Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an Iron Age defensive barrier in West Jutland, Denmark. It dates to 500 B.C., the earliest Iron Age in Denmark, and may be evidence of a previously unknown conflict.

A team of archaeologists from the Museum Vest were investigating the site of planned road expansion when, in a field near Schæfergårde, they discovered a long stretch of closely-spaced postholes. They aren’t arranged as postholes for dwellings are. These were likely left by pointed wooden stakes that formed a defensive palisade. It crossed the Drivvejen, an ancient road that was the main artery through Western Jutland, and archaeologists hypothesize that it was built to stop an invading army coming from the north.

The road expansion route also intersects with several protected pre-historic burial mounds. In one of them, excavations revealed a 4,500-year-old battle axe. Archaeologists believe it was a grave good for a Stone Age warrior, someone of prominence who earned a tumulus burial.

The team is still excavating the hole belt. They hope to find out more about who built it and who they were fending off.

Museum Vest will continue its investigations throughout the rest of the autumn, including at a number of burial mounds where archaeologists have also found several urns. They hope that the upcoming investigations can add even more pieces to the story of the area’s prehistory.