Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Granai, Salomé
• Laurelut, Christophe
• Gonnet, Adrien
• Fichet, Valentine

Titel

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of poorly stratified sitesusing malacological assemblages of archaeological features: A case study in Reims (NE France)

Ist Teil von

• Journal of archaeological science, reports, 2024-06, Vol.56, Article 104576

Ort / Verlag

Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •A case study in Reims covering from the Mesolithic to the Early Middle Ages.•Mollusc analysis in archaeological features due to a poor natural stratification.•Valuable palaeoenvironmental data derived from molluscs.•Valuable chronology assessment derived from molluscs. At the 53 ter rue de Louvois, in Reims, a number of human settlements dating from the Mesolithic period to the Early Middle Ages have been uncovered. Located on a footslope, these successive settlements are evidenced by archaeological features such as pits and ditches, which broadly appear at the same stratigraphic level. These features of different ages therefore provide valuable opportunities for sedimentary records in a context where natural stratification is poor. The examination of sedimentary archives sourced from archaeological features reveals distinct environmental phases interspersed with hiatuses stemming from the intermittent human habitation of the site. The initial phase provides insights into the early Holocene period, particularly during the First Mesolithic, illustrating the emergence of a pioneering semi-forest environment between around 9200 and 8200 cal. BC. Subsequently, Phase 2a, dated between 7050 and 6250 cal. BC, witnesses the expansion of deciduous forests during the Second Mesolithic. This expansion peaks during the Middle Neolithic (4300–3500 cal. BC), despite the construction of an enclosure in Phase 2b. The site is later cleared, at an unknown date between the end of the Middle Neolithic and the beginning of the Iron Age, probably during the late Bronze Age, between 1300 and 800 cal. BC. Phase 3 is thus characterised by the dominance of a dry grassland environment from the Hallstatt period through the early Middle Ages. This regional example illustrates the remarkable potential of malacological remains for reconstructing palaeoenvironments in poorly stratified contexts, as close as possible to human settlements and outside wetlands, the main sites for palynological investigations.