Near the Mont Sainte-Odile abbey lies an archaeological enigma of more than 10 km length.
The "Pagan wall" is made up of more than 300 000 blocks of quarry stones assembled with oak elements having the shape of a dovetail.
The archaeologists disagree about as well the dating as the finality of this strange construction.
It was baptized "Pagan wall" by Pope Leon IX, being considered as created before Christian era.
Whereas certain parts of the enclosure were clearly altered during Roman times, other sections seem to be older, and could go belong to Neolithic ages.
For example, the carving of the stones would not have been carried out using metal tools.
Many "cupulae" where the carvings look like a bowl shape (known as "technical cupulae" ) were found cut in the blocks of rocks having been used as a quarry.
The construction of this kind is called "cyclopean", because some elements have such a huge size that in a global myth, those who were handling these rock could only be giants (i.e. the Ccyclops of Greek mythology).
This wall is with no match in the north of Europe. Only the protohistoric enclosure around the site of Frankenbourg, a few kilometres from there, uses the same techniques.
The assembly of blocks of stone with oak elements and dovetail mortises is a recognized characteristic of the mycenians builders, in Greece.
This technique would have been imported during - or even earlier - the 1st millenium before J.-C.
How this ancient know-how did arrive as far as in Alsace?
Why only two known examples of this technique in the North of the alpine chain can be found ? Why having built a so long fortification which defense could have been almost impossible, needing numerous warriors ?
Beyond the questions, the visit of the whole of the Mur Païen is each time a thrilling experience, whatever the weather conditions can be !
An interactive map should give you a glimpse of some possible hikings, all way long the North, Central and South settlements.