European Civilization: Older than anyone ever thought?

So says this report in the Independent. Apparently, archeologists discovered the ruins of complex temple and related urban architecture 2,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids!

The find could revolutionize early conceptions of European civilization. Some morsels include:

More than 150 gigantic monuments have been located beneath the fields and cities of modern-day Germany, Austria and Slovakia. They were built 7,000 years ago, between 4800BC and 4600BC. Their discovery, revealed today by The Independent, will revolutionise the study of prehistoric Europe, where an appetite for monumental architecture was thought to have developed later than in Mesopotamia and Egypt.

In all, more than 150 temples have been identified. Constructed of earth and wood, they had ramparts and palisades that stretched for up to half a mile. They were built by a religious people who lived in communal longhouses up to 50 metres long, grouped around substantial villages. Evidence suggests their economy was based on cattle, sheep, goat and pig farming.

So, the Mediterrenean may not have been the birthplace of European civilization. One question that remains unanswered: Why did this civilization die out in 200 years?

Check it out!