Famous examples are the Roman roads, Silk Roads 9 from China or the Amber Road in Central and Eastern Europe 10, 11, 12.
Land routes have significantly contributed to transform landscapes from natural to cultural and they were an important factor in the development of civilizations. Superimposed on the long-term development were repeated interruptions by short-term downturns related to societal crisis and political decisions.Īnthropogenic pressure on landscapes related to the growth and development of human population is reflected in long-term land use changes 1 with consequences for hydrological and erosional cycles at the local 2, 3, regional 4, 5 and global scale 6, 7, 8. (2) an intensification of environmental disturbance until (3) the mid-nineteenth century when via Marchionis became a modern traffic route with strong environmental impacts. The transformation from a quasi-natural to a cultural landscape occurred in three phases (1) an early phase until the mid-fourteenth century with slowly increasing human impact. We combine precisely dated annually laminated sediments from Lake Czechowskie alongside via Marchionis and pollen data at 5-year resolution together with historical data. Here, we present a high-resolution reconstruction of the impact of the major trade route via Marchionis in the southern Baltic lowlands on landscape evolution since more than 800 years. Commonly, historians investigate the role of routes for cultural development, whereas the environmental impacts of historical routes attract less attention. Connecting pathways are essential for cultural and economic exchange.
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