The Oldest Wooden Staircase Ever Found Dates Back to 3,400 Years Ago and Is Perfectly Preserved

Did you know that the oldest wooden staircase in Europe is located at Salzwelten Hallstatt? And that it is almost 3,400 years old? Naturally, nobody trudges up and down those ancient stairs anymore, but you can still marvel at this amazing historical structure.

oldest wooden stairs hallstadt 2b

In 2002, the wooden staircase was discovered in the prehistoric part of the Christian von Tuschwerk salt mine located in the picturesque town of Hallstatt in Austria. Investigations – including tree-ring dating – conducted by scientists from the Natural History Museum of Vienna showed that the stairs were used to lug ‘white gold’ out of the mountain in the years 1343-1344 BCE.

The stairway is absolutely unique both regarding its construction and its level of preservation – no similar example is known either from earlier or from more recent times. It had to meet requirements of portability (the staircase had to be a demountable, modular construction), adjustability (the tread angle had to adapt to different shaft inclinations within the mountain) and replaceability. The fact that the steps are 1.2-meter (4 ft) wide allowed for the transport of heavy loads, while also making personnel access and a two-way (synchronous up/down) circulation with carrysacks possible.

oldest wooden stairs hallstatt 1
Hallstatt mining in the Bronze Age.

The staircase extends over 8 meters (26 ft) and was designed as an aid to get over huge heaps of mining waste, upon which it rested. The woodworking traces preserved in the material show that the wood was not chiseled or cut with an adze, but was rather created by transverse cutting using a bronze axe.

Although, as noted above, the construction is absolutely unique and not found in other mines (for instance prehistoric copper mines), the stairway in the Christian von Tuschwerk is not a completely isolated case within the Hallstatt salt mine itself. Parts of such stairs have been discovered in other parts of the mine, suggesting that such staircases were the access equipment of choice for salt mining in the Bronze Age. There were probably two variants, a wide construction supported on the mining waste and used mainly for salt transport, and a narrower version in the shafts for personnel access only.

oldest wooden stairs hallstadt 3

Like with many other artefacts from this site, the salty environment is thought to have preserved microbial growth on the staircase and is responsible for its mint condition. However, when in 2014 it was disᴀssembled and brought to the Museum of Natural History in Vienna for a thorough analysis, fungi immediately started to grow on the wood despite attempts to preserve it.

So, in 2015 it was brought back to Hallstatt and is now on display within the “show-mine“.

Related Posts

Rosalia Lombardo: The “Sleeping Beauty” of Palermo

The image above captures one of the most haunting and poignant sights in the history of preservation: the remarkably lifelike remains of Rosalia Lombardo, a young Italian…

Whispers of Eternity: The Mysterious Monolith of the Andean Highlands

Whispers of Eternity: The Mysterious Monolith of the Andean Highlands

High in the rugged Andean highlands, where thin mountain air meets endless skies, stands a solitary and enigmatic stone monolith. Scholars suggest it may date as far…

Echoes of Stone: The Ancient Archway Near the Great Pyramid of Giza

Echoes of Stone: The Ancient Archway Near the Great Pyramid of Giza

Amid the golden sands of Giza, not far from the imposing silhouette of the Great Pyramid, stands a weathered yet captivating ancient archway. Believed to have been…

Echoes of the Ancients: The Doddington Rock Art in Northumberland, England

Echoes of the Ancients: The Doddington Rock Art in Northumberland, England

Nestled in the rugged landscapes of Northumberland, England, lies the Doddington Rock Art, an extraordinary collection of prehistoric carvings that dates back to the Neolithic and Bronze…

The Mystery of the Bent Pyramid: An Ancient Egyptian Tale of Innovation

In the golden sands of Dahshur, where the scorching Egyptian sun casts long shadows across the desert landscape, stands a monument unlike any other in the ancient…

The Untouchable Enigma: Unraveling the Mystery of Egypt’s Bashiri Mummy

A Delicate Window into Ancient Egypt’s Past In the vast realm of Egyptian archaeology, one artifact stands apart, captivating researchers and history enthusiasts alike: the Bashiri mummy….