Prehistoric hunting megastructures in the Adriatic hinterland

Large-scale linear stone alignments, commonly referred to as ‘desert kites’, are well-documented across the arid landscapes of North Africa, the Near East, and Central Asia, where they were used for communal hunting of ungulates. Until now, no comparable structures have been identified in Europe. Here, we report the discovery of four extensive prehistoric structures in the Karst Plateau of the Adriatic hinterland, revealed through airborne laser scanning (ALS). These features consist of low dry-stone walls that converge into deep enclosures strategically positioned beneath natural drops. Their placement on natural movement corridors suggests they functioned as large-scale traps designed to capture herds of wild animals, representing the first evidence of such hunting megastructures in Europe. Excavations and radiocarbon dating indicate that the structures were abandoned before the Late Bronze Age, suggesting an origin potentially in the Mesolithic or earlier. The architectural complexity and estimated construction effort, requiring significant coordination and labour, underscore their importance within past subsistence strategies. GIS-based analyses further demonstrate that these structures were deliberately positioned within the topography to maximize their effectiveness in channelling animal movement. Given the regional distribution of Mesolithic sites, these megastructures may have been used for mass hunting of deer, a key prey species in the area. Our findings challenge existing paradigms of prehistoric hunting strategies in Europe and highlight the previously unrecognized role of large-scale communal hunting in the European prehistory.