In radar images, nearly 1,000 ancient structures, which are difficult to identify with the naked eye, dating from 1,800 years ago to World War II, have emerged like dense ghosts throughout the Białowieża Forest on the border of Belarus and Poland.
A research team from the Archaeological Institute of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (IA UKSW) in Warsaw has discovered a “lost world” in the Białowieża Forest using LiDAR remote sensing technology, a tool specialized in detecting ancient remains.
According to Heritage Daily, LiDAR is a method of regional radar scanning using light in the form of laser beams, measuring the time it takes for each beam to hit the ground and return to the device to create a 3D map of the area’s topography.
LiDAR images reveal mysterious structures rising above the flat forest floor – (Photo: M. Szubski & M. Jakubczak)
LiDAR can penetrate objects that obscure geographic structures, such as dense old-growth forests, and is often used to explore ancient cities and archaeological sites.
The research team has identified a series of sites from prehistory to World War II, including 577 ancient burial mounds, 246 charcoal kilns, 54 asphalt plants, 19 complexes of ancient agricultural land, 51 semi-buried houses, and 17 war cemeteries.
Most of the structures date back to a period when the area was influenced by the Roman Empire (2nd to 5th centuries AD).
Medieval structures have also drawn attention due to containing human remains or cremated ashes, while older structures are almost devoid of any remains.
Dr. Joanna Wawrzeniek from IA UKSW told PAP that prehistoric and medieval people primarily lived in the area on low forested land near rivers or streams, leaving behind traces of long-term or temporary settlements within the Białowieża Forest.
The research team has also identified two solid structures. The first structure is located within a strictly protected area of the Białowieża National Park, while the other is in the Wilczy Jar Forest District.
- The first structure has a diameter of 36 meters and a small embankment of 3 meters wide, containing numerous medieval ceramics and flint artifacts from ancient humans.
- The second structure has a diameter of approximately 17 meters, with many traces of organic materials dating from the 4th to 3rd centuries BC and the 7th to 10th centuries AD.
Researchers plan to conduct further investigations into each “ghost” in the Białowieża Forest, but it will certainly be a long journey.