Coastal wetlands have historically been portrayed as too marginal for early crop cultivation during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition due to their dynamic hydrology, low elevation, and poor drainage. However, growing evidence suggests that these environments played a crucial role in the spread of agriculture. We examined buried and submerged channel-levee systems beneath present-day Lake IJssel (the Netherlands) to investigate the spatial and temporal extent to which wetland levees provided suitable grounds for cultivation as rivers functioned while the sea level rose. The study area lies along the lower reaches of the paleo-Vecht River, one of two local rivers crossing the Swifterbant-type area, with key sites located 10-20 km inland. Integrating sedimentary geology, archaeological soil micromorphology, and radiocarbon dating of research cores, we identify buried soil horizons indicating periods of reduced sedimentation and relatively stable, dry conditions conducive to human activity. Micromorphology reveals charred plant material, ceramic fragments, and disturbed soil aggregates comparable to tilled fields at Swifterbant settlements. Radiocarbon dating places these features between ca. 4500 and 4200 BC, coinciding with upstream occupation. These findings add to growing evidence of widespread, sustained land use in these wetland environments and highlight the value of micromorphology in detecting subtle traces of human activity in landscape-scale studies.

The study of the production, movement, processing and consumption of copper and bronze objects in the European Bronze Age (c. 2500-800 BC) reveals the underlying mobility and interconnectedness of Bronze Age societies. Long-distance exchange networks spanned the European Continent, and this paper fills an important geographic gap in Bronze Age metal research improving our understanding of the metal flows across Europe. The Netherlands as maritime/riverine east-west and north-south crossroad is a key piece to the Bronze Age metal supply puzzle. More than 200 lead isotope and elemental analyses of copper and bronzes from the Netherlands, featuring the strategic use of portable laser ablation, constitute a key opportunity to test and reshape theories on Bronze Age metal flow. Our analyses indicate that the earliest copper is of Balkan and Slovakian origin with some import of Iberian arsenical alloys followed by an intensification of Slovakian/Únětice metal imports during the Early Bronze Age. In the early phase of the Middle Bronze Age, the Netherlands received fresh copper with nickel and arsenic impurities from both the Great Orme mine in Wales and Mitterberg in Austria, shifting towards Italian Alpine copper in the late Middle Bronze Age. Italian Alpine copper was widely used, probably reaching the British Isles via trade routes through the Netherlands. In the Late Bronze Age, high-impurity antimony-bearing copper sources prevailed in both the Netherlands and in Britain and highly leaded bronze became commonplace, with the added lead being consistent with British sources. The high-impurity element pattern can be linked to recycled Alpine metal with almost no visible contribution of Iberian metal arriving via Atlantic trade routes.

Highlights : Esbeek-Diessen represents a significant late Middle Palaeolithic surface site, recent surveys show the effectiveness of GPR in Palaeolithic landscape archaeology, Neanderthal stone artefacts are found in association with a thermokarst landscape

WELL-EXCAVATED CULT SITES ARE KEY to identifying and understanding changing ritual behaviour in the Christianisation period. Unfortunately, such sites are rare. Recent metal-detected finds near the hamlet of Hezingen (the Netherlands) prompted archaeological excavations that have brought to light the remains of a 7th-century open-air cult site possibly connected with immigrants. The site consisted of a row of posts and a large boulder situated in a clearing near an ancient road junction, on a prominent elevation in the landscape. Gold coins and jewellery were deposited there at regular intervals over a period of about 100 years. Based on the phosphate analysis, it is likely that animals were sacrificed there as well. Use of the site ceased around the year ad 700, at least half a century earlier than the formal Christianisation of the area. This could indicate that the local elite, with whom the site seems to have been associated, had become Christians at an earlier date, or had at least moved away from collective expressions of paganism. The cult site was probably linked to a nearby high-status settlement with an enclosed cult house or ceremonial building. Diobolgeld ae (L'argent du diable): le site de culte du Haut Moyen-Acirc;ge à Hezingen, Pays-Bas par Jan-Willem de Kort, Otto Brinkkemper, Jan van Doesburg, Bert Groenewoudt, Stijn Heeren, Mirjam Kars, Johan Nicolay, Bertil van Os, et Arent PolLes sites de culte ayant fait l'objet de fouilles raisonné es sont cruciaux pour permettre d'identifier les comportements rituels et d'en comprendre l'é volution pendant la pé riode de christianisation. Hé las, ces sites sont rares. Suite à des dé couvertes ré centes à l'aide de dé tecteurs de mé taux prè s du hameau de Hezingen (Pays-Bas), une campagne de fouilles arché ologiques a mis à jour les vestiges d'un site de culte en plein air du 7e siè cle, qui pourrait ê tre connecté à des immigrants. Le site comportait une rangé e de poteaux et un gros rocher situé s dans une clairiè re prè s du carrefour d'une ancienne route, sur une é lé vation proé minente dans le paysage. Des piè ces et des bijoux en or ont é té dé posé s là, à intervalles ré guliers, tout au long d'une pé riode d'environ un siè cle. Des ossements d'animaux complets ou partiels ont é té retrouvé s, dont on suppose qu'ils ont é té sacrifié s sur place. L'occupation du site a cessé aux alentours de l'an 700, cinquante ans au moins avant la christianisation formelle de la ré gion. Cela pourrait indiquer que l'é lite locale, à laquelle le site semble ê tre associé, é tait dé jà devenue chré tienne ou, tout du moins, s'é tait é loigné e d'expressions collectives de paganisme. Le site de culte é tait probablement lié à un peuplement proche de haut rang comprenant une maison de culte ou un bâ timent cé ré moniel dans une enceinte. Diobolgeld ae (Das Geld des Teufels): Die frü hmittelalterliche Kultstä ttue von Hezingen, Niederlande von Jan-Willem de Kort, Otto Brinkkemper, Jan van Doesburg, Bert Groenewoudt, Stijn Heeren, Mirjam Kars, Johan Nicolay, Bertil van Os und Arent PolFachgerecht ausgegrabene Kultstä tten sind der Schlü ssel zum Erkennen und Verstehen des sich wandelnden rituellen Verhaltens zur Zeit der Christianisierung. Leider sind solche Stä tten eine Seltenheit. Jü ngste Metallfunde in der Nä he des Weilers Hezingen (Niederlande) gaben den Ansto ss zu archä ologischen Ausgrabungen, die die Ü berreste einer Freiluft-Kultstä tte aus dem 7. Jahrhundert ans Licht gebracht haben, die mö glicherweise mit Einwanderern in Verbindung steht. Der Fundort besteht aus einer Reihe von Pfosten und einem gro ss en Felsbrocken auf einer Lichtung in der Nä he einer alten Stra ss enkreuzung, auf einer markanten Erhebung in der Landschaft. Ü ber einen Zeitraum von etwa 100 Jahren wurden dort in regelmäss igen Abstä nden Goldmü nzen und Schmuck deponiert. Es wurden ganze Tiere oder Teile von Tieren gefunden, die vermutlich dort geopfert wurden. Die Nutzung der Stä tte endete um das Jahr 700 n. Chr., also mindestens ein halbes Jahrhundert vor der offiziellen Christianisierung der Gegend. Dies kö nnte darauf hindeuten, dass die lokale Elite, mit der die Stä tte wohl in Verbindung stand, schon frü her zum Christentum ü bergetreten war oder sich zumindest von kollektiven Ausdrucksformen des Heidentums abgewandt hatte. Die Kultstä tte war vermutlich mit einer nahegelegenen hochrangigen Siedlung verbunden, die ü ber ein umfriedetes Kulthaus oder ein Zeremonialgebä ude verfü gte. Diobolgeld ae (Il denaro del diavolo): il luogo di culto altomedievale di Hezingen, Paesi Bassi di Jan-Willem de Kort, Otto Brinkkemper, Jan van Doesburg, Bert Groenewoudt, Stijn Heeren, Mirjam Kars, Johan Nicolay, Bertil van Os e Arent PolI luoghi di culto venuti alla luce da scavi approfonditi sono fondamentali per identificare e capire il comportamento rituale nel periodo della cristianizzazione. Sfortunatamente tali siti sono rari. Ritrovamenti recenti mediante cercametalli presso il borgo di Hezingen (Paesi Bassi) hanno indotto a eseguire scavi archeologici che hanno portato alla luce i resti di un luogo di culto all'aperto del VII secolo, probabilmente collegato a immigranti. Il sito consisteva di una fila di pali e di un grande masso tondeggiante situati in una radura nei pressi di un antico incrocio stradale su una cospicua altura del paesaggio. Durante un periodo di circa 100 anni qui furono depositati a intervalli regolari monete d'oro e gioielli. Sono stati rinvenuti animali o parti di essi, presumibilmente usati nei sacrifici. Il sito smise di essere usato intorno al 700 d.C., almeno mezzo secolo prima della cristianizzazione formale di questa zona. Questo potrebbe indicare che l'é lite locale con la quale il sito sembra essere stato associato era già diventata cristiana precedentemente, o almeno che si era allontanata dalle pratiche collettive del paganesimo. Il luogo di culto era probabilmente collegato a uno stanziamento di alto livello sociale che sorgeva nelle vicinanze nel quale si trovava, circondato da un recinto, un edificio di culto o una costruzione cerimoniale.

This study discusses waste management by mid-Holocene hunter-gatherer-fisher communities at Riņņukalns, on the Salaca river in Latvia. It combines microscopic analyses with geochemistry and radiocarbon dating. We observe natural landscape changes and human responses, with Mesolithic and earlier Middle Neolithic occupation on the backswamp. During the later Middle Neolithic, we see a pattern of selective deposition of waste categories (food waste, combustion waste, and excrements) as part of collective waste management practices, which led to the formation of a shell midden. Analysis of these waste layers provides an alternative perspective on subsistence practices and craft activities. A dump of ochre production waste illustrates the burning of iron-rich sediments to obtain this pigment. These later Middle Neolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher communities had a collective approach to waste and waste management. The shell midden, which was also used for funerary rituals, can be regarded as a persistent and significant place in the landscape of these, perhaps not so mobile, communities.

We develop a study protocol to efficiently and accurately identify the raw material categories constituting the lithic assemblages at Umhlatuzana rockshelter, South Africa. We combine visual and analytical methods to establish a raw material database and to provide a more accurate insight into raw material selection during the Pleistocene Middle and Later Stone Age occupational sequence of Umhlatuzana. The protocol combines petrological properties (as studied on micromorphological samples), elemental composition of the specimens (as measured with p-XRF) and visual characterization by lithic analysts. We tested the protocol by applying it to a sample of piece-plotted lithics from four spits across the stratigraphic sequence. We document the intensive use of sandstone accounting for 25% of the tested sample. We also report a larger importance of hornfels and lower proportion of quartz than was reported in previous analyses (Kaplan 1990). The combination of micromorphological and p-XRF analysis of the Umhlatuzana assemblages demonstrates that with only visual inspection, the variability of raw materials used may be misinterpreted. With accurate raw material datasets, we are better equipped to answer techno-economic questions of the southern African Stone Age.

We studied the corrosion of Roman copper alloy coins that experienced alternations or progressive changes in their burial environment. We used coins that were still embedded in soil or in a concretion selected from three professional excataved sites - Berlicum and Krommenie in the Netherlands and Kempraten in Switserland. mCT scanning and neutron scanning were used to record the 3-D properties of these coins prior to (destructive) analyses. It proved possible to tentatively identify the coins. Microscope observations and SEM-EDX analyses revealed complex corrosion processes, related to changing burial environments. In soil horizon with fluctuating groundwater levels in a region with upwelling reducing, iron-rich groundwater, the copper in a gunmetal coin is essentially replaced by iron oxides while tin remains and forms tin-oxide bands. Fluctuating redox conditions in marine-influenced environments was shown to transform a copper-alloy coin into strongly laminated copper sulphides with embedded gypsum crystals, with an outer surface of copper and copper-iron sulphides. Burial of bronze in a charcoal rich layer probably caused temporary highly alkaline soil conditions. This caused most of the copper to leach from this coin, leaving behind a laminated tin-dominated mass, with only a limited amount of (malachite) corrosion products remaining in the surrounding groundmass. In all three cases, corrosion processes tend to be anisotropic, probably because of cold-hammering of the coins during their manufacture. Such corrosion processes on massive copper alloy coins may produce features that may lead to their incorrect classification as subferrati, i.e. copper alloy coins with an iron core. Our results may help in future to distinguish strongly corroded massive coins from subferrati.

Coastal areas can contain a highly valuable archaeological record because of post-glacial drowning of previously inhabited land surfaces. Such records are increasingly under threat because of a range of economic activities. Archaeological Heritage Management (AHM) is hampered by a lack of detailed data on the buried landscapes. This makes it difficult to fully assess and deflect threats to this record. Here, we present a novel way of using under water magnetometer surveys to map and characterize buried Mesolithic/Neolithic landforms in high detail. Magnetometer maps from the IJsselmeer area (Netherlands) show patterns of paired linear anomalies that resemble banks or levees that straddle channel-like features. Sub-bottom profile transects and sediment core analyses confirm that the observed linear features are Mesolithic and Neolithic submerged buried channel and bank/levee systems that connect to known onshore buried channel systems from that age. Although the origin of the magnetic signal is still subject of study, the observed patterns clearly indicate areas or geomorphological phenomena of high archaeological potential, and make it possible to take measures for protection and research.

A Bronze Age palstave found at Emmen. In 2019, a Bronze Age palstave was found in a field west of Emmen by a father-and-son team of metal detectorists. In agreement with the landowner, the find was reported to PAN. During the process of conservation, the opportunity presented itself to study the alloy using pXRF analysis. This suggested that the copper ores used in the bronze alloy ultimately derived from Swiss or Slovakian mines, but that the metal was cast locally into a form well-known in the sandy regions of the Low Countries. A review of the find in its topographical and cultural context indicated that it – like various other items in the Bronze Age – had been deposited in (the margin of) wetland parts of the landscape, not far from a contemporaneous settlement.

Highlights• Analysis of new corpus (n=376) of Dutch Bronze Age and Iron Age alloy compositions• Over 250 new p-XRF measurements of museum collection artefacts• Alloy groups based on concentrations of Sb, As, Ag, Ni and Pb used• Diachronic patterns in alloy types and ore types recognizable• Fingerprinting of alloy types for specific periods proved possible• Fingerprinting of alloy types for functional object types proved possibleAbstractUsing a corpus of over 370 compositional analyses of Dutch Bronze Age and Iron Age ( c. 2000 BCE AD 0) copper alloy artefacts, long-term patterns in the types of alloys used for specific bronze objects are identified. As the Low Countries are devoid of copper ores and alloying elements, a combination of typo(chrono)logical and compositional analysis is used to identify through which European contact networks (such as Atlantic, Central European or Nordic exchange networks) these alloys were obtained. We employ a methodology that (following Bray et al. 2015) defines alloy groups by presence of As, Sb, Ag and Ni over 0.1 %wt, but expanded this to include Pb and to track high-impurity (> 1% wt) alloys. Due to interfering soil derived iron hydroxides, and preferent dissolution of copper from the objects’ surface, the determination of tin is in most cases overestimated when using p-xrf, so Sn was not systematically reviewed. Objects were assigned a calendar data in BCE to facilitate chronological sorting. Using this classification, we could show how different alloys (using different base ores) were used in different periods, and in different combinations. Moreover, particular alloys were used for different groups of functional types of objects. Also, we show diachronic differences in the influx of new (or less frequently mixed) alloys and chronological trends in the substitution of As by Sn as main alloying element in the Early Bronze Age as well as the rise of leaded alloys at the close of the Bronze Age. Combining information on the composition of the objects with their typological traits, allowed to reconstruct the scale and geographic scopes of the European contact networks for the Bronze Age in the Netherlands.

Copper, lead and tin – an extraordinary Late Bronze Age string of beads from Borger. Around 2017, an amateur metal detectorist searching at Borger in the immediate vicinity of the base of a Middle Bronze Age barrow, which had been excavated in 1987, came across 245 metal beads: four large beads and 241 small ones. One of the four large beads is made of lead, two are of a lead/tin alloy and one is of copper; the 241 biconical and cylindrical small beads are all made of copper. XRF analysis showed that the copper is of a type known as Fahlerz or Fahlore (which includes Singen and Ösenring types of copper). Fahlerz was used mostly in the Early Bronze Age, but also into the Late Bronze Age. The known intensification in the use of lead in Western Europe between 1000 and 500 BC makes it likely that the string of beads was buried – possibly as an isolated deposit – in the Late Bronze Age, no later than the 8th century BC. Further research is planned in the near future, viz. lead-isotope analysis and a small-scale field investigation.

Using a corpus of over 370 compositional analyses of Dutch Bronze Age and Iron Age (c. 2000 BCE AD 0) copper alloy artefacts, long-term patterns in the types of alloys used for specific bronze objects are identified. As the Low Countries are devoid of copper ores and alloying elements, a combination of typo(chrono)logical and compositional analysis is used to identify through which European contact networks (such as Atlantic, Central European or Nordic exchange networks) these alloys were obtained. We employ a methodology that (following Bray et al., 2015) defines alloy groups by presence of As, Sb, Ag and Ni over 0.1 %wt, but expanded this classification to include Pb and to track high-impurity (>1%wt) alloys. Due to interfering soil-derived iron hydroxides, and preferent dissolution of copper from the objects' surface, the determination of tin is in most cases overestimated when using p-XRF, so Sn was not systematically reviewed. Objects were assigned a calendar age in years BCE to facilitate chronological sorting. Using this classification, we could show how different alloys (using different base ores) were used in different periods, and in different combinations. Moreover, particular alloys were used for different groups of functional types of objects. Also, we show diachronic differences in the influx of new (or less frequently mixed) alloys and chronological trends in the substitution of As by Sn as main alloying element in the Early Bronze Age as well as the rise of leaded alloys at the close of the Bronze Age. Combining information on the composition of the objects with their typological traits, allowed us to reconstruct the scales and geographic scopes of the European contact networks in which the copper alloys used throughout later prehistory were obtained.

Poster presentado en: 9th Developing International Geoarchaeology Conference, 17-19 de mayo 2021, Faro, Portugal

Report on the discovery of a Treboul spearhead (of NW French origin) from the vicinity of Goor. Its composition was determined witn pXRF (Cu 89%, Sn 9,7%, As 0,8%, minor contributions of Sb, Pb and Ni) and consistent with assemblages in NW France. Wood from the socket was extracted and identified as Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and 14C dated to 1609-1456 BCE, which fits the typological attribuition to the MBA-A.

Umhlatuzana rockshelter is an archaeological site with an occupational record covering the Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age, and Iron Age. The presence of both Middle and Later Stone Age assemblages makes Umhlatuzana the ideal location for the study of the MSA–LSA transition (20–40 ka) in southern Africa. This transitional period is characterized by important modifications in stone tool technology, from prepared core technology to a toolkit based on microlith production. These changes are argued to have occurred in response to changes in climate and environment leading up to the Last Glacial Maximum. The deposits bearing the transitional assemblages at Umhlatuzana rockshelter appear homogeneous with no visible stratigraphic boundaries. This study integrates geoarchaeological techniques in order to explore fine-resolution geochemical differentiations of the sediments that are macroscopically invisible, and that will provide insight into (post-)depositional processes over time. Samples were systematically retrieved from the western profile of the site following a grid-based sampling strategy and analyzed for pH, elemental composition (XRF), and Magnetic Susceptibility. Additionally, the results were integrated with preliminary micromorphological observations. Our study reveals a steady, gradual change in the geochemistry of the deposits throughout the Pleistocene, related to a combination of environmental change and occupation intensity. We suggest that the part of the sequence reported to bear Middle to Later Stone Age transitional industries is characterized by wetter environmental conditions compared to the underlying deposits. Additionally, we support results from previous studies that excluded large scale post-depositional movement of the sedimentary sequence. Our study offers a successful multi-proxy approach to systematically sample and study archaeological deposits at the macro and micro scale, integrating a variety of geoarchaeological techniques. The approach provides insight into the depositional and post-depositional history of the site, and allows for questions of stratigraphic integrity, anthropogenic input, preservation, and environmental change to be addressed.

Mosaic glass tesserae were imported to Dutch sites during the Early Medieval period, probably to address the demand for coloured glass needed in ornamental bead manufacture. Although challenging, because of the uncertainty of the material’s context, the Wierum Early Medieval collection represents an extraordinary opportunity, being the most significant find of glass tesserae in the Netherlands to date. The combined use of electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) and hand-held X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (HH XRF) allowed us to examine glass tesserae and other vitreous samples from the site. Low levels for magnesium and potassium oxides (<1.5 wt%) and the chemical components linked with the silica source, fluxes, opacifiers and chromophores are compatible with an older Roman soda-lime-silica glass production. Alumina and calcium oxide contents together with the adoption of antimony-based opacifiers are compatible with mosaic tesserae of a first to third century AD Roman tradition. We assume that these tesserae were collected during the spoliation of a lavish building and reused for glass objects produced locally. The hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the presence in the collection of tesserae still embedded in mortar, stone tesserae fragments and a rounded fragment of Egyptian blue.

In the Netherlands, several proxies of climate change during the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition (LGIT) (c. 14,700 to 11,700 b2k) have been investigated in detail over the last few decades. The present paper presents two tree-ring chronologies LETR-A (n = 16, timespan 106 rings) and LETR-B (n = 24, timespan 201 rings) from in situ subfossil pine remains (Pinus sylvestris) discovered at Leusden-Den Treek in the Netherlands that date from the Bolling-Allerod interstadial (GI-1). Using a multiproxy approach (both abiotic and biotic), it was possible to study local woodland development in detail as part of long-term environmental change. Moreover, the trees opened up possibilities for dendrochronological and dendroclimatological research. The tree-ring series show the occurrence of two successive phases of pine woodland development, which were C-14 dated with high precision and calibrated using the recent IntCal20 C-14 calibration curve: 13,450-13,396 to 13,370-13,316 calBP (series LETR-A) and 12,952-12,937 to 12,754 +/- 12,739 calBP (series LETR-B). At the north-western boundary of its ecotone, Pinus was highly sensitive to climate change during the latter part of GI-1 and the transition to GS-1. The inability to set fruit and the disappearance of the pine woodland within decades before and after c. 12,745 calBP is interpreted as the vegetational response to abrupt climate deterioration at the start of the Younger Dryas (12,807 +/- 12 cal BP). (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.