Wittmoor Bog Trackway
The Wittmoor bog trackway is the name given to each of two prehistoric corduroy roads, trackway No. I being discovered in 1898 and trackway No. II in 1904 in the Wittmoor bog in northern Hamburg, Germany. The trackways date to the 4th and 7th century AD, both linked the eastern and western shores of the formerly inaccessible, swampy bog. A part of the older trackway No. II dating to the period of the Roman Empire is on display at the permanent exhibition of the Archaeological Museum Hamburg in Harburg, Hamburg.
Both bog trackways are located in the Wittmoor bog in the Hamburg districts of Duvenstedt, Lemsahl-Mellingstedt and the Norderstedt district of Glashütte in Schleswig-Holstein. Both trackways have been disturbed by historical peat cutters. In 1898 Ludwig Frahm, a local school teacher and historian followed a hint from Hinrich Mohr, a carpenter from Poppenbüttel, showing him the location of what he called a Russian causeway which is actually trackway No. I. In 1900 Frahm excavated a few planks of the trackway, publishing his findings in 1901 and 1913. The two bog trackways found in Wittmoor were excellently preserved due to the moist, peaty soil.
Bog trackway I (location: 53°42′10″N 10°04′18″E / 53.702829°N 10.0717169°E) was discovered in 1898, in 1900 and 1901 Frahm excavated a part of the trackway together with Prof. Wilms and it was re-examined by the archaeologists Prejawa and Kolumbe in the 1930s. The trackway ran in southeasterly direction through the Wittmoor and had a length of about 500 metres (1,600 ft). Even during World War II most of the western part of the pead bog were cut for fuel production which destroyed large sections of the trackway. This bog trackway was built up in a much easier technique than the older bog trackway II The path consisted of clean-hewn oak planks ranging from 180 centimetres (71 in) to 200 centimetres (79 in) in length and 20 centimetres (7.9 in) to 30 centimetres (12 in) width laid directly on the surface of the bog. The trackway was embedded in the peat in a depth of only 1 metre (3.3 ft) from below the surface. Also in this part of the bog peat was regularly taken for fuel production, which gradually destroyed the trackway. The well-preserved wooden planks of the way were taken by the peat cutters and used as firewood.
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