Reichenau (dpa / lsw) – In a shallow water zone around the Bodensee island of Reichenau, research divers have discovered a 600-meter-long row of poles that could date from the year 724 AD. The island monastery was also founded at this time, said the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council on Monday. The “Reichenau under water” project is now intended to clarify whether the row of piles could be a former protection system for moorings. The archaeologists want to present the first results in the coming week.
The island of Reichenau (district of Konstanz) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for more than 20 years. The 440-hectare Lake Constance island was an important European center of religion, art, literature, science and illumination in the Middle Ages. Today, three Romanesque churches and the remains of the Benedictine monastery bear witness to the former splendor.