The Michelsberg culture () is an important Neolithic culture in Central Europe. Its dates are c. 4400–3500 BC. Its conventional name is derived from that of an important excavated site on Michelsberg (short for Michaelsberg) hill near Untergrombach, between Karlsruhe and Heidelberg (Baden-Württemberg). The Michelsberg culture belongs to the Central European Late Neolithic. Its distribution covered much of West Central Europe, along both sides of the Rhine. A detailed chronology, based on pottery, was produced in the 1960s by the German archaeologist Jens Lüning. History The Michelsberg culture emerges in northeastern France c. 4400 BC. Genetic evidence suggests that it originated through a migration of peoples from the Paris Basin. Its people appear to trace their origins to Mediterranean farmers expanding from the southwest. Shortly after its emergence in northeastern France, the Michelsberg culture expands rapidly throughout central Germany, northeastern France, eastern Belgium, and the southwestern Netherlands. These areas had previously been occupied by cultures derived from the Linear Pottery culture (LBK), with whom the Michelsberg culture shares surprisingly little cultural or genetic affinity. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Michelsberg expansion was accompanied by violence. The Michelsberg culture has strong affinities to the Chasséen culture of central France. Archaeological evidence strongly suggests that colonists from the Michelsberg culture played an instrumental role in establishing the Funnelbeaker culture of Northern Europe, which brought agriculture to southern Scandinavia. The Michelsberg culture also displays close affinities to the cultures of the Neolithic British Isles. The spread of agriculture into the British Isles by colonists from the continent happens at almost exactly the same time as in Scandinavia, suggesting that the two events are connected. The Michelsberg culture ends about c. 3500 BC. It is succeeded in its core area by the Wartberg culture, with which it displays strong signs of continuity. Settlements Since 2008 the fortified settlement of Kapellenberg near Hofheim (one of the largest of the Michelsberg culture) has been investigated by the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Leibniz Archaeological Research Institute. The settlement has been described as representing "the beginnings of urbanism", already in 4000 BC. The overall site was 45 hectares in size with an internal settlement covering 26 hectares, containing numerous rectangular houses and surrounded by a rampart. A large tumulus (burial mound) was built at the centre of the settlement between 4200-4100 BC, indicating the influence of the Castellic culture in Brittany, where giant burial mounds containing megalithic tombs (such as