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AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTAIN<br />
The control strip, also known as the death strip, consisted of a large strip of<br />
sand that was raked so that any footprints or other marks would clearly<br />
show if an intruder had walked across it. This was important not only to try<br />
and stop the intruder crossing over the final hurdle which was the wall<br />
facing West Berlin, the so-called ‘enemy facing wall’, but also to show where<br />
there were weaknesses in the system and also, if the person had managed to<br />
cross unnoticed, to punish the guard that missed the breach.<br />
There are many other types of features visible in the townscape today<br />
that were once connected to the former border fortifications, such as areas<br />
for maintenance, iron bars in the canals and traces of demolished buildings<br />
once considered too close to the border. All these features demonstrate how<br />
the construction of the wall had to adapt to the changing topography. Other<br />
remains demonstrate how the city around the wall had to change to adapt<br />
to the division such as turning loops where the bus route were cut off by the<br />
wall and closed down railway stations.<br />
The ‘enemy facing’ wall<br />
The wall facing West Berlin, the so called ‘enemy facing wall’ is often what<br />
people refer to when they speak about the Wall. As large parts of this wall<br />
were removed during 1990–1991 there is little left to indicate exactly<br />
where the wall was located although some traces have been recorded<br />
(Klausmeier and Schmidt 2004:122) and in places only the foundations remain<br />
(Klausmeier and Schmidt 2004:127). In some sections it has therefore<br />
been recreated such as within the centre of Berlin where a cobble<br />
stone line on the ground indicates its route in a way that does not obstruct<br />
or limit movement around it. I follow it through town, letting it be my<br />
guide. Some of the new buildings constructed on the site of the former<br />
wall have also incorporated the line in their interior. At the end of a day<br />
walking along the former wall as I am resting my feet in a restaurant near<br />
Potsdamer Platz I suddenly realise that I am sitting on the wall as the<br />
Berlin Wall line is running straight under my table (Figure 9).<br />
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