Region

Europe

Ġgantija Temples: Megalithic Temples of Gozo in Prehistoric Malta

Two megalithic temples that gave their name to the Ġgantija phase of Maltese prehistory and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

c. 3600–3200 BC · 8 min read

Prehistory

Wayland's Smithy: Neolithic Long Barrow on the Ridgeway

A two-phase Neolithic burial monument, now one of the best-known long barrows in Britain and cared for by English Heritage.

c. 3590 BC · 5 min read

Prehistory

Invention of the Wheel: Earliest Wheels and Wheeled Vehicles

Wheeled carts and wagons spread across much of western Eurasia within a few centuries, transforming farming, trade and later warfare.

c. 3500 BC · 9 min read

Prehistory

Pentre Ifan: Neolithic Portal Dolmen in Pembrokeshire, Wales

A portal dolmen that survives as one of the most impressive megalithic monuments in Britain, in state care since 1884.

c. 3500 BC · 4 min read

Prehistory

Hunebedden: The Neolithic Megalithic Tombs of Drenthe

The largest surviving group of Neolithic megaliths in the Netherlands, protected by law since 1734.

c. 3400–3100 BC · 4 min read

Prehistory

Ness of Brodgar: Orkney's Neolithic Ceremonial Complex

One of the most important Neolithic sites in north-western Europe, revealing monumental stone architecture at the heart of Neolithic Orkney.

c. 3300–2300 BC · 6 min read

Prehistory

Yamnaya Culture: Steppe Herders Who Reshaped Europe's Genes

A mobile herding culture whose descendants spread across much of Europe and Asia, leaving a lasting genetic legacy and probably carrying Indo-European languages.

c. 3300–2600 BC · 8 min read

Prehistory

Ötzi the Iceman: The 5,300-Year-Old Mummy of the Alps

Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, preserving clothing, tools and medical evidence from the Copper Age.

c. 3300 BC · 8 min read

Prehistory

Newgrange: Ireland's Neolithic Passage Tomb and Winter Solstice

A great passage tomb aligned on the midwinter sunrise, now the centrepiece of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site.

c. 3200 BC · 9 min read

Prehistory

Skara Brae: Orkney's Remarkably Preserved Neolithic Village

The best-preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe, part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site since 1999.

c. 3180–2500 BC · 8 min read

Prehistory

Tarxien Temples: Spiral Carvings of Prehistoric Malta

The last great temple complex of prehistoric Malta, abandoned around 2500 BC and later reused as a Bronze Age cremation cemetery.

c. 3150–2500 BC · 5 min read

Prehistory

Stones of Stenness: One of the Oldest Stone Circles in Orkney

A stone circle within a henge, among the earliest in Britain, now part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

c. 3100 BC · 5 min read