5,500-year-old Polish ‘Pyramids' discovered, older than Egypt's Pyramid of Giza

Time of India

14-07-2025

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, a set of 5,500-year-old megalithic tombs have been discovered in Poland, nicknamed the "Polish pyramids." They were found during a routine field survey in the Chłapowski Landscape Park in the village of Wyskoć, reports add.
These monumental earth structures, reportedly, date back to the late Stone Age and shed new light on the prehistoric Funnelbeaker culture that once thrived in the region.
As per the reports, a team from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and announced by the Complex of Landscape Parks of the Wielkopolska Voivodeship. The tombs are located in the Wielkopolska province and are some of the largest megalithic structures ever found in Poland.
Remarkably well-preserved, they are believed to have been built by one of the region's earliest sedentary agricultural societies.
Megalithic giants of the North
The tombs, also referred to as "the beds of giants", are elongated trapezoidal mounds reaching up to 200 m in length and about 4 m in height. Constructed in a triangular shape, the front of each structure is several metres wide and gradually narrows into a 'tail' at the rear. Some of the boulders used in their construction weigh as much as 10 tonnes, an extraordinary feat for Neolithic builders using only primitive tools and manpower.
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The monumental tombs are oriented with impressive precision. The wider front end faces east, while the tail stretches westward, a design suggesting the builders had a sophisticated understanding of direction and possibly astronomy. According to archaeologists, this alignment was likely symbolic, with the rising sun associated with life and the setting sun with death.
The Funnelbeaker culture's legacy
The structures are attributed to the Funnelbeaker culture (4000–2700 BCE), a Neolithic society known for its large-scale burial architecture, early farming practices, and finely crafted pottery.
Though these communities were largely egalitarian, special tombs were reserved for significant figures such as leaders, shamans, or priests.
'Although the Funnelbeaker cultures were quite egalitarian, these tombs likely held important figures — a leader, a priest, a shaman,' said Artur Golis from the regional landscape park association.
These burials typically included a single skeleton placed on its back with legs pointing east, accompanied by grave goods.
While skeletal remains may not have survived in the newly excavated tombs, archaeologists hope to recover ceremonial objects such as stone axes, hatchets, clay vessels, and possibly copper ornaments or opium containers.
This is only the second time such megalithic tombs have been discovered in Wielkopolska — the first being in 2019. Until now, most similar finds were concentrated in the Kuyavia-Pomerania region, where they are professionally known as megalithic tombs of the Kuyavian type.
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The newly discovered sites offer rare insight into the social, religious, and engineering capabilities of Neolithic societies in Europe. Their sheer scale and design not only rival other prehistoric sites like Stonehenge but also predate the Egyptian pyramids.
"For thousands of years, people have needed the stones, so they have taken them, split them, hence the object has been quite heavily degraded," Golis said, noting the fragility of what remains.
Currently, the site remains closed to the public to allow for careful excavation and preservation. A decision about public access will be made once research and protective measures are completed.
These 'Polish pyramids' may not rival Giza in height, but they stand tall as silent sentinels of a lost civilization, offering a powerful connection to humanity's ancient past, right in the heart of Europe.