CAU Svetlana V. Khamnueva, Jann Wendt, Hans ...

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Introduction: a large buried valley was discovered in the. Viking Age town Hedeby. Results of geochemical analyses and radiocarbon dating point at man-made.
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Interpretation of anthropogenic landscape transformation in the Viking town Hedeby based on micromorphological analysis

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Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel Institut für Ökosystemforschung

Svetlana V. Khamnueva, Jann Wendt, Hans-Rudolf Bork

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Baltic Sea North Sea

Hedeby

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Rheider Au

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Introduction: a large buried valley was discovered in the Viking Age town Hedeby. Results of geochemical analyses and radiocarbon dating point at man-made origin of the structure in the Viking Age. Micromorphological analysis in combination with geochemical methods was aimed to shed light on the use of the valley by humans during the settlement period . Study area (54°29'27.77''N, 9°33'54.42''E): fortified Viking Age town Hedeby, located at the intersection of main transport and trade routes between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The settlement was founded in the th th end of the 8 c., and by mid-10 c. it has become one of

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10 km

the first urban settlements and a major international trading centre in Scandinavia and Northern Europe. However, in 1066 AD the town was destroyed and abandoned.

Despite long-term archaeological investigations in Hedeby, landscape transformation in the central part of the settlement at the brook remained unknown. Therefore, s o i l a n d s e d i m e nt sampling was done in transects along and across the brook by drilling techniques (manual auger and Vibracore system). 0

115

Drilling sites

m 230

Maximum catchment area 29.7 ha

Modern course of Hedeby-brook

0 ha

Former course of Hedeby-brook

Results of geochemical and micromorphological analysis

Inclusions 0

20

40

60

80

Inclusions [weight %]

LOI [%]

MS [10 m3kg-1] -8

100

Modern brick fragement

Mcult-hom

Hewood+Ycult Bone fragments (mostly domestic animals)

Sand Leather piece

Ycult,org+ Hawood Gravel Csand

Legend grain size distribution: Legend inclusions:

630-2000 µm (coarse sand) Charcoal/wood

200-630 µm (medium sand) Bones

63-200 µm (fine sand)

2-63 µm (silt)