Monday, November 1, 2010

5000 year-old Door Found in Zürich


FROM WORLD TREASURES
HERE
22. Okt, 2010, Talia Kayali, CNN

  • It's possibly one of the oldest doors found in Europe
  • The door dates to the late 4th millennium B.C.
  • The object was spotted in a Zurich dig
A Stone Age door in "exceptional condition" has been found in the heart of the Swiss city of Zurich, a city official said Friday.

The artifact -- thought to be more than 5,000 years old -- was recovered during an archaeological excavation before the construction of a parking lot for the Zurich Opera.

"It is one of the oldest doors ever found in Europe," said Niels Bleicher, Zurich Monument Preservation Department's chief scientist.

He said the door remains on the ground and workers will try to pull it up next week. It will then be stabilized, preserved, and probably put into a museum, he said.

Bleicher said the door, about 1.5 meters high, hails from the Horgen archaeological culture and dates to the late 4th millennium B.C.

"It is made from poplar wood. The technique and design are solid," he said.

"The door is in an exceptional condition. Even the wooden handles are preserved."

16 comments:

  1. That is really cool and interesting.

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  2. Wow thats amazing that they could find that.

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  3. It shows that the way this door was made lasted THAT LONG, where as in this day and age people replace doors all the time. It seems that people were more thorough in their work back in the day.

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  4. That is amazing, and that door was made to last.

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  5. Wow I can't believe that the wood hasn't decomposed yet. Thats amazing! Whoever made that would be very proud to hear that it made it this long!

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  6. I wonder how it was preserved for that long naturally. I thought wood decomposes much quicker than 5000 years!

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  7. Maybe they had some kind of lacquer or varnish that helped it stay fresh and to be able to be preserved. That is one sturdy door to have lasted for more than 5,000 years. It makes you wonder what the door was for. It was a good thing they were looking for it before they started construction or who knows how long it would have been before they found it and if they did find it it might not have been in as good of condition as it is now. Maybe our craftsmen can learn from this door to create strong ones for our use today.

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  8. WOW!!!! that is one old door! it looks like it has been made of a really sturdy wood...

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  9. wao.. it looks like an old wooden door.. Aber da ist sehr cool

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  10. is there a name for that popular wood???

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  11. that door is wicked old. The wood must have been really strong!

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  12. Deutschland hat ein wunderbar und buntes Geschichte!

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  13. I wounder how much it will be sold for, to a muesum or something?

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  14. Ja, Grace, auf Deutsch heisst "Poplar wood" das Pappelholz.

    --> Ich denke, dass jeder Baum und jedes Stueck Holz beliebt (popular) ist.

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  15. Hmm... Nature impresses me to this day.. I wonder how many doors like that are made today? Oh right I know NONE because this world just wants everything cheep and decent. That door would have never had to be thrown away unlike today where everything is made cheeply and choppy. If everything was made like that door we would have a smaller land fill.

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