<i><scp>F</scp>ossa <scp>C</scp>arolina</i>: The First Attempt to Bridge the <scp>C</scp>entral <scp>E</scp>uropean Watershed—A Review, New Findings, and Geoarchaeological Challenges

Leitholdt, Eva; Zielhofer, Christoph; Berg-Hobohm, Stefanie; Schnabl, Katharina; Kopecky-Hermanns, Britta; Bussmann, Jens; Härtling, Joachim W.; Reicherter, Klaus; Unger, Katrin

doi:10.1002/gea.21386

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(3 reference statements)

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“… Raw data from the cores A and B are published in Leitholdt et al [17] , those from the cores E, F, G, H and I are published in Leitholdt et al [36] . The figure is not similar to formerly published figures.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In former times archaeological and historical research about the Fossa Carolina was only focused on a potential Carolingian use of the construction [15] . First 14 C data from the canal fills [17] , [36] but also from the potential dam of the reservoir [35] do not support this concept. Hence, we have to start thinking about an alternative water engineering concept.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Charlemagne's Summit Canal: An Early Medieval Hydro-Engineering Project for Passing the Central European Watershed

et al. 2014

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The Central European Watershed divides the Rhine-Main catchment and the Danube catchment. In the Early Medieval period, when ships were important means of transportation, Charlemagne decided to link both catchments by the construction of a canal connecting the Schwabian Rezat and the Altmühl rivers. The artificial waterway would provide a continuous inland navigation route from the North Sea to the Black Sea. The shortcut is known as Fossa Carolina and represents one of the most important Early Medieval engineering achievements in Europe. Despite the important geostrategic relevance of the construction it is not clarified whether the canal was actually used as a navigation waterway. We present new geophysical data and in situ findings from the trench fills that prove for the first time a total length of the constructed Carolingian canal of at least 2300 metres. We have evidence for a conceptual width of the artificial water course between 5 and 6 metres and a water depth of at least 60 to 80 cm. This allows a crossing way passage of Carolingian cargo scows with a payload of several tons. There is strong evidence for clayey to silty layers in the trench fills which reveal suspension load limited stillwater deposition and, therefore, the evidence of former Carolingian and post-Carolingian ponds. These findings are strongly supported by numerous sapropel layers within the trench fills. Our results presented in this study indicate an extraordinarily advanced construction level of the known course of the canal. Here, the excavated levels of Carolingian trench bottoms were generally sufficient for the efficient construction of stepped ponds and prove a final concept for a summit canal. We have evidence for the artificial Carolingian dislocation of the watershed and assume a sophisticated Early Medieval hydrological engineering concept for supplying the summit of the canal with adequate water.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Charlemagne's Summit Canal: An Early Medieval Hydro-Engineering Project for Passing the Central European Watershed

et al. 2014

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“…The Fossa Carolina has a length of approx. 2.9 km [32] and proof of the Early Medieval summit canal was found by vibra-coring [3,32,39,40], direct push sensing [27,38] and archaeological excavations [33,36]. The canal course starts on the southern slope of the valley watershed and runs with a noticeable s-shape in the northern direction ( Figure 2).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 95%

“…(b) The area of the watershed (Central Section) is sedimentary characterised by Pleistocene valley fills of sandy grain sizes [3]. The sediments are of reddish to greyish colours, due to different redox conditions [27,32,38].…”

Section: Resolution Of Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

3D-Modelling of Charlemagne’s Summit Canal (Southern Germany)—Merging Remote Sensing and Geoarchaeological Subsurface Data

et al. 2019

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The Early Medieval Fossa Carolina is the first hydro-engineering construction that bridges the Central European Watershed. The canal was built in 792/793 AD on order of Charlemagne and should connect the drainage systems of the Rhine-Main catchment and the Danube catchment. In this study, we show for the first time, the integration of Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and geoarchaeological subsurface datasets with the aim to create a 3D-model of Charlemagne’s summit canal. We used a purged Digital Terrain Model that reflects the pre-modern topography. The geometries of buried canal cross-sections are derived from three archaeological excavations and four high-resolution direct push sensing transects. By means of extensive core data, we interpolate the trench bottom and adjacent edges along the entire canal course. As a result, we are able to create a 3D-model that reflects the maximum construction depth of the Carolingian canal and calculate an excavation volume of approx. 297,000 m3. Additionally, we compute the volume of the present dam remnants by Airborne LiDAR data. Surprisingly, the volume of the dam remnants reveals only 120,000 m3 and is much smaller than the computed Carolingian excavation volume. The difference reflects the erosion and anthropogenic overprint since the 8th century AD.

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“…To complement the transport network offered by natural waterways, artificial canals were introduced. In Europe, the first attempts to construct artificial shipping canals date back to Roman Times, e.g., in the Netherlands (Corbulo, Drusus canals) and France (Vella et al 1999), or to the Early Middle Ages, when Charlemagne projected the Fossa Carolina in 793 (see, e.g., Brolsma 2011;Leitholdt et al 2012). Charlemagne's plan was far beyond the technologies available at that time, and the canal remained a 3-km-long fragment.…”

Section: River Channelization To Secure Transport and Land Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Historic Milestones of Human River Uses and Ecological Impacts

Haidvogl

2018

Riverine Ecosystem Management

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History has been acknowledged for 20 years as an important research element for river management that has been applied, for example, to define reference conditions and assess the level of degradation. The evolution of river uses and related ecological conditions, especially in recent decades, has been utilized to show the impact of humans on these ecosystems. Integrating a historical perspective into river management can, however, go beyond these targets (see, e.g., Haidvogl et al. 2014, 2015; Higgs et al. 2014). Just as present river management decisions will influence future conditions, paths trodden by users in the past have a bearing on today's ecology. Sound long-term studies of the natural and societal drivers shaping historical river changes can thus support our understanding of the present situation and identify trajectories of change. In long-term studies taking into account the dynamics of natural forces-in particular climate change and subsequent altered hydrologic and temperature conditions-as well as social dynamics (e.g., decision-making processes, main energy sources and technologies, superordinated practices and values) can reveal distinct overarching patterns of river use and management. This can contribute to developing future strategies and plans with lower ecological impacts. This chapter describes major milestones of human river uses and ecological impacts. With some brief mention of Asian river case studies, it highlights especially examples, which are representative of industrialized countries of Europe and North America. In Europe, larger environmental changes of aquatic ecosystems occurred already in ancient and medieval times. European colonists spread practices and techniques of river uses to other areas of the industrialized world after they reached

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Fossa Carolina: The First Attempt to Bridge the Central European Watershed—A Review, New Findings, and Geoarchaeological Challenges

Cited by 15 publications

References 4 publications

Charlemagne's Summit Canal: An Early Medieval Hydro-Engineering Project for Passing the Central European Watershed

Charlemagne's Summit Canal: An Early Medieval Hydro-Engineering Project for Passing the Central European Watershed

3D-Modelling of Charlemagne’s Summit Canal (Southern Germany)—Merging Remote Sensing and Geoarchaeological Subsurface Data

Historic Milestones of Human River Uses and Ecological Impacts

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