A submerged wall stretching nearly a kilometer (0.6 miles) along the German Baltic coast could rewrite history as the oldest known human-made megastructure in Europe, scientists say, according to The Guardian.
The massive structure, dubbed the "Blinkerwall," was discovered by chance during a student research trip. A sonar scan revealed a surprising underwater formation, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a wall composed of 1,400 smaller stones connected to 300 massive boulders.
The sheer size and complexity of the wall suggest a coordinated effort by a large group of people. Remarkably, some boulders are so hefty they would have been impossible for individuals to move, hinting at advanced construction techniques for the Stone Age.
According to The Guardian, experts believe the wall, currently resting 21 meters (70 feet) underwater, was likely built on dry land around 11,000 years ago, possibly near a lake or marsh. Rising sea levels over millennia submerged the structure, preserving it for future discovery.
The Blinkerwall's purpose remains a mystery, but its size and location suggest a potential role in hunting large prey, similar to known ancient hunting traps elsewhere. Further investigation will hopefully shed light on its function and the lives of the Stone Age people who built it.
This discovery holds significant potential to rewrite our understanding of early European societies and their capabilities. It highlights the ingenuity and resourcefulness of these ancient communities, leaving us with more questions than answers about their fascinating past.
"When you chase the animals, they follow these structures, they don't attempt to jump over them," said Jacob Geersen at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research in Warnemunde, a German port town on the Baltic coast.
"The idea would be to create an artificial bottleneck with a second wall or with the lake shore," he added.
A second wall that ran alongside the Blinkerwall may be buried in the seafloor sediments, the researchers write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
