Step back to the Stone Age: 5,000-year-old footprints made by fishermen trying to protect ancient river discovered in Denmark
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A storm that ravaged a Danish island's coastline 5,000 years ago is said to have be responsible for a well-preserved set of ancient footprints.
Archaeologists working on excavations of the Femern Belt Tunnel in Lolland found evidence of at least two people's prints, dating back to the Stone Age.
And now experts believe they were left by fishermen attempting to protect nearby river barriers during poor weather.
Using the size of the prints as a guide, experts from Lolland-Falster Museum believe the poor weather threatened the barriers, and the fishermen would have waded into the water to try to protect them. As each print was made, sand was pushed into the seabed and became preserved over time
'It is quite surreal to have found human footprints,' said archaeologist Terje Stafseth in a press release.
'We normally find historical clues in the form of human waste, but here we have found an entirely different clue and a first in Danish archaeology: a physical print left behind by a human.'
'We know about animal footprints being found from the past, but human footprints have, as far as I know, never been found in Danish Stone Age archaeology.'
The footprints were found running along a 3.2ft-long (one metre) system of fishing weirs used to feed a nearby Stone Age community.
Their close proximity to these barriers, as well as their depth and position, suggest that a storm caused the barriers to flood and become covered in sand.
Using the size of the prints as a guide, experts from Lolland-Falster Museum believe that the poor weather threatened the barriers, and the fishermen would have waded into the water to try to protect them.
The footprints were found running along a 3.2ft-long (one metre) system of fishing weirs (pictured). Their close proximity to these barriers, as well as their depth and position, suggest that a storm caused the barriers to flood and become covered in sand
The well-preserved footprints, (pictured) were found during excavations on the Danish island of Lolland, and archaeologists believe they were made by fishermen trying to safeguard their weirs during a storm that hit the region and caused flooding, 5,000 years ago
As each print was made, sand was pushed into the seabed and became preserved over time.
Preliminary dating of sediment and minerals in the sand suggest they were made during the the Stone Age.
'Studies have shown that Stone Age people repeatedly repaired and actually moved parts of the system to optimise the coastal flow.
'We can follow the footsteps and sense the importance of the [barrier] system, which has been an important element used to feed coastal populations,' continued Mr Stafseth.
Archaeologists made the discovery during excavations of the Femern Belt Tunnel (marked) on the Danish island of Lolland. Excavations of the tunnel are continuing and Lolland-Falster Museum said it is hoping the prints will shed further light on the past following further tests
Excavations of the tunnel are continuing and Lolland-Falster Museum said it is hoping the prints will shed further light on the past, following further tests.
'With the discovery of footprints from Stone Age people, excavations in Rødbyhavn have suddenly become more personal,' said the museum.
'Here we are with direct imprints of past human activities that can be attached to a specific incident - a storm that destroyed a barrier, and which had to be repaired to ensure the survival of the population.'
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