Fern pass
| Field name | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Biberwier [from first object] |
| Coordinates: | 47° 21' 14.40" N, 10° 50' 49.20" E [from first object] |
| Objects found here: |
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Map
Commentary
The Fern pass, at 1216 m a.s.l., is one of the most important passes of the Eastern Alps. Situated between the Lechtal Alps in the west and the Mieming Range in the east, it connects the Inn valley via the Gurgl valley with the Lech and Loisach valleys. Formed ca. 2000 BC by a landslide, the pass was probably one of the major north-south thoroughfares in North Tyrol already in pre-Roman times, and became the second pass on the Reschen route of the Via Claudia Augusta, which crossed the pass at a different, slightly higher summit than that of today's Fernpassstraße.
Sporadic finds indicate not only traffic and Roman customs posts, but also the existence of an (also pre-Roman) sanctuary, conceivably at the old summit (see FP-1 miniature shield).
