11 Extra Bronze age cheese There is early evidence of human activity in the Alpine regions. Archaeological research in the Silvretta mountain range shows that seasonal campsites under rock ledges were used repeatedly since the Middle Stone Age.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + Along with continuous human settlement in the inner Alps from the Bronze Age onwards (3rd/2nd millennium BC), high-altitude Alpine pastures were increasingly used in the summertime and buildings erected, mostly cattle corrals and simple huts for the herdsmen.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + In the Silvretta several prehistoric cattle corrals came to light. These were dry-stone wall enclosures for domestic cattle, both for protection against wild beasts at night as well as for daily milking. Ceramics, fireplaces, and other finds testify to the herdsmen’s activities.Graph: Archaeological Office Graubünden + A particular highlight in the Silvretta was the excavation of a building structure dating from between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (2nd/1st millennium BC). Carried out over several years in the Fimber valley /Val Fenga, the find became known as «Switzerland’s oldest Alpine hut».Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + Even in high summer, scientific examinations in the mountains could often be hampered by snow fall. Once the snow was cleared work would resume shortly afterwards.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + According to the latest findings the reconstruction of such prehistoric building structures would point to a transitional type between tent and solid hut. This kind of structure could still be found until a few years ago in certain parts of the Alps.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + Thanks to the discovery of prehistoric ceramics the Alpine sites could be firmly dated. Also, biochemical analyses produced evidence that, even then, milk produced in the Alps was being processed in these vessels.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + It is not (yet) clear which dairy products people made. Presumably however they would have been products similar to today’s, e.g., cheese, butter, or butter schmalz.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden +