A multi-layered prehistoric settlement structure (tell?) at Niederröblingen,Germany and its implications

At least 15 settlement layers, deposited above each other from the early Neolithic (ca. 5300 cal BC) until Roman Imperial Times (ca. 400 cal AD), have been discovered at Niederröblingen, Germany. Constituting the longest duration of prehistoric settlement in central Europe so far known (ca. 4000 yrs), the site is thought to represent the first multi-layered settlement mound (tell?) north of the Alps. This implicates that the occurrence of settlement mound is not limited to the circum-Mediterranean area. The detailed chronology, based on archaeological, radiocarbon and OSL dating and supporting a Bayesian model, shows one clear occupational gap (early Neolithic) and a possible hiatus (Roman Times). Erosion phases of the settlement mound and the deposition of alluvial sediments (since Roman Imperial Times) in the surroundings resulted in an almost complete disappearance of the mound from the recent scenery. Being difficult to detect, similar sites might be present, undetected, in central Europe. Their discovery and study would enable the precise reconstruction of the settlement history as well as of the prehistoric man–environmental interactions at a high resolution.     

LES ORTSTEINS DU QUÉBEC: RÉPARTITION GEOGRAPHIQUE, RELATIONS GÉOMORPHOLOGIQUES ET ESSAI DE DATATION

Ce travail porte sur I'extension géographique des orts-teins au Québec et vise à déterminer les causes de leur répartition principalement pour la Côte-Nord du Saint-Laurent. Les données ont été puisées en partie dans des rapports pédologiques publiés sur le Québec, mais aussi observées dans des sites d'échantillonnage sur la Côte-Nord du Saint-Laurent, l'île d'Anticosti et en Gaspésie. Par ailleurs, pour les datations au ¹⁴C, six sites d'echantillonnage ont été choisis sur la Côte-Nord. Les résultats indiquent que les ortsteins se développent sous toutes les latitudes au sud de 55e parallèle et sous différentes conditions physiographiques et géologiques. On les retrouve aussi bien sur des silts sableux que sur des graviers grossiers et leur présence est favorisée lorsqu'il y a fluctuation de la nappe d'eau. Les datations au ¹⁴C ont donné des âges relativement jeunes pour les ortsteins, soit moins de 420 ans bp, indiquant qu'il y a une migration active de la matière organique dans les horizons concrétionnés. The present paper concerns the geographic delimitation of ortsteins in Québec and deals with the causes of their distribution mainly for the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River. Data was gathered in part in published geological reports in Quebec, and also acquired in the field along the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River, Anticosti Island, and in the Gaspé Peninsula. Furthermore, six study sites were selected for dating by ¹⁴C along the North Shore. Results indicate the ortsteins develop under all latitudes south of the 55th parallel and under different physiographic and geological conditions. They can be found on both sandy silts and coarse gravels, and their presence is enhanced whenever the water level fluctuates. ¹⁴C datings give relatively young ages for ortsteins, less than 420 years BP, indicating that an active migration of organic matter occurred in the indurated horizons.