Feuchtbodensiedlung Keutschacher See

The Feuchtbodensiedlung Keutschacher See lies in the middle of Keutschach am See, a village beside the Keutschacher See in southern Austria. The remains of this prehistoric lake-dwelling rest on a small underwater rise that measures roughly forty-five by twenty-five metres. Excavations since 1864 have uncovered wooden house frames and many small finds such as pottery and wood fragments. Archaeologists recognise two main settlement phases: the first lasted from about 4000 to 3500 BC, the second from 1000 to 500 BC. These dates place the site among the oldest and longest-occupied lake dwellings in the Alpine region. In 2011 the United Nations listed the Keutschacher See settlement as part of the serial World Heritage site ‘Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps’. Visitors can view the underwater remains without entering the water. A short walk around the lake shore offers clear views of the marked spot where the oval rise once supported the village. Interpretive panels explain how the wooden posts stood in the shallow water and how researchers continue to recover artefacts. The surrounding landscape of reed beds and wooded hills completes the scene.