  Einstein's general relativity can emerge from pregeometry, with the metric
composed of more fundamental fields. We formulate euclidean pregeometry as a
$SO(4)$ - Yang-Mills theory. In addition to the gauge fields we include a
vector field in the vector representation. The gauge - and diffeomorphism -
invariant kinetic terms for these fields permit a well-defined euclidean
functional integral, in contrast to metric gravity with the Einstein-Hilbert
action. The propagators of all fields are well behaved at short distances,
without tachyonic or ghost modes. The long distance behavior is governed by the
composite metric and corresponds to general relativity. In particular, the
graviton propagator is free of ghost or tachyonic poles despite the presence of
higher order terms in a momentum expansion of the inverse propagator. This
pregeometry seems to be a valid candidate for euclidean quantum gravity,
without obstructions for analytic continuation to a Minkowski signature of the
metric.
