Archaeology in the Danube region

The banks of the Danube were not just where Stone Age hunters camped; the Romans also built numerous border fortifications here

The Danube region is a veritable treasure trove for archaeologists, telling us about the rites of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers, the lives of Roman soldiers and civilians, and everyday life in the Middle Ages.

Used by people to transport goods and innovations, the Danube has been one of Europe’s most important transit routes since the Palaeolithic era. Thanks to the mild climate, groups of hunter-gatherers camped in the Danube valley as far back as almost 30,000 years ago, as evidenced by important sites such as Willendorf and Krems-Wachtberg. The settled way of life and agriculture spread along the Danube from the south-east around 5500 BC, as did metallurgy some 2,500 years later. During the Roman Empire (first to fourth century AD), the Danube became a frontier – the Danube Limes – which was secured with legionary camps, forts and watchtowers. Roman building structures can still be found today in many mediaeval towns and churches, for example in Mautern, Tulln and St. Johann im Mauerthale.