{"id":1592,"date":"2026-03-04T07:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/owspakistan.com\/?p=1592"},"modified":"2026-03-04T09:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T09:00:15","slug":"fire-station-iron-age-settlement-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/owspakistan.com\/?p=1592","title":{"rendered":"2,500-year-old settlement found during fire station construction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While a recent Iron Age discovery<\/a> in northern Germany is proving itself an archaeological goldmine<\/a>, local firefighters might be a bit annoyed by the find. According to the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe<\/a> (LWL), construction on a new fire station in the town of H\u00fcllhorst roughly 45 miles west of Hanover was delayed after the surveyors identified evidence of a settlement dating back over 2,500 years. As only the third such find in the region, the site offers an exceptional opportunity to learn more about ancient life in Germany prior to the Roman Empire<\/a>\u2019s arrival in 1st century BCE.<\/p>\n

Although a welcome excavation project, the Iron Age community<\/a>\u2019s existence in the area isn\u2019t a huge surprise. Archaeological surveys in the region are often scheduled prior to new building projects, largely due to its proximity to W\u00f6hrsiek, an active freshwater spring that has been used by nearby inhabitants for thousands of years. In the summer of 2025, researchers began removing narrow strips of topsoil, and soon noticed evidence of past settlement. Most of the residual finds came in the form of soil discolorations that point to former refuse pits and storage areas, but certain stains also indicated the presence of postholes. Using these as references, archaeologists were able to recreate entire layouts of various buildings.<\/p>\n

\"Typical
Typical vessel shards of the early Iron Age: a rim decorated with finger dots and a fragment with a wide rimmed handle. Credit: LWL-AfW \/ S. D\u00fcvel<\/a><\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIn addition to two smaller buildings, we also discovered the remains of a large residential building,\u201d excavation director Hisham Nabo said in a LWL statement<\/a> translated from German.<\/p>\n

The house was positioned carefully and intentionally. By facing northeast-to-southwest, its narrow sides faced towards the prevailing winds, thereby reducing exposure to the elements. Nabo\u2019s team explained that this shows just how environmentally and architecturally aware this Iron Age community was at the time.<\/p>\n

\"Excavation
Excavation manager Hisham Nabo (left) and excavation worker Ristam Abdo (right) stand in an excavated settlement pit and examine some of the shards found there. The discolorations are cut to capture their structure and recover the finds within. Credit:\u00a0LWL-AfW \/ S. D\u00fcvel<\/a><\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond the buildings, archaeologists also recovered fragments from handled cups called terrines and other pottery with recognizable rim decorations. Combined with additional radiocarbon dating, experts believe that the settlement dates to somewhere between 800 and 600 BCE.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, this is a real stroke of luck, because until now we in East Westphalia only knew house plans from this period from Werther and Minden, which were only discovered in recent years,\u201d added scientific adviser Sebastian D\u00fcvel. \u201cTogether with the new discoveries in H\u00fcllhorst, we hope to gain exciting insights into everyday life during this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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