Tybrind Vig Submerged Ertebølle Settlement – Lillebælt, Denmark
Tybrind Vig Stone Age Settlement · Lillebælt Tybrind Vig
Ertebølle Late Mesolithic to Early Neolithic·Ertebølle culture·🇩🇰 Region Syddanmark, Island of Funen (Fyn), Lillebælt strait off Tybrind Vig, Denmark
About
About Tybrind Vig Submerged Ertebølle Settlement – Lillebælt, Denmark
A Late Mesolithic Ertebølle settlement (5600–4000 BCE) now 3 m below the Lillebælt off western Funen, excavated 1977–1987 by Søren Andersen (Moesgaard) as the first systematic submerged Danish Stone Age dig. The site lay on a small lagoon peninsula and is preserved in gyttja with exceptional organic preservation: 2 dugout canoes, linden-bast fishing trawl, ash paddles, wicker fish traps, bast textiles and the earliest Danish textile (charred). Fauna includes aurochs, elk and marine seals. The isostatic/sea-level submergence model for Danish Mesolithic coasts was established here; Tybrind Vig's textiles push Northwest European weaving to 5400 BCE.
Why it mattersFirst submerged Mesolithic settlement excavated; pushes European textile, dugout and paddle chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Ertebølle–TRB transition accommodation
Theories
- 01Lagoon fisher seasonal station
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.5600 – 4000 BCE
- Period
- Ertebølle Late Mesolithic to Early Neolithic
- Culture
- Ertebølle culture
- Builders
- Lillebælt lagoon fisher-hunter-gatherers
- Purpose
- Coastal lagoon fishing station and boat station
- Abandoned
- c.4000 BCE sea-level rise + TRB transition
- Rediscovered
- 1975 sport divers; 1977 Andersen submerged excavation
- Excavation
- Excavated
5600 BCE
Lagoon peninsula occupation
5400 BCE
Earliest bast textile and dugout canoe
1977
Andersen begins underwater excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
55.3840° N · 9.8340° E · -3 m · 2 mapped features
Dugout Canoe TY-2
hydraulic9-m lime dugout canoe preserved in gyttja
55.3850° N · 9.8350° EBast Textile & Fish Trap Area
ancient villageLinden-bast net and wicker trap scatter
55.3830° N · 9.8330° E
Gallery