From Spiegel Online: First-Ever Dwelling Mound Found in Germany.

A 7,000-year-old dwelling mound has been found in Germany, causing a stir among archaeologists. It is the first find of its kind in Western Europe.

A room with a view has always been a coveted thing. Over the millennia, humans discovered that it could be achieved by simply staying put over generations and not picking up the garbage. By building and rebuilding on the rubble of their own architectural remains, sedentary humans managed to achieve an impressive height.

The result of this process, known to archaeologists as a dwelling mound, is most commonly associated with the Middle East; in Iraq, the structures reach a height of 40 meters. They are also known in the Balkans and South America, but not in Germany — at least until now.

Hence the discovery of a dwelling mound near Oberröblingen in Saxony-Anhalt has caused something of a stir in the German archaeological establishment. Thought to be 7,000 years old, the oval-shaped mound, which is roughly 100 meters long, 60 meters wide and 1.8 meters high, consists of the clay remains of centuries of previous structures. [continue, see photos]