The Teufelsgraben is a striking ground monument that extends over the entire Leibnitzer Feld and is still well preserved in some sections as a wall-ditch system. An excavation in 2005 by the Kulturpark Hengist association and extensive investigations provided evidence that the ditch was built in late antiquity between 380 and 430/450 AD.
Devil's Trench Mystery
For centuries no one knew what the Teufelsgraben was dug for. It is a 3.9 km long wall and ditch facility that closes off the Leibnitzer Feld in the north between the two rivers Laßnitz in the west and Mur in the east. The ditch runs almost horizontally (282.5–284 m above sea level) across the Leibnitzer Feld in two almost straight sections that meet at an obtuse angle.
Historical fallacies...
The Teufelsgraben has been known to scholars for 150 years and was mostly considered to be a 10th-century structure whose function was unclear or disputed. Recent investigations have now provided evidence that the construction of the ditch goes back to late antiquity, to the years between 380 and 430/450 AD. In the course of an excavation in 2005, charcoal chips were recovered, which made radiocarbon dating possible.