Mass grave of 77 individuals in Serbia, mid‑9th century BC

19 remarkably preserved wooden bows have been recovered from the submerged lake settlement of La Marmotta near Rome, dating to the Early Neolithic period (~5600-5200 BC). Made from locally available Mediterranean forest species including hornbeam, wayfaring tree, alder, dogwood, ash and oak, these bows demonstrate how Neolithic communities cleverly adapted their tool-making to whatever materials were at hand. The extraordinary preservation came courtesy of the lake's anoxic conditions and thick sediment layers, offering archaeologists a rare window into early woodworking technology. Archaeological divers recovered these pieces between 1993 and 2005, extracting them from the muddy bottom of Lake Bracciano with extreme care.