Fribourg: discovery of a monumental tomb dating back 2,600 years
Keystone-SDA
A monumental 2,600-year-old burial site has been discovered in Grandvillard, canton Fribourg.
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On Friday, the Fribourg State Archaeological Service (SAEF) presented a monumental burial site dating from the Early Iron Age (800-450 BC) to the press. It is the third monument of this type to be discovered in the necropolis being investigated since 2019 in the Intyamon valley, in the Gruyère district.
The archaeologists described the progress of the excavation, the structures unearthed and the issues involved in preserving this heritage.
“The excavation of this burial mound is imperative, as it is threatened with destruction by erosion caused by a nearby torrent,” the SAEF said in a press release.
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Léonard Kramer, head of the prehistory and protohistory sector, explained that the aim of the archaeologists’ work is to document the remains before they disappear.
Work began in November and will continue until next January. Archaeologists have uncovered a funerary structure 10 metres in diameter that is “remarkably well preserved”.
The find provides a better understanding of the organisation of the society living in the Intyamon around 600 BC. Previous discoveries in the same necropolis indicate that these were the tombs of important figures who were buried, sometimes accompanied by bronze objects, in their final resting place.
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Adapted from French by AI/sb
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