Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps

Beneath the calm surfaces of Alpine lakes lie the waterlogged remains of villages built on wooden stilts between roughly 5000 and 500 BC. Because lake sediments seal out oxygen, textiles, tools and even food scraps survive in astonishing condition, opening a rare window onto Neolithic and Bronze Age daily life. The serial UNESCO World Heritage property, inscribed in 2011, gathers 111 such sites in six countries; Austria's lie in lakes including the Attersee, Mondsee and Keutschacher See.