We've all heard the tales of ancient finds putting the brakes on modern progress, and Intel's bigwigs must be sweating blood. But the the german authorities are keeping mum about any hold-ups, insisting their digging shindig, which kicked off last year, will wrap up by April.

Two massive trapezoidal wooden burial chambers are likely the handiwork of the Baalberg culture, which ran the show in Central Germany and Bohemia from 4100 to 3600 BC. Archaeologists reckon there was a corridor between the mounds for some ritual parades during the Globular Amphora Culture (3300 to 2800 BC).

One snap shows a skeleton with the boffins buzzing about a 'chariot grave' – a Neolithic send-off with a chap buried in front of a cart and some cattle, giving off serious 'driver or ploughman' vibes. The dearly departed was a bloke in his prime, 35 to 40 years old, and the cattle were just toddlers, 2 to 3 years old, when they met their maker.

While the LDA's calling their find 'spectacular', it's no shocker to dig up ancient resting places here. These mounds made a hill called the Eulenberg, sticking out like a sore thumb in the otherwise flat landscape – a dead giveaway for something manmade.

Magdeburg's gearing up to be Intel's crown jewel in Europe, with the first two fabs due to start humming along in late 2027. And if that's not enough, Intel's eyeing up the ground for maybe six more fab units. Of course, that is if the ghosts of disturbed Baalberg residents do not fill the site looking for bloody revenge.