Alvastra pile-dwelling, Neolithic settlement in Ödeshög Municipality, Sweden
Alvastra is an ancient settlement on a lakeside with elevated wooden platforms dating to the Neolithic period. The remains show two large rectangular structures built on posts to protect from water and positioned side by side.
The settlement was inhabited roughly 5000 years ago, as shown by excavations starting in the early 20th century. The finds suggest people lived there across multiple generations and regularly rebuilt their houses.
The settlement shows how different groups of people mixed their traditions and lived together in the same space. You can sense today how this place sat between lake and land, with both cultures leaving their mark on daily life.
The site is accessible via walking paths and informative signs explain the archaeological discoveries on location. The area is flat and easy to visit, especially during warmer months when the paths are dry.
The wooden posts were so well preserved underwater that archaeologists can still see fine details like tool marks and repair patches today. This tells us far more about ancient craftsmanship than we know from most other sites of that era.
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