Via Regia near Miltitz
| Place: | Miltitz (Nebelschütz, Bautzen) |
|---|---|
| Type: | Old street |
| Dating: | Early Middle Ages | High Middle Ages | Late Middle Ages | Modern Times | from ca. 1200 - 1900 AD. |
Description
South of the village of Miltitz and east of Kamenz, the fields show elongated, positive vegetation features that can be traced back to an old road. These are mainly routes that were used in the Middle Ages and early modern times as long-distance routes. In the aerial view today, the places where the road has cut deep into the earth as a hollow path are particularly visible. The so-called "via regia“ (Royal Road) ran along partly branched routes from Breslau in the east to Frankfurt am Main in the west and beyond. Also known in modern times as the "Hohe Strasse“ known traffic route was used from the 12th century. It was one of the most important trade, military and pilgrimage routes in Central Europe in the 16th century. The connection between Kamenz, Bautzen and Görlitz is one of the oldest sections of the route.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckFormation of hollow ways
It was not uncommon for old roads, which were generally unpaved, to form hollows as the ruts dug deeper and deeper into the ground over time and in bad weather. This can often be observed on slopes, where the effort required to pull, push or brake left a clear mark in the ground. Soil erosion was exacerbated by wet conditions. By driving around damaged sections of the path, entire bundles of hollow paths could be created. Flat sections of path, on the other hand, are difficult to follow from the aerial view and sometimes disappear completely.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckImage Source R. Heynowski, Foto ©LfA 2006.
Course of the old road
The road near Miltitz, which is now plowed over, can be followed in an easterly direction as far as Panschwitz-Kuckau, from where it runs almost parallel to the S 100 towards Bautzen. In sections, the route fans out into a bundle of hollow paths of 35 to 50 m in places. The largely straight course of the path adapts to the terrain and is already recorded on the Saxon mileage sheet of 1800. In the 19th century, the course of the route was then corrected to be dead straight and paved. Since then, the course of the road has remained constant. When researching old roads, written records are an important source of information. Cartographic representations from more recent times can help to identify an old road or bundle of hollow ways observed from the air.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckImage Source A. Reck, Bearbeitung/Berliner Meilenblätter, Hist. TK25 ab 1990 ©LfA 2024.
Origin of the long-distance route
In a document from the Meissen Margrave Henry III (1221-1288) from 1252, the long-distance route near Miltitz is referred to as "strata regia" for the first time. As early as the 12th century, there were changes to the transportation routes in Central Europe. This was due to numerous new towns being founded, the introduction of the four-wheeled wagon for transporting goods and the laws that emerged in the 13th century, such as the right of stacking and the right of transshipment, which marked out the route for many traders. The legislation forced the temporary storage and sale of goods in nearby towns for a certain number of days. This promoted the wealth of the neighboring towns.
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie ReckImage Source O. Braasch, Foto ©LFA 1994.
Literature
Rainer Aurig, via regia – Eine Verbindungaus der Vergangenheit in die Zukunft. In: Roland Enke/Bettina Probst (Hrsg.), via regia. 800 Jahre Bewegung und Begegnung. Katalog zur 3. Sächsischen Landesausstellung (Dresden 2011) 28–33.
Walter Frenzel, Auf den Spuren der alten Lausitzer Hohen Straße. Jahrbücher der Gesellschaft für Vorgeschichte und Geschichte der Oberlausitz 1927, 52–61.
Dana Mikschofsky, Auf der via regia quer durch Europa. In: Regina Smolnik/Ronny Zienert (Hrsg.), Höhenflüge. Luftbilder und Archäologie in Sachsen (Dresden 2024) 92–93.
Note on monument protection
Archaeological monuments are protected by the Saxon Monument Protection Act. A permit under monument law is required for ground interventions or construction measures.
Permalink
https://archaeo-sn.de/en/ort/via-regia-near-miltitz/
Citation
Dana Mikschofsky/Annemarie Reck, Via Regia near Miltitz. In: Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen, Website archaeo | SN (13.05.2024). https://archaeo-sn.de/en/ort/via-regia-near-miltitz/ (Stand: 23.01.2025)
