The Ancient Road
The Ancient Road is a term for clear traces of ancient settlements along the main ice line, marked with burial mounds and traces of old roads throughout the entire geopark from the North Sea in the west to Viborg further east.
On the stretch from Trans on the west coast to Karup Å there are rows and groups of burial mounds from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, which clearly follow a pattern that can be related to geology. There is a remarkable coincidence between the mound row and the glacial landscapes. The burial mounds follow the marked landscape boundary between the moraine landscapes and the meltwater plain (heath plain), - they are located most closely on the Main Residence Line or in close proximity to it.
Connection between geology and cultural history
Geological explanations can be given for the phenomenon. The morphological explanation is that the entire landscape is relatively high-altitude with few intersecting watercourses and swampy areas. It is also interesting that the soil conditions immediately around the Main Residence Line are characterised by light soils consisting of mixed sandy and clayey soils. The highlands, and thus the settlements from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, are found precisely in this narrow transitional belt between the clayey moraine land and the meltwater plain (heath plain). For the farmers who settled here almost 5000 years ago, these soil conditions were optimal: The sufficiently fertile and light soils could be worked with the plough of the time, the arden. This could only work heavier clay soils with difficulty, and it is worth noting that no significant finds from the Bronze Age have been made in the moraine landscapes behind the Main Residence Line. The narrow belt between the marginal moraine and the heath plain was intensively cultivated arable land until the agricultural reforms around 1800, in contrast to the dead ice landscapes to the north and the heath plain to the south.
The single grave culture
The West Jutland heaths already spread during the time of the single-grave culture, probably as a result of deforestation and burning. The cultivated cultural heath with frequent burning is known precisely from the time of the single-grave culture, when they must be assumed to have served as grazing areas. The few Bronze Age settlements that have been found so far are located immediately north of the high ridge and therefore behind the marginal moraine, as the farms have also done until the agricultural forms, which is clearly seen on the Lomborg-Ramme stretch.
Burial mounds along the ancient road
The ancient road is seen as an elongated mound row. The course of mounds forms a corridor from the North Sea to the east of Viborg and thus extends over almost 110 km. The mound row is today formed by approximately 560 protected burial mounds and approximately 1300 plowed mounds. The majority of the mounds were built in the Early Bronze Age (1700-1100 BC). The ancient road is seen as a significant corridor through Lemvig, Struer and Holstebro Municipalities, where it extends over approximately 65 km. It must be assumed that a landing site existed somewhere on the then west coast. There was extensive trade traffic by sea in the Bronze Age. An important raw material for the production of bronze, tin (10% tin and 90% copper), came, among other things. from Cornwall and Devon in southern England, and together with the many ship motifs in Scandinavian rock carvings, it is obvious to imagine a port and trading post on the west coast, where amber could be exchanged for precious metals - including gold objects.
Potholes with historic ruts
The traveler in ancient times could navigate using the high ridge and was thus guided to the fords in the sometimes impassable landscape, and the Ancient Road therefore marks an important part of the infrastructure of prehistory. Today, the Ancient Road can only be followed on a few road sections. With the Land Borer Reforms and the replacement, the field structures, and thus also the course of the road, were re-laid. On the original replacement maps, roads can be seen on most of the course of the Ancient Road that largely follow the high ridge. Some of these sections still exist as local field roads.