Overview
- Workers excavating a stormwater overflow basin next to the Willigis Bridge uncovered neatly cut oak cross‑beams about eight metres down in March, prompting the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD) to intervene.
- Dendrochronological tests show the beams date to the 4th century BCE, moving the feature from a presumed medieval origin into the Iron Age and linking it to Celtic‑period activity in the region.
- Field teams have exposed an elaborate riverside construction roughly 35 metres long with a river‑facing wall and heavy oak timbers reported at about 250 kilograms each.
- Excavation and specialist analyses are ongoing under BLfD oversight as archaeologists document the structure, sample more timbers, and seek to determine the building’s original function and date range.
- Experts say the scale, preservation and craftsmanship could change ideas about local Iron Age engineering, social organization and river use, and the find will likely prompt further regional studies and conservation planning.