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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsArchaeologists have uncovered a 10th-century stone building at the former royal palatinate on Kleine Klaus hill near Lutherstadt Eisleben, Germany. The structure measures about 9 by 5 metres and has a cellar with a well-preserved access staircase. Its purpose is still unknown: it may have housed noble guests or served as the burgrave’s residence when the king was away.
What did archaeologists find at Otto the Great’s lost palace?
The State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt announced the find on 12 October 2026. Its excavation, which began on 31 August, uncovered the building beside the Ottonian palace at Helfta. Finds associated with the structure date it securely to the 10th century, the authority says. It is among the earliest secular stone buildings known at Helfta and in Saxony-Anhalt.
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The building is part of a buried royal complex, not a standing palace visible above ground. The site lies on Kleine Klaus hill near Lutherstadt Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt. It is distinct from Otto the Great’s tomb in Magdeburg.
What was the new building at Helfta used for?
Its function has not been established. The State Office offers two possibilities: it could have been a guesthouse for noble members of the ruler’s entourage, or the burgrave’s residence when the king was away. These remain hypotheses; the building’s size, cellar and location do not by themselves identify its occupants or use.
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The cellar and surviving staircase provide evidence of the building’s layout and access, but the announcement does not report a find that settles the question. The two proposed uses should therefore be treated as alternatives under consideration, not as confirmed identifications.
How does the building fit into the royal complex?
Excavations at Helfta in 2020–2023 identified the Radegund church, founded by Otto the Great before 969, and a contemporary stone palace; the State Office says the central structures were identified in 2021/22. The palace served as a royal residence and assembly hall. Otto the Great and his son Otto II stayed at Helfta, according to the authority.
East of the palace, archaeologists also exposed a stone-reinforced terrace facing the courtyard between the palace and church. The State Office suggests it may have been used as a platform for open-air assemblies. Together, church, palace, terrace and newly uncovered building formed a prominent stone group at the palatinate’s centre. The authority interprets the ensemble as a display of royal status and power.
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The royal stone core was surrounded by a broader settlement with housing and production areas. In the southeastern outer enclosure, archaeologists found more sunken houses, generally rectangular and about 3–5 metres on each side. The State Office describes walls built from wattle and clay, roofs of wood or reed, and hearths set with stone.
Objects and installations from this wider settlement point to several kinds of work: clay loom weights indicate textile activity; casting crucibles point to non-ferrous metalworking; and a lime kiln suggests lime production for plaster and mortar. These finds illustrate the more modest buildings and productive work that existed alongside the monumental royal centre.
Other discoveries reported from across the site and its different periods include cemetery graves; silver coins dated from the 10th to 15th centuries; Ottonian earrings and enamelled clothing clasps, including an unusual crescent-shaped example; iron arrowheads; pottery decorated with Slavic waves; a nearly functional bone flute; and an antler-box fragment with ring-and-dot decoration, dated by the authority to around 1000. These are site-wide finds, not objects attributed to the new building.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What came before and after the Ottonian palatinate?
The hill’s settlement history reaches back earlier than the 10th-century royal complex. The State Office connects the area with Helphideburc, named in the 9th-century Hersfeld tithe register, while distinguishing that earlier context from the Ottonian palatinate.
A smaller castle later occupied the hill in the 12th century and was associated with the von Hackeborn family. The ongoing excavation is also examining remains of that castle’s courtyard and buildings.
When did the excavation take place?
In its 12 October 2026 announcement, the State Office said the excavation had started on 31 August and was scheduled to continue through 24 October 2026, with about 20 volunteers supporting the work. That was the plan reported at the time, not confirmation that the season had ended.
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