Mittelalterliche Straßenbefunde in Lenzen und Wittenberge (Brandenburg) und ihre Aussagen zur frühen Stadtgeschichte

Traffic is a prerequisite as well as an important part of the processual changes taking place in connection with the inland-colonisation during the High Middle Ages. The restructuring of rural spaces and especially the emergence and the development of the cities are inseparably connected with mobility. This investigation aims to analyse the mutual relationship between the construction of roads and the development of cities, drawing on concrete examples. The analysis rests on the basis of the archaeological records of the medieval towns of Lenzen and Wittenberge in north-western Brandenburg from the last 20 years. For this purpose, road surfaces were analysed and evaluated regarding their arrangement, construction, development and chronology. Thus it was also possible to re-examine open questions and hypotheses regarding both the history of road traffic and the history of towns and cities.