Rhine Archaeologist Tries to Salvage Reputation with New Discovery
1 April 2010Have you heard of Dr. Reinhard Van Gelder? He was an eminant archaeologist whose career ended in disgrace and ruin after he and a colleague released a widely disputed field report in 2007 claiming to have uncovered a prehistoric European war between two fortresses on the Rhine. Van Gelder died in 2008 but he left most of his estate to the University of the Rhine to fund an institute specializing in Rhine archaeology. The institute is now headed by Dr. Ernst Voorst, the Dutch archaeologist who co-authored the controversial report.
Earlier this week Dr. Voorst and his new team announced they had excavated the grave of a wooden princess in a small forest they call the “golden wood”, a region of the Black Forest that takes on a soft golden hue in the afternoon sunlight. Releasing pictures of the princes and her grave, Voorst and his colleague — French scientist Felecia Bonnet — have rebutted many critics’ doubts about Voorst’s earlier work.
But what may be the most stunning revelation in this latest report is the claim by the duo and their associates to have discovered a “tree city” built from wooden artifacts that were “carefully preserved” for more than 10,000 years. It is almost as if the tree dwellers — having won their war with the eastern fortress — packed up their goods, buried their homes, and left. But no one knows where they went.
The lone grave with its lonely occupant is the only trace the team has found so far of human habitation in the region. But wait! It gets better! The scientists have reconstructed a treehouse they claim was used by ancient culture.
They have even published pictures of the treehouse and a road that supposedly leads up to the ancient village’s location, a discovery that went unnoticed by thousands of people who have traversed the hard-to-reach point of land for centuries.
Get out the popcorn. This latest twist in the long debate over the Rhine’s supposed ancient wars is sure to bring out critics and doubts in force.
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