🏛️ Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
Serial UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning 111 archaeological sites
📌 Fast Facts
- 111 prehistoric settlement sites across the Alps region, 56 in Switzerland
- Occupation period: approximately 5000 to 500 BCE (Neolithic and Bronze Age)
- Located on edges of lakes, rivers, and wetlands in Alpine Europe
- Exceptional preservation enabling detailed study of early agrarian societies
The Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps represent a serial UNESCO World Heritage property comprising 111 small individual archaeological sites distributed across six Alpine countries, with Switzerland containing more than half. These settlements emerged on the margins of water bodies between roughly 5000 and 500 BCE, preserving evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age communities that adapted to Alpine environments. The exceptional organic preservation at waterlogged sites has yielded rare ...