Wisconsin officials recently announced the discovery of a trove of ancient canoes in an underwater "parking lot" of sorts — including one that predates the Pyramids of Giza.
The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) announced this month that its experts have identified 14 canoes in Madison's Lake Mendota so far, six of which were found this spring. The WHS worked with the First Nations of Wisconsin during the research process, a release noted.
The WHS also recovered a 1,200-year-old dugout canoe in 2021 and retrieved another 3,000-year-old one in 2022.
All in all, the oldest canoe is 5,200 years old, while the most recent one dates back to the 1300s A.D. The vessels were used to catch fish, make travel more efficient and facilitate trade, the WHS said.
"The landscape around Madison lakes looked very different before European settlers arrived in the area and conducted terraforming to suit modern transportation, with large bluffs that made traveling over the land difficult in some areas," the statement noted.
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