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UNESCO Pile Dwellings Kehrsiten

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Photo: Fachstelle für Archäologie Nidwalden

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Photo: Fachstelle für Archäologie Nidwalden

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Remains of pile dwellings,
photo: Roland Blättler

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Photo: Fachstelle für Archäologie Nidwalden

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The Stone Age artefacts in Kehrsiten remind us that the area now known as Nidwalden was populated thousands of years ago.

Sensational accidental find

In 2003 a scuba diver discovered interesting-looking wooden piles at the bottom of the lake near the jetty in Kehrsiten. Detailed investigations revealed that they were the remains of a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement from the 4th century BC. This makes the pile dwellings the oldest evidence of the existence of humans in Nidwalden.

Photo: Fachstelle Archäologie
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Photo: Fachstelle Archäologie

Photo: Fachstelle Archäologie
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Photo: Fachstelle Archäologie

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Immense significance

The find was of great importance for both national and international research. Until the time of the discovery, pile dwellings had only been found in the Central Swiss Plateau. The international significance of this find was further confirmed in 2011, when the settlement was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The situation today

The pile-dwellings are under water and not visible. However, an information board and a symbolic telescope have been installed near the place where they were found.

 

Location and contact

Kurverein Kehrsiten
6365 Kehrsiten
kurvereinkehrsiten.ch
www.kehrsiten.ch