An oak water well uncovered in the Czech Republic is the world’s oldest wooden construction ever discovered.
The well dates to 5,256 or 5,255 BC – the Neolithic period, or the end of the Stone Age – making it 7,275 years old.
The structure has been dated using the internal rings of the wood, which are visible in cross sections.
The sophisticated oak well has a square base area of about 30 inches by 30 inches, and is 4.5 feet in height.
The object is unusual for the Neolithic period and shows that even people in ancient human settlements benefited from skilled carpenters.
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The well is the oldest manmade wooden construction in the world – dating from 5256 or 5255 BC – more than 7,000 years ago
‘The design consists of grooved corner posts with inserted planks,’ said the researchers in their study, published in Journal of Archaeological Science.
‘This type of construction reveals advanced technical know-how and, till now, is the only known type from this region and time period.
‘The shape of the individual structural elements and tool marks preserved on their surface confirm sophisticated carpentry skills.’
The structure was discovered in 2018 during the construction of the D35 motorway near the town of Ostrov, Czech Republic.
The wooden lining of the well was found at a depth of about 5 feet (1.74 metres) below the surface.
Upon its discovery, archaeologists scrambled to set up protective boundaries surrounding the site in case of further discoveries.
However, researchers determined that the well was an isolated construction that served nearby settlements rather than being part of an ancient town.
The structure was uncovered during building work for the D35 motorway, which is supposed to connect Bohemia and Moravia through the northern part of the Czech Republic
‘The construction of this well is unique,’ said Jaroslav Peška, head of the Archaeological Centre in Olomouc, Czech Republic, at the time of the excavation.
‘We believe it was used by settlers during what we call the Neolithic Revolution, during a transition from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlements.
‘These people likely built simply-structured houses and domesticated animals and they were skilled at making ceramic objects.
An aerial view of the excavation site. Researchers concluded that the well was an isolated structure that served nearby settlements
The well was preserved because it had been in waterlogged conditions underground for so long – if it had been left to dry out it would have been destroyed.
The shape of the structural elements and tool marks preserved on the surface confirm sophisticated carpentry skills, the researchers say.
Tool marks left by polished stone tools such as axes and shoe-adzes – long thin polished stone tools for felling trees and woodworking – were observed.
The design itself consists of grooved corner posts with inserted planks – a construction of advanced technical know-how and the only known example of which from this region and time period.
Reconstructed neolithic shoe-adzes – long thin polished stone tools for felling trees and woodworking – from a stilt house village at Gaienhofen-Untergarten, Germany. Researchers believe the makers of the well in the Czech Republic used shoe-adzes based on the marks left on the surface
Identification of the wood used to make the well shows mainly oak and hazel, indicating that it was taken from a local forest.
The chest-like lining of the well was formed by four oak corner post, set at 90 degrees to each other.
Within these posts, oak planks were inserted horizontally in seven layers.
What’s more, at least two of the corner posts were made from trees felled earlier than the rest of the structure.
The first post was made form a trunk felled in the autumn or winter of 5259 or 5258 BC – at least nine years prior.
This suggests that the carpenters of the period were also partial to recycling already-used wood to make new structures.
The primitive tools available at the time – made of stone, bones, horn or wood – was also sufficient for sophisticated carpentry, the researchers concluded.
The structure is also the oldest archaeological wood in the world that has been dated using dendrochronology.