Geoarchaeological evidence of marshland destruction in the area of Rungholt, present-day Wadden Sea around Hallig Südfall (North Frisia, Germany), by the Grote Mandrenke in 1362 AD

Hadler, Hanna; Vött, Andreas; Newig, Jürgen; Emde, Kurt; Finkler, Claudia; Fischer, Peter; Willershäuser, Timo

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.09.013

Cited by 19 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The elemental concentration ratios were used a semi-quantitative tool to discriminate between stratigraphic sequences. Elemental concentrations were used to compute ratios between relevant elements for paleoenvironmental reconstructions such as: Ca/Fe relevant for disentangling detrital carbonates and terrestrial Fe input (Nizou et al, 2010; Peck et al, 2007); Zr/Rb indicative for depositional environment energy, hence often used as a proxy for grain size (Hadler et al, 2018), Si/S which discriminates between terrestrial input and anoxic, water-soaked environment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late-Holocene landscape evolution and human presence in the northern Danube delta (Chilia distributary lobes)

et al. 2021

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This paper documents the Late-Holocene environmental changes and human presence in the northern Danube delta using a multidisciplinary approach that combines geoscientific data with archaeological findings, historical texts, and maps. It follows the formation and progression of the Chilia distributary and the reconfiguration of socioeconomic activities. Sedimentary facies identified on five new cores by changes in texture properties, magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry, and macro- and microfauna composition together with the newly obtained chronology constrain the complex evolution of the Chilia branch as filling in a long-lasting bay and then of a giant lagoon (Thiagola) which covered most of the northern delta since the Old Danube lobe inception (ca. 7500 yrs BP) till modern Chilia development. It initiated during the Greek Antiquity (ca. 2500 yrs ar BP) at the delta apex, while in Roman times (ca. 1800 yrs BP) it pursued its slow flowing into the vast Thiagola Lagoon. The most dramatic transformations occurred in the last 800 years when the river passed east of the Chilia promontory, rapidly went through the present-day Matița-Merhei basin (several decades), and created its first open-sea outlet. Solid discharge increased in two distinct periods, once in the Middle Ages (ca. 750 yrs BP) and then in the Modern Period (ca. 150 yrs BP) due to human-induced land-use changes in the Danube watershed. The chronology of the cultural remains on the pre-deltaic Chilia promontory and the multiproxy analysis of a sediment core retrieved nearby downstream suggest the terrestrial connection of the island with the mainland in ancient times. The hitherto contended issue of the old Thiagola Lagoon and its location are redefined here, as are the original identifications of ancient and medieval toponyms and hydronyms, especially for Chilia-Licostomo, Byzantine, Genoese, Moldavian, Ottoman, and Russian trading point of great importance in the political and economic history of the Black Sea and neighboring regions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late-Holocene landscape evolution and human presence in the northern Danube delta (Chilia distributary lobes)

et al. 2021

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“…Geoarchaeological investigations of peatland stratigraphy require integrated multidisciplinary approaches on varying scales, including surveys and geophysical prospecting, as well as medium-, small-and micro-scale drilling campaigns and excavations, to ground truth the results [20][21][22]. Drilling provides detailed information about the vertical stratigraphy, but usually with a low spatial resolution due to the time-consuming character of this method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Wetlands Stratigraphy: Geophysics and Soil Parameters for Investigating Ancient Basin Development at Lake Duvensee

et al. 2020

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We present a case study of a bog showing how an integrated approach of multi-method geophysical sounding and local soil sampling can be used to identify, differentiate, and map organic sediments. Our study is based on ground-penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and shear-wave seismic (SH seismic) profiling applied to sediments of the former Lake Duvensee (northern Germany), nowadays a bog. This is a well-known locality for remains from the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers’ occupation that has been attracting archaeological and geoarchaeological research for100 years. The bog is embedded in low conductive glacial sand and is characterized by layers of different gyttja sediments (detritus and calcareous). The present study was conducted in order to identify the bog morphology and the thickness of the peat body and lake sediments, in order to understand the basin evolution. To validate the geophysical results, derived from surface measurements, drilling, soil analyses as well as borehole guided wave analysis of electromagnetic waves and Direct-Push (DP-EC) have been carried out and used for comparison. It turned out that each method can distinguish between sediments that differ in grain size, particularly between peat, lake sediments (gyttjas and mud) and basal glacial sand deposits. GPR is even able to separate between strongly and weakly decomposed peat layers, which is also clear considering resistivity variations in the ERT computation. From the association between geophysical properties and sediment analysis (e.g., water content and organic matter) different gyttjas were distinguished (coarse and fine) and seismic velocity was correlated to bulk density. Moreover, GPR and SH-wave seismics present different resolutions, confirming that the latter allows measurements, which are more focused on determining the extension of basal sand deposits, the depth of which is difficult to reach with GPR. Representative values of electrical resistivity, dielectric permittivity, and shear wave velocity have been determined for each sediment type and are therefore available to complete the investigation of wetland environments. Fine grained lake sediments were difficult to differentiate by the applied methods. This could be a result of high ionic concentration within the permanent groundwater body, partly masking the sediment properties.

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“…Furthermore, storm surges have caused severe changes in the coast's morphology and thereby significantly contributed to its recent shape. This is particularly obvious for the North Frisian islands and the large inlets and estuaries of West and East Frisia (Zausig, 1939;Kelletat, 1992;Ahrendt & Thiede, 2002;Streif, 2004;Behre, 2008;Homeier et al, 2010;Hadler et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dyke failures in the Province of Groningen (Netherlands) associated with the 1717 Christmas flood: a reconstruction based on geoscientific field data and numerical simulations

Röbke

Oost

Bungenstock

et al. 2020

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences

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The 1717 Christmas flood is one of the most catastrophic storm surges the Frisian coast (Netherlands and Germany) has ever experienced. With more than 13,700 casualties it is the last severe storm surge with a death toll of this order. At the same time, little is known about the hydrodynamic conditions and the morphological effects associated with this storm surge. In this study, 41 potential dyke failures in the Province of Groningen (Netherlands) associated with the 1717 Christmas flood were systematically reconstructed and mapped by using historical maps and literature and by analysing the recent topography in search of typical pothole structures and sediment fans. The dimensions of the sediment fans as derived from the topography show a good accordance with the dimensions documented by vibracore profiles, direct push tests and electrical resistivity tomography data taken at three fieldwork sites. Moreover, the fan dimensions closely agree with the dimensions as simulated using a process-based morphodynamic numerical model for one of the three sites, the village of Wierhuizen. Consequently, the recent topography is still indicative for the locations and dimensions of dyke failures and sediment fans associated with the 1717 Christmas flood. Considering the large number of detected dyke failures (41) and the large dimensions of the potholes and particularly of the sediment fans up to a few hundred metres wide and up to 0.7 m thick, this study proves significant morphological effects of the 1717 Christmas flood on the mainland of the Province of Groningen. Based on the numerical simulation approach and the comparison with field data and field observations, a maximum seaward water level of 5 m NAP for the dyke failure at Wierhuizen during the Christmas flood can be derived. A similar maximum water level is indicated for the two other fieldwork sites Vierhuizen and Kohol, which is in good agreement with the maximum storm surge level of 4.62 m NAP historically documented for the city of Emden located almost 50 km to the east of Wierhuizen. The results of the current study demonstrate that the reconstruction of historical dyke failures based on (i) historical sources, (ii) recent lidar/high-resolution topographical data, (iii) multi-proxy sedimentary field data and (iv) hydro- and morphodynamic numerical simulations is a highly promising approach to derive hydrodynamic conditions and the morphological onshore response of the 1717 Christmas flood in the Province of Groningen. This knowledge is essential to improve our understanding of extreme storm surge dynamics, their influence on the coastal landscape and the associated hazards for the coastal population.

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Geoarchaeological evidence of marshland destruction in the area of Rungholt, present-day Wadden Sea around Hallig Südfall (North Frisia, Germany), by the Grote Mandrenke in 1362 AD

Cited by 19 publications

References 33 publications

Late-Holocene landscape evolution and human presence in the northern Danube delta (Chilia distributary lobes)

Late-Holocene landscape evolution and human presence in the northern Danube delta (Chilia distributary lobes)

Understanding Wetlands Stratigraphy: Geophysics and Soil Parameters for Investigating Ancient Basin Development at Lake Duvensee

Dyke failures in the Province of Groningen (Netherlands) associated with the 1717 Christmas flood: a reconstruction based on geoscientific field data and numerical simulations

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