The 189-meter-long prehistoric mound was discovered during excavation work along a highway in the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic by a team from the University of Hradec Králové (UHK).

Thought to date back to the 4th millennium B.C., the archaeologists say it could also be one of Europe’s earliest funerary monuments.

Petr Krištuf from UHK's Department of Archeology said: “Mounds of this type are found mainly in north-western Bohemia.

“They have not yet been reliably documented in Eastern Bohemia. In addition, the examined specimen represents the longest prehistoric mound not only in our region but probably in the whole of Europe.”

Inside, archaeologists found two ‘central burials’ containing the remains of skeletons thought to have belonged to people of high status.

In a Facebook post, the university said: “The burial mounds were built as monumental funerary objects and as such they contain graves, we call them central burials and assume that they are the burials of the individuals for whom the mound was built.

The first skeleton was found on its left side, facing north, next to a ceramic vessel as a grave offering.

A second skeleton was also found in the same position, lying next to a collection of flint arrowheads and a blade.

The archaeologists added that alongside skull fragments, there are close to 30 other graves.

They are now analyzing samples from the graves to try and understand more about the deceased.

Krištuf said: “The significance of the discovery of the long mound... is not only in its size.

“The first results show that the monumental burial mound stood here for many centuries, and funeral and ritual activities of the local people took place in its vicinity.

“It was thus an important ritual place and landmark in the landscape at that time.”