UNESCO site Weil Pestenacker

The Neolithic settlement of Pestenacker was discovered in the course of straightening Loosbach brook in 1934. From 1988 to 1993 and 2000 to 2004 large-scale excavations were carried out at the site. Like in the nearby settlement of Unfriedshausen the material culture of the inhabitants belongs to the Neolithic Altheim group. As the foundation of Pestenacker postdates Unfriedshausen, the village at Pestenacker probably replaced the Unfriedshausen as a successor. The Neolithic site of Pestenacker is known for its extraordinary good preservation of wood, textiles and plant residues. The oldest item of clothing known from Bavaria was found there: a pointed hat made of flax webbing and lime bast. At Pestenacker a small exhibition and a reconstructed Neolithic house welcomes the visitor. In the Southern Swabian Museum of Archaeology (Südschwäbisches Archäologiemuseum) in Mindelheim a natural size copy of the wooden floor of a Neolithic house is on display and provides a lively insight into the spectacular remains excavated by archaeologists at Pestenacker.