Archaeologists Unearth Two Ancient Pyramids In Poland Dating Back 5,500 Years
The archaeologists from Adam Mickiewicz University revealed that the megalithic tombs date back over 5,500 years to the 4th millennium BCE, roughly contemporary with Stonehenge and predating the Egyptian pyramids.
The tombs were built using massive stones, some weighing up to 10 tonnes, which were transported with the help of tools and labour, Archaeology News reported. The structures are elongated trapezoidal shapes, up to 200 meters in length and 4 meters in height.
The tombs are carefully aligned with the directions, hinting at a sophisticated understanding of astronomy among the builders.
The tombs likely contained single skeletons, laid on their backs with legs pointing east, and were accompanied by grave goods such as pottery, stone axes and opium vessels.
The archaeologists noted that the tombs were constructed by the Funnelbeaker Culture, a Neolithic society known for its monumental burial architecture and agricultural practices.
"Although the Funnelbeaker cultures were quite egalitarian societies, the tombs held important figures for the community—the leader, the priest, the shaman," said Artur Golis from the regional landscape park association.
"Each generation of a given community built its own megalith," he told PAP, Poland's press agency.
The discovery provides valuable insights into the social, religious, and architectural sophistication of Neolithic Europe. It also challenges our understanding of early European civilisations.
Many of the tombs have been lost or degraded over the centuries, with only those hidden in forested areas surviving into the modern era.
"Potentially, these might include stone axes, hatchets, pottery, or characteristic clay vessels, including ones used for opium," Golis told TVP World.
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A resident of Chahardi village in Jalgaon's Chopda taluk, Shah began growing Khapli in 2020, sourcing seeds from a pioneering farmer in nearby Raver. He has continued ever since. 'I harvest a formidable 12 to 15 quintals per acre,' he says. 'Khapli is the food of the elite, priced at Rs 80 per kg, compared to bread wheat at Rs 30.' Scooping up a handful of soil, he adds, 'When cultivated using entirely organic methods, Khapli has a remarkable ability to enrich the soil's carbon content.' Despite its rising demand and health appeal, Khapli wheat faces a key bottleneck: processing. Its labour-intensive threshing has long deterred wider adoption. 'Unlike free-threshing varieties like durum or common wheat, where the outer layers separate easily, Khapli's spikelets remain intact. Threshing requires greater force and additional steps like hand threshing, flailing, or soaking to loosen the grains,' explains Vijendra Baviskar, a wheat agronomist with the ICAR-AICRP on Wheat at the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune. With its climate resilience, nutritional value, and soil-building capacity, Khapli wheat offers more than heritage – it offers a path to sustainable farming. Realising this potential, however, will require targeted efforts in seed accessibility, farmer incentives, and widespread awareness.
