Sépulture de Bad Dürrenberg, Mesolithic burial site in Bad Dürrenberg, Germany.

The burial of Bad Dürrenberg is a Mesolithic double grave found in 1934 in the spa park of Bad Dürrenberg, Saxony-Anhalt. A woman aged 25 to 35 was placed in a seated, crouched position in a pit about 90 cm by 55 cm, holding an infant of 6 to 8 months between her thighs. The grave was lined with red ochre and covered with a basket-like wickerwork of willow, sealed with white clay.

The grave was found on 4 May 1934 during drainage works in the spa park of Bad Dürrenberg. Four radiocarbon dates taken between 1989 and 2014 place the skeleton between 9000 and 8600 years old, making it the second-oldest known burial in Saxony-Anhalt. New excavations in the park between August and December 2020 located the original pit and recovered a smaller pit about 600 years younger, holding two deer-antler masks.

The grave goods reveal how people expressed meaning through objects and ritual. Red ochre powder, a worked deer antler, and dozens of pierced teeth as ornaments show that care and intention shaped how this community honored their dead.

The site is typically presented through an exhibition or interpretive display rather than an open dig area, since the actual grave remains underground. Taking time to read the information about the objects and their positions helps you understand the burial arrangement.

Scientific analysis of the remains revealed the woman had blue eyes with dark skin and hair, providing a direct window into how people actually looked in Central Europe thousands of years ago. This mix of features demonstrates that such physical variety existed among early populations.