The Oldest Wooden Staircase Ever Found Dates Back to 3,400 Years Ago and Is Perfectly Preserved

Did you know that the oldest wooden staircase in Europe is located at Salzwelten Hallstatt? And that it is almost 3,400 years old? Naturally, nobody trudges up and down those ancient stairs anymore, but you can still marvel at this amazing historical structure.

Image credit: A. W. Rausch/Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
In 2002, the wooden staircase was discovered in the prehistoric part of the Christian von Tuschwerk salt mine located in the picturesque town of Hallstatt in Austria. Investigations – including tree-ring dating – conducted by scientists from the Natural History Museum of Vienna showed that the stairs were used to lug ‘white gold’ out of the mountain in the years 1343-1344 BCE.

The stairway is absolutely unique both regarding its construction and its level of preservation – no similar example is known either from earlier or from more recent times. It had to meet requirements of portability (the staircase had to be a demountable, modular construction), adjustability (the tread angle had to adapt to different shaft inclinations within the mountain) and replaceability. The fact that the steps are 1.2-meter (4 ft) wide allowed for the transport of heavy loads, while also making personnel access and a two-way (synchronous up/down) circulation with carrysacks possible.