2023-10-04 17:13:57
The wooden foundations of an ancient medieval road were discovered in Lier (province of Antwerp) by archaeologists, the town’s mayor, Rik Verwaest, said on Wednesday. The exceptional find could have been made possible by a layer of clay which would have preserved the wood.
The remains of a 15th century road, as in the case of this discovery, are much rarer than those of Roman roads, which are however older. “The Romans used stones while in the Middle Ages, more porous materials were used,” explains the mayor.
The road in question is under a current street, which therefore appears to have been in use for centuries. “We already knew it thanks to the maps of the time but we did not expect to find vestiges of it,” underlines Mr. Verwaest. “This may also be due to the fact that the first sewerage works here, in 1930, were carried out next to the road and not under it.”
Archaeologists will now document the wooden foundations, which will then disappear. “The new sewer system will be installed under the road,” says the mayor. “These are not valuable objects in themselves and as soon as you start to dig them up, they fall apart,” he explained, assuring that “everything was inventoried, measured and photographed”.
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