Meilen–Rorenhaab is one of the 111 serial sites of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
''
Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps
Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps are a series of prehistoric pile dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from about 5000 to 500 BC on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. In 2011, 111 sites located various ...
'', of which 56 are located in Switzerland.
Geography
The site is located on
Lake Zurich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...
{''Zürichsee'') lakeshore in Rohrenhaab, a locality of the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Meilen in the
Canton of Zürich
The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
in Switzerland. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to below the water level of . The settlement comprises , and the buffer zone including the lake area comprises in all. During the winter of 1853–54, in the context of lowered water levels at the lake, archaeologist
Ferdinand Keller discovered the remains of the site.
Description
As mentioned, this site was the starting point of pile-dwelling research and therefore interesting from the point of view of research history. It is one of several sites in a small area illustrating the typical settlement dynamics of a micro-region during the Neolithic. All periods are represented here, usually with several settlement phases, but particularly from the Early Bronze Age interesting are numerous dendrochronological dates, which allow to study the development of this period.
Protection
As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', the settlement is also listed in the
as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.
Hence, the area is provided as a historical site under federal protection, within the meaning of the Swiss Federal Act on the nature and cultural heritage (German: Bundesgesetz über den Natur- und Heimatschutz NHG) of 1 July 1966. Unauthorised researching and purposeful gathering of findings represent a criminal offense according to Art. 24.
See also
*
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich comprises 11 – or 10% of all European pile dwelling sites – of a total of 56 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland, that are located around Lake Zurich in the Cantons ...
Literature
* Peter J. Suter, Helmut Schlichtherle et al.: ''Pfahlbauten – Palafittes – Palafitte''. Palafittes, Biel 2009. .
* Beat Eberschweiler: ''Ur- und frühgeschichtliche Verkehrswege über den Zürichsee: Erste Ergebnisse aus den Taucharchäologischen Untersuchungen beim Seedamm''. In: Mitteilungen des Historischen Vereins des Kantons Schwyz, Volume 96, Schwyz 2004.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erlenbach-Winkel
Prehistoric pile dwellings in Switzerland
Meilen
Lake Zurich
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zürich
Archaeological sites in Switzerland