According to the release by LEIZA, the discovery suggests that early Mesolithic communities practiced complex funerary rituals involving animal symbolism and possibly spiritual protection for the dead. Archaeologists say the find offers rare evidence of belief systems at the dawn of the current warm period following the last Ice Age. The ongoing research is being conducted by the Leibniz Centre for Archaeology (LEIZA) in collaboration with the Archaeological State Office of Schleswig-Holstein and the Museum for Archaeology Schloss Gottorf.
A Key Mesolithic Archaeological Site
The wetlands of Duvensee Moor, located in the district of Herzogtum Lauenburg in northern Germany, are considered one of the most important archaeological landscapes in northern Europe for studying the early Mesolithic period. The site contains numerous traces of human activity from the time when hunter-gatherer groups began settling near lakes formed after the retreat of the glaciers.
At the center of recent discoveries lies the excavation area known as "Lüchow LA 11." Here, organic materials such as wood, plant remains, and bones have been exceptionally well preserved under peat deposits that formed over thousands of years. Thanks to the unique preservation conditions in the peat bog environment, archaeologists are able to reconstruct not only the burial itself but also the surrounding ritual landscape, something rarely possible at prehistoric sites.
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The Lüchow LA 11 site on the southwestern edge of today's Duvenseer Moor. In the past, the shore of the old Duvensee was located here. (LEIZA / Harald Lübke / CC BY-SA)
The Oldest Known Cremation Burial in Northern Germany
The story of the mysterious aurochs skull begins with an earlier discovery. During excavations in 2022 and 2023, archaeologists uncovered a cremation burial approximately 10,500 years old, making it the oldest known example of this funerary practice in northern Germany. Cremation graves from this early phase of the Holocene are extremely rare across Europe. Only two comparable finds are known - one from the Netherlands and another from Denmark - and both are far less well preserved.
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The cremation burial of a Stone Age hunter discovered in 2023 at the Lüchow LA 11 site on the edge of the ancient Duvensee lake. (LEIZA / Harald Lübke / CC BY-SA)
According to project leader Dr. Harald Lübke of LEIZA, the burial at Lüchow LA 11 is extraordinary because large parts of the ancient ground surface remained intact beneath the peat layer, allowing researchers to examine the burial context with unusual precision. The evidence shows that the cremated remains were placed in a shallow pit together with remnants of the funeral pyre, and the grave appears to have remained visible above ground for some time, indicating it may have served as a focal point for ongoing ritual activities.
Auroch skull impaled on a wooden post. (LEIZA / Harald Lübke / CC BY-SA)
Aurochs Skull Mounted on a Wooden Post
During additional excavations in the summer of 2025, archaeologists discovered a complete aurochs skull in a former shallow-water area only a few meters from the cremation burial. Aurochs - the massive wild cattle that are the ancestors of modern domestic cows - were once widespread across Europe and were known for their immense size and power. What immediately caught the researchers' attention was that the skull showed no signs of butchery or deliberate breakage, which would normally be expected if the animal had been processed for food.
Because the bones were fragile, the entire find was carefully removed as a sediment block and transported to the museum laboratory at Schloss Gottorf for detailed analysis. There, conservators made a surprising discovery: hidden inside the skull was the fragment of a pinewood post. A computed tomography (CT) scan carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Individualized Medical Engineering (IMTE) in Lübeck later confirmed that the skull had originally been mounted onto the wooden post through the occipital opening at the back of the skull. At some point in the distant past, the post broke off, leaving a piece trapped inside.
Evidence of Animistic Ritual Beliefs
The unusual positioning of the skull has led archaeologists to believe that it was deliberately displayed near the burial as part of a ceremonial arrangement. Interestingly, a separate wooden post made from poplar wood had already been found in the same area during earlier excavations. Since the wood species differ (pine for the skull post, poplar for the earlier post) researchers believe they represent distinct elements rather than parts of the same structure.
One hypothesis is that the cremation burial was once surrounded by several animal skulls mounted on wooden posts, possibly forming a symbolic barrier or protective space around the grave. Such practices may reflect animistic and totemistic belief systems, in which animals were seen as spiritual beings or ancestral symbols connected to human groups. In many hunter-gatherer societies documented by ethnographers in Europe, Asia, and North America, animal skulls were displayed during rituals or used to mark sacred spaces connected with death and remembrance.
The finds from Lüchow LA 11 may represent the first clear archaeological evidence of similar ritual traditions in northern Europe at the beginning of the Holocene.
Top image: The aurochs skull during excavation and conservation work in the laboratory of the Museum of Archaeology at Schloss Gottorf. Source: Museum of Archaeology, Schloss Gottorf / Corinna Mayer
By Gary Manners
References
Altuntaş, L. 2026. Mystery of a 10,500-Year-Old Ritual: Aurochs Skull on Wooden Post Found Near Germany's Oldest Cremation Grave. Available at: https://arkeonews.net/mystery-of-a-10500-year-old-ritual-aurochs-skull-on-wooden-post-found-near-germanys-oldest-cremation-grave/
Carvajal, G. 2026. An Aurochs Skull Impaled on a Wooden Post 10,500 Years Ago Reveals the Earliest Animistic Rituals in Northern Europe. Available at: https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/03/an-aurochs-skull-impaled-on-a-wooden-post-10500-years-ago-reveals-the-earliest-animistic-rituals-in-northern-europe/
LEIZA. 2026. Leben und Sterben am Duvensee vor 10.500 Jahren. Available at: https://www.leiza.de/presse/details-pressmeldungen/leben-und-sterben-am-duvensee-vor-10500-jahren
Moeed, A. 2026. 10,500-Year-Old Skull of Wild Cattle on a Stake Reveals Europe's Earliest Ritual. Available at: https://greekreporter.com/2026/03/12/skull-wild-cattle-stake-reveal-europe-earliest-ritual/
University of Kiel. 2022. Oldest grave in Northern Germany discovered. Available at: https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/details/news/20221310-grabfund-duvensee
