Not only in Unteruhldingen, but in many places across the Alpine region, remains of Bronze Age settlements dating from 2200 to 850 BC have been preserved. Around Lake Constance alone, there were some 45 sites, mostly covering an area of one to two hectares. They were situated in locations with good transport links in the western Lake Constance region. Around 120 further Bronze Age settlements have been identified at other lakes in the Alpine foothills. The outlines of the village sites and the remains of the pile-dwelling houses preserved on the lake bed are, in some cases, clearly visible. With the help of dendrochronology – the analysis of tree-ring patterns in cross-sections of wood – it is possible to narrow down the period of construction. However, reconstructing a house requires more than just knowledge of its age and floor plan. What did it look like? How were the walls and floors constructed? How high above the lake bed was the platform on which the houses were built? To answer these and other questions, a jigsaw of information is being pieced together.

The oldest settlement in Unteruhldingen comprised 87 houses dating from 975 to 953 BC. Five of these houses were selected for reconstruction at the Pile-dwelling Museum. The findings from the archaeological underwater surveys carried out served as the scientific basis for this work. Further information, such as details on the construction of the houses, was provided by the excavation results from contemporary settlements in south-west Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

House 5

House 5 on the excavation plan

House 5 on the village plan

House 5 with a forward-leaning ridge line

Sagging roof: burial urn, 7th century BC, Neu-Königsaue, Saxony-Anhalt

Wattle-and-daub walls: Unteruhldingen, Hagnau, Lake Constance

Split-plank walls: Wasserburg-Buchau, Federsee

Ridge post: 11.20 m, Hauterive, Switzerland

Roof finial: Urn, Vetulonia, 9th century BC, Northern Italy

Conical-necked vessel, Schirndorf, 8th century BC, Bavaria

Painted clay plaster, Ludwigshafen, 39th century BC, Lake Constance

Roof angle: Wasserburg-Buchau

Wattle-and-daub walls: Hagnau, Wasserburg-Buchau