Kelsterbacher Terrasse, Archaeological site in Frankfurt Stadtwald, Germany
Kelsterbacher Terrasse is a long ridge in Frankfurt forest that extends across a broad area and rises up to 17 meters above the surrounding landscape in some places. The terrace shows different soil layers made of gravel, sand, and clay, with the upper layers formed from fine wind-blown sand.
Stone tools found at this place date back roughly 40,000 to 50,000 years, showing that people lived in this area very early on. Later peoples from the Bronze and Iron Ages built burial mounds here, which are still visible along the edges of the terrace.
The burial mounds along the terrace come from different time periods and show how people lived and died here across thousands of years. You can see at the raised spots how important this place was for early settlers.
You reach this place through a public parking area near Schwanheim and can then explore the land via several hiking trails. The different paths let you see the elevation from various angles and help you understand the different layers better.
The finds at this place show that people lived here during the Neanderthal period, making this forest a window into a very distant past. This rare connection between early human traces and well-kept soil layers makes it possible to understand the environment of that time.
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