Wittmoor Bog Trackways I & II (Hamburg Rhineland)
Wittmoor Bohlenwege · Henstedt-Ulzburg Peat Roads
Early Iron Age (Jastorf / La Tène)·North German Early Iron Age·🇩🇪 Schleswig-Holstein / Hamburg, Henstedt-Ulzburg to Duvenstedt, Wittmoor Nature Reserve, Germany
About
About Wittmoor Bog Trackways I & II (Hamburg Rhineland)
Dual Iron Age bog trackways (25 m asl) southeast through Wittmoor (Moor 53°42′00″N 10°04′10″E 53.699984N 10.069399E per Wikipedia No II 1904 Wolff discovery) and parallel No I 500 m northeast. No I length unrecorded, No II about 600 m (2,000 ft) parallel 500 m SSW, southeast direction, gradual destruction through peat cutting but segment reconstructed. Track planks 2.5 m split-oak on alder sleepers, dated by pollen Early Iron Age 700-400 BCE (pre-Wittmoor No XLII/IP 135 BCE Wittemoor variant distinct). Wittmoor Lake nature trail loop (Komoot Duvenstedt) interprets lime-gravel causeway context; peat reserve protects remainder. Contrasts with Thorsberg votive 100 CE vs Wittmoor transport.
Why it mattersClassic Hamburg double trackway, No II type coordinates 53.699984,10.069399 reference.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01No I vs II chronology offset
Theories
- 01Hamburg geest causeway pair
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.700-400 BCE (Early Iron Age)
- Period
- Early Iron Age (Jastorf / La Tène)
- Culture
- North German Early Iron Age
- Builders
- Wittmoor Iron Age moorland community
- Purpose
- Trans-moor transport to Hamburg geest islands
- Abandoned
- c.350 BCE (peat growth)
- Rediscovered
- 1904 Dr Wolff Hamburg state geologist (No II); No I earlier 1898
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1904
Wolff discovers No II 53.699984,10.069399
1930
Hayen classifies as Bohlenweg No I/II
On the ground
Structures & features
53.7000° N · 10.0694° E · 25 m · 2 mapped features
Wittmoor Trackway No II (Wolff 1904)
structure600-m SE track at 53.699984,10.069399 500 m SSW of No I
53.7000° N · 10.0694° EWittmoor Trackway No I
structureParallel northern track 500 m NNE, reconstructed segment
53.7020° N · 10.0730° E