Cobblestones uncovered during roadworks at a central Tallinn street cannot receive heritage status because it lies outside the Old Town.
The road and utility works began on Monday on Kreutzwaldi tänav, including milling, which involves removing the top surface of the road.
It was this process which uncovered the cobblestones — not an unusual occurrence in and around central Tallinn. However, such discoveries cannot be subject to heritage protection if they lie outside the Old Town (Vanalinn), which Kreutzwaldi does by more than a kilometer.
Triin Tõrs-Ojari, head of the advisory service at the City of Tallinn’s heritage conservation department, noted cobblestone roads are one of the features of the historic Old Town and, as such, are protected only in that district. Outside the Old Town, cobblestones are usually concealed below more recent asphalt and other surfacing and are not restored, she added.
Where possible, the older roadways remain preserved beneath the newer asphalt. They may sometimes be reused elsewhere as an element of public-space design, Tõrs-Ojari said.
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