8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Germany: 700-year-old Causeway Found Under Central Berlin Street

Archaeologists from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (LDA) made a sensational find during their excavation at Molkenmarkt: about 2.50 m below Stralauer Straße, they came across a medieval plank embankment.

This is the earliest fortification of Stralauer Straße from the medieval founding period of Berlin in the 13th century reports Archaeology News Network. Initial wood samples revealed a felling date of around 1238 (tree ring analysis).

The embankment was constructed with oak, pine, and birch wood. The substantial wooden fortification of the road here near the Spree allowed safe passage from the Mühlendamm to the Stralauer Tor through the extremely damp terrain near the river. The stub embankment has been exceptionally well maintained due to a thick covering of peat that has kept the timbers airtight for over 700 years.

The structure has a width of 6 meters (19.6 feet) and runs for at least 50 meters (164 feet) with the planks laid down in three layers. The top layer consists of debarked trunks (with the bark of the tree removed to prevent rotting) that lie side by side across the embankment, resting on three longitudinal parallel beams.

Defects in the top layer were covered up with small boulders, and sand was also employed to smoothen the edges, according to a press release by the State Monuments Office Berlin. The top layers of the road were also dated to the Middle Ages.

“The complex wooden fortification of the road here near the Spree enabled a safe passage from Mühlendamm in the direction of Stralauer Tor over the very wet ground near the river,” says the same report from the State Monuments Office.

The archaeological investigations aim to precisely investigate the construction and extent of the road and to narrow down its age. All phases of the construction are being documented with modern technology. Due to the laying of the new electricity and gas lines, most of the medieval substances will be destroyed.

Related Articles

A rare Saint George seal was found during excavations near Suzdal

27 June 2023

27 June 2023

The archaeological survey of the Suzdal Opole, initiated by the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences more...

14th-century inscription found on Turkey’s Giresun Island

4 January 2022

4 January 2022

On Giresun Island, which is 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) off the Turkish province of Giresun on the Black Sea’s southeastern...

2,300-year-old Buddhist temple discovered in Pakistan

23 December 2021

23 December 2021

Remains of a 2300 years old Buddhist Temple have been discovered in Northwest Pakistan by a joint team of Pakistani...

Bronze Age Wedge Tomb Discovered on the Dingle Peninsula maybe Even Older

22 April 2021

22 April 2021

A wedge tomb recently discovered on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland was described by archaeologists as “quite unusual”. Wedge tombs...

Cave paintings discovered in western Turkey carry the region’s past back to prehistory

18 December 2021

18 December 2021

During the archaeological survey carried out in and around the ancient city of Alinda in Aydın province in western Turkey,...

1900-year-old Child’s Nightgown with intriguing knots found in the Cave of Letters in the Judean Desert

5 October 2023

5 October 2023

The Cave of Letters in Israel is one such site that has yielded a large number of papyrus letters and...

Evil-Wisher Well: Ancient curse tablets 2,500-year-old found in a well in Athens

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

30 ancient curse tablets were found at the bottom of a 2500-year-old well in ancient Athens. In 2020, Archaeologists from...

Amateur makes ‘Gold Find of the Century’ in Norway

7 September 2023

7 September 2023

A Norwegian 51-year-old Erlend Bore out walking on doctors’ advice unearthed rare 6th-century gold jewellery using a newly bought metal...

2,000-Year-Old Dancing Man Statuette Unearthed in Siberia

6 May 2021

6 May 2021

During excavations for a new bridge over the Ob River in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest district, a ten-centimeter-tall figurine was discovered....

‘Mystery and Unfathomable’ King Arthur’s Hall is 4,000 Years Older Than Previously Thought

10 November 2024

10 November 2024

A mysterious monument in Cornwall has been discovered to be 5,000 years old—4,000 years older than previously thought. The rectangular...

A Dancing Muses statue 2175 years old was found in the ancient city of Stratonikeia, known as the city of eternal loves

7 December 2023

7 December 2023

The latest discovery in the ongoing excavations in the Ancient City of Stratonikeia, known as the city of eternal loves...

Viennese Archaeologists Find LEGIO XIII GEMINA Bricks

1 February 2024

1 February 2024

The fourth oldest school in Vienna, the Kindermanngasse Elementary School, is being completely renovated. As part of the renovation of...

2,700-Year-Old Rare Bronze Knives from the Early Saka Period Unearthed in Kazakhstan

17 July 2025

17 July 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, researchers and students from Margulan University have unearthed two rare bronze knives dating back over...

Ancient coins surface with Lake Iznik’s withdrawal in Türkiye

2 May 2023

2 May 2023

With the withdrawal of Lake Iznik in the northwest of Türkiye, the ancient coins found at the bottom of the...

Paleontologists say world’s oldest-known burial site found in South Africa

6 June 2023

6 June 2023

American explorer and scientist Lee Berger in South Africa said they have found the oldest-known burial site in the world,...