Archeologists from University College Dublin, in collaboration with colleagues from Serbia and Slovenia, have unearthed a previously unrecognized network of massive sites at the heart of Europe, shedding light on the emergence of Bronze Age mega-fortifications, which are the largest pre-iron age constructions known to prehistory.
Tisza Site Group (TSG) at Kačarevo 2 showing:
A) Lowlands,
B) Raised sand plateau,
C) Encircling ditch,
D) Activity areas.
Photograph and caption by Barry Molloy and Darja Grosman.
Credit: PLOS ONE (2023).
Using satellite imagery and aerial photography, the team reconstructed the prehistoric landscape of the South-Carpathian basin in Central Europe, discovering over 100 sites belonging to a complex society. Their prevalent use of defensible enclosures likely predates and influences the famous European fortifications built later in the Bronze Age to protect communities.
Among the most prominent sites, some are known for some years, like Gradište Iđoš, Csanádpalota, Sântana, or the astonishing Corneşti Iarcuri, encircled by over 20 miles (33 km) of ditches, outstripping the contemporary citadels and fortifications of the Hittites, Mycenaeans, or Egyptians in size. According to Associate Professor Barry Molloy, the lead author of the study, these massive sites are not isolated but are part of a dense network of closely linked and interdependent communities.
The Carpathian Basin spans parts of Central and South-Eastern Europe, with the vast Pannonian Plain at its core, crossed by the Danube River. Published in the journal
PLOS ONE, this new research uncovered over 100 sites in this region, located in the hinterlands of the Tisza River, forming a complex now called the Tisza Site Group (TSG).
Almost all TSG sites are situated within about 3 miles (5 km) of each other and are aligned along a river corridor formed by the Tisza and the Danube, suggesting that the network constituted a cooperative community spread across many different locations.
This discovery offers new insights into European connections in the second millennium BCE, considered a major turning point in prehistory. It appears that the advanced military and earthwork technologies of this society spread throughout Europe after their collapse in 1200 BCE. The significance and influence of these groups help to explain the similarities in material culture and iconography across Europe in the second millennium BCE.
The popular notion that archaeology relies solely on using trowels and brushes to meticulously cut through the soil millimeter by millimeter is as close to reality as Indiana Jones. Archaeologists employ an array of cutting-edge technologies, and in this study, they have extensively relied on space-based imaging to uncover this unrecognized network of massive sites. The findings derived from satellite imagery were validated on the ground through surveys, excavations, and geophysical prospection. The majority of the sites date from 1600 to 1450 BCE, and almost all were abandoned en masse around 1200 BCE.
According to Molloy, 1200 BCE marks a striking turning point in the Old World's prehistory, with the collapse of kingdoms, empires, cities, and entire societies within a few decades across a vast area of Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe.