The Inrap excavation near Marliens, east of Dijon, has revealed a unique Neolithic complex composed of three interlocking enclosures—a 36‑ft central circle flanked by a 26‑ft horseshoe to the north and a partially open circle to the south. Finds such as flint arrowheads, an armband with pyrite traces, and a copper‑alloy dagger point to Neolithic activity, while other parts of the site date to the Bronze and Iron Ages. Radiocarbon dating, metallurgical analyses and paleo‑environmental studies are underway to refine the chronology, test theories about funerary use and investigate possible trade links.
Unprecedented Three‑Linked Neolithic Monument Unearthed Near Dijon
‘Unprecedented’ Ancient Structure Found in FranceCavan Images - Getty Images
Archaeologists have uncovered a previously unknown prehistoric complex near Marliens, east of Dijon, that features an exceptional arrangement of three closely connected enclosures. Excavations led by the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) reveal multiple phases of activity on the same site, spanning the Neolithic, Bronze Age and into the First Iron Age.
Three Interlocking Enclosures
The earliest occupation centers on a compound formed by three attached enclosures. The central element is a circular enclosure about 36 feet (approximately 11 m) in diameter. Directly to the north, a smaller horseshoe‑shaped enclosure of roughly 26 feet (8 m) in length opens into the main circle. To the south, a partially open circle remains linked physically to the central ring. The excavation team reports that the three elements appear to be contemporaneous in position and likely in chronology, and a gravel layer along the lateral enclosures suggests a fence or palisade may have once stood there.
Artifacts and Dating
Material recovered from the ditches associated with this earliest phase includes a bundle of artifacts: seven flint arrowheads, two archer’s bracers, a probable flint lighter (an armband showing iron oxide associated with pyrite), and a copper‑alloy dagger. These objects are consistent with Neolithic toolkits and personal items. The team plans radiocarbon dating to refine the chronology; the Neolithic in this region is generally placed within the broad span of roughly 7000–2200 BC.
The researchers note that some items, particularly the lighter and other personal objects, frequently accompany burial contexts, but current evidence does not yet permit a definitive interpretation that the central monument functioned as a tomb.
"This type of monument seems unprecedented and currently no comparison has been possible," the Inrap team states, underscoring the rarity of a three‑linked layout in the regional record.
Later Occupations: Bronze And Iron Ages
Elsewhere on a roughly 64,000‑square‑foot plain, archaeologists identified five additional circular enclosures—four open and one closed—dated to the Middle–Late Bronze Age (about 1500–1300 BC). In the ditches of the largest of these enclosures the team found traces consistent with burials and a funerary pyre. Acidic soils prevented the preservation of unburned bone, but dating is supported by finds such as five copper‑alloy pins, a necklace of some 40 amber beads, and rare ceramic fragments.
Approximately 1,300 feet (about 400 meters) from that plain, evidence of a First Iron Age occupation was recorded, including urns and burial ornaments. Early Bronze Age wells were also excavated nearby; planned analyses of the clay layers at the bottoms of those wells may help reconstruct local environments and landscape conditions during the Bronze Age.
Ongoing Analyses And Significance
Metallurgical study of the copper‑alloy dagger is underway and could reveal the metal’s origin and broader trade connections for the community that produced it. Combined with radiocarbon results and paleo‑environmental analyses, the team expects to propose a clearer scenario for how this territory developed over millennia.
Inrap’s discovery at Marliens provides a rare glimpse of long‑term landscape use and social practices across successive prehistoric periods, and the unusual three‑linked monument may prompt fresh comparisons and interpretations in European prehistory.
