diff --git a/include/ariane_pkg.svh b/include/ariane_pkg.svh
index 2c953b388..913c74799 100644
--- a/include/ariane_pkg.svh
+++ b/include/ariane_pkg.svh
@@ -300,4 +300,18 @@ package ariane_pkg;
         csr_addr_t  csr_decode;
     } csr_t;
 
+    // ----------------------
+    // Debug Unit
+    // ----------------------
+
+    typedef struct packed {
+        logic        halt;          // core is halted
+        logic        sste;          // single step enable
+        logic        ssth;          // single step hit
+        logic        sleep;         // core is sleeping
+        logic [63:0] ie;            // enable interrupt/exception
+        logic [63:0] cause;         // cause of encountered exception or interrupt
+        logic [63:0] npc;           // next PC
+        logic [63:0] ppc;           // previous PC
+    } debug_reg_t;
 endpackage
diff --git a/src/debug_unit.sv b/src/debug_unit.sv
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..8aedcc260
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/debug_unit.sv
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+// Author: Florian Zaruba, ETH Zurich
+// Date: 29.06.2017
+// Description: Memory Mapped Debug Unit
+//
+//
+// Copyright (C) 2017 ETH Zurich, University of Bologna
+// All rights reserved.
+//
+// This code is under development and not yet released to the public.
+// Until it is released, the code is under the copyright of ETH Zurich and
+// the University of Bologna, and may contain confidential and/or unpublished
+// work. Any reuse/redistribution is strictly forbidden without written
+// permission from ETH Zurich.
+//
+// Bug fixes and contributions will eventually be released under the
+// SolderPad open hardware license in the context of the PULP platform
+// (http://www.pulp-platform.org), under the copyright of ETH Zurich and the
+// University of Bologna.
+//
+import ariane_pkg::*;
+
+module debug_unit (
+    input  logic                clk_i,    // Clock
+    input  logic                rst_ni,  // Asynchronous reset active low
+
+    input  logic [63:0]         commit_pc_i,
+    input  logic                commit_ack_i,
+
+    // External Debug Interface
+    input  logic                debug_req_i,
+    output logic                debug_gnt_o,
+    output logic                debug_rvalid_o,
+    input  logic [14:0]         debug_addr_i,
+    input  logic                debug_we_i,
+    input  logic [63:0]         debug_wdata_i,
+    output logic [63:0]         debug_rdata_o,
+    output logic                debug_halted_o,
+    input  logic                debug_halt_i,
+    input  logic                debug_resume_i
+
+);
+
+    // |    Address    |       Name      |                             Description                             |
+    // |---------------|-----------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
+    // | 0x0000-0x007F | Debug Registers | Always accessible, even when the core is running                    |
+    // | 0x0400-0x047F | GPR (x0-x31)    | General Purpose Registers. Only accessible if the core is halted.   |
+    // | 0x0500-0x05FF | FPR (f0-f31)    | Reserved. Not used in the Ariane.                                   |
+    // | 0x2000-0x20FF | Debug Registers | Only accessible if the core is halted                               |
+    // | 0x4000-0x7FFF | CSR             | Control and Status Registers. Only accessible if the core is halted |
+
+    always_comb begin : debug_ctrl
+
+        // ----------
+        // Read
+        // ----------
+        // we've got a new read request
+        if (debug_req_i && !debug_we_i) begin
+
+
+        // ----------
+        // Write
+        // ----------
+        end else if (debug_req_i) begin
+
+
+        end
+    end
+
+    // --------------------
+    // HW Breakpoints
+    // --------------------
+
+endmodule
\ No newline at end of file