explain the emergence of the continent's Bronze Age megaforts—the largest prehistoric constructions seen prior to the Iron Age.

Using satellite images and aerial photography to stitch together the prehistoric landscape of the south Carpathian Basin in Central Europe, the team discovered more than 100 sites belonging to a complex society.

Their commonplace use of defensible enclosures was a precursor and likely influence behind the famous hillforts of Europe, built to protect communities later in the Bronze Age.

"Some of the largest sites, we call these mega-forts, have been known for a few years now, such as Gradište Iđoš, Csanádpalota, Sântana or the mind-blowing Corneşti Iarcuri enclosed by 33km of ditches and eclipsing in size the contemporary citadels and fortifications of the Hittites, Mycenaeans or Egyptians," said lead author Associate Professor Barry Molloy, UCD School of Archaeology.

"What is new, however, is finding that these massive sites did not stand alone, they were part of a dense network of closely related and codependent communities. At their peak, the people living within this lower Pannonian network of sites must have numbered into the tens of thousands."

The Carpathian Basin extends across parts of central and southeast Europe, with the vast Pannonian Plain lying at its center, with the River Danube cutting through it.

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