Sweet Track

The Sweet Track is an ancient roadway in the Somerset Levels, England. As of the early 2000s, it is the oldest known engineered roadway in the world. An grand footpath that ran for almost 2km across the Somerset levels swamps. Ash, Oak and Lime trees were systematically cut, pre-fabricated and transported to the site, where they were built into a narrow causeway supported on crossed poles, driven into grave poles underwater and pegged together. Finally the Oak walking platform was laid on top of the V shaped notch. All this indicates a high extent

The track was revealed in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer. It complete across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a edge of high ground at Shapwick Burtle, a distance close to 2,000 metres (over 1 mile). The track is one of a network of tracks that once crossed the Levels.

Built in the 3800s BC during the Neolithic period, the track consisted of crossed poles of ash, oak and lime (Tilia) which were driven into the saturated soil to support a walkway that mostly consists of oak planks laid end-to-end. Due to the fenland setting, the components must also have been prefabricated, and were all cut using stone tools.

Most of the Track remains in its original location, and several hundred metres of its now actively conserved using a pumped water distribution system. Portions are displayed at the British Museum, London, while a reconstruction can be seen at "The Peat Moors Centre" [1], near Glastonbury.

Also see other discoveries

Amesbury Archer
Dead Sea Scrolls
Java Man
Kennewick Man
Lindow Man
Linear B
Narmer Palette
Neandertal
Ötzi
Peking Man
Red Lady of Paviland
Rosetta Stone
Tollund man
Turkana Boy