The circular ditch enclosure in Velm

A Neolithic circular ditch enclosure with a diameter of over 100 metres was located in Velm around 6,700 years ago.

In the Middle Neolithic period (4900 to 4400 BC), people in Central Europe built enormous constructions known as circular ditches. Structures of this kind were found in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany and Austria. There was a wide variety of enclosure types, from smaller structures with just one ditch system to larger enclosures with up to five concentric ditches.

Three large ditches
One of these larger structures is the enclosure in Velm. It was discovered in 2000 by aerial photographs, and geomagnetic surveys of the site started in 2003. An archaeological excavation was finally carried out by the University of Vienna in 2019.

The Velm enclosure consists of three almost circular concentric ditches. The outer ditch has a diameter of about 114 m, the innermost ditch 64 m. Their width varies between 3 and 5 m. Inside and between the ditches were rows of palisades; it appears that no ramparts were built with the earth excavated from the ditches. The enclosure had several entrances via earth bridges. The best preserved is the north-east entrance, but the survey data also indicates entrances to the north and south-east. It is likely that their alignment was primarily based on topographical criteria, probably to make it easy for people to access the centre of the circular ditch. The theory that the gates were aligned with astronomical observations cannot be proven.

Beside a settlement
Similar to other enclosures of this kind (e.g. Pranhartsberg), traces of a settlement were discovered right outside the circular ditch here too. All in all, archaeologists were able to identify the remains of three houses of different sizes. One or two of these appear to have been ‘megaron houses’, which had an open portico at the front. As yet, it is not entirely clear exactly how these buildings were used.