DOI chapter:
Grenzgänger, traders and the last hunter-gatherers of the North European Plain
DOI chapter:Mahlstedt, Svea; Karle, Martina; Kegler, Jan F.: Foraging in a changing landscape – the Late Mesolithic in the coastal area of Lower Saxony
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66745#0187
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Foraging in a changing landscape - the late Mesolithic in the coastal area of Lower Saxony
there seems to be a more direct connection to early
farmers in the south (Raemaekers 1999).
This paper focusses on the area between Lake
Diimmer and the North Sea coast, especially the East
Frisian peninsula. Preservation and visibility of sites in
this area are highly influenced by Holocene landscape
development driven by the postglacial sea level rise, re-
sulting in sediment accumulation and peat formation.
In coastal areas human occupation is closely
tied to changes in regional water levels, the loca-
tions of waterways resulting from this, and the active
coastal zone. Therefore, landscape evolution and hu-
man occupation of coastal zones are closely related,
and evidence of the latter may provide information
on regional coastline displacement. The tidal range
and the extent of tidal inundation as well as the shap-
ing force of storm events are the most relevant factors
in coastal landscape transformation, the preservation
of past cultural traces and landscape archaeology.
Thus we will give an introduction to landscape
development first before an overview on the cur-
rent state of research on the Mesolithic in the area
is presented. Finally, some recent projects and new
data are introduced and discussed.
The coastal area - landscape develop-
ment during Mesolithic times
The coastal plain of Lower Saxony is part of the low-
lands bordering the coast of the southern North Sea.
The low-lying area (below +3 m a.s.l. [NHN in Ger-
man]) is bordered to the south by shallow uplands of
Pleistocene deposits. During and after the last glacial
maximum, when the sea level was up to 130 m lower
than today, large tracts of presently submerged areas
in the North Sea basin were dry land and used by hu-
mans. The pre-Holocene land surface along the east
Frisian peninsula was shaped by drainage patterns of
numerous natural watercourses. These palaeovalleys
were incised up to 20 m deep into the glacial deposits
by surface discharge during times of low sea level. They
created a landscape relief that was much more lively
during the early Holocene than today. The melting of
the continental ice sheets since the end of the last gla-
ciation caused a global sea level rise and consequently
a continuous coastline displacement within the North
Sea basin (Streif 1990; 2004; Behre 2007), covering
former terrestrial areas with marine deposits. These
Holocene deposits covering the Pleistocene basement
are up to 20 m thick and are evidence of a complex en-
vironmental history during the last 7,000 years. The Ho-
locene sediments are composed of siliciclastic intertidal
and saltmarsh deposits as well as freshwater peat, the
latter’s growth being induced by a rising groundwater
level due to sea level rise. This so-called basal peat was
radiocarbon dated to max. 6,000 calBC, giving evidence
for the position of the former coastline close to that of
the present-day barrier islands during that time.
Fen peat and raised bog peat locally occur at the
base of the clastic sediments as well as intercalated
within or on top of them indicating the formation of
fenland in the coastal flats and therefore a repeated
lateral shift of the coastline. On the landward part of
the Holocene deposits the individual layers of basal,
intercalated and overlying peat merge into thicker units
or into a continuous peat sequence close to the Pleisto-
cene hinterland. On this adjacent moraine area raised
bog peat started growing due to a more humid climate
in the first half of the Holocene (Petzelberger et al.
1999). Tree stubs on the bottom of the peat bogs as well
as the basal peat show that this development led to a
massive deforestation through time, which must have
influenced the life of the late hunter-gatherers in the
area. From an archaeological perspective the peat cover
has sealed large areas of the former surface, burying all
remains of human activity beneath.
Marine sedimentation around 5,000 calBC is limit-
ed to the channel structures of the palaeovalleys (Fig. 1).
Thus, former river-dominated valleys were transformed
into estuaries and narrow tidal basins (Karle / Gold-
hammer 2017). Until approx. 4,000 calBC channel infill
took place with local peat erosion on channel flanks.
With an ongoing rise in sea level, sheltered tidal flats
developed in the coastal plain above -9 m below sea
level (bsl). Lateral erosion of tidal channels with an
erosion depth of only a few decimetres in the landward
part, but up to several metres close to the tidal inlets
between the barrier islands resulted in erosional loss of
former mainland areas. Therefore, artefacts may have
been eroded and relocated within the tidal system, so
that find sites often do not relate to the original find
context, depending on transport distance and energy.
Current state of research
The coastal marshes and adjacent areas have under-
gone massive changes since Mesolithic times due to
the accumulation of marine deposits and peat for-
mation as well as natural erosional processes, both
induced by Holocene coastline displacement. In ad-
dition, there is a massive human impact on landscape
development in later times due to land reclamation
and peat extraction on the moraine area during the
last 800 years. Therefore, Mesolithic sites were cover-
Foraging in a changing landscape - the late Mesolithic in the coastal area of Lower Saxony
there seems to be a more direct connection to early
farmers in the south (Raemaekers 1999).
This paper focusses on the area between Lake
Diimmer and the North Sea coast, especially the East
Frisian peninsula. Preservation and visibility of sites in
this area are highly influenced by Holocene landscape
development driven by the postglacial sea level rise, re-
sulting in sediment accumulation and peat formation.
In coastal areas human occupation is closely
tied to changes in regional water levels, the loca-
tions of waterways resulting from this, and the active
coastal zone. Therefore, landscape evolution and hu-
man occupation of coastal zones are closely related,
and evidence of the latter may provide information
on regional coastline displacement. The tidal range
and the extent of tidal inundation as well as the shap-
ing force of storm events are the most relevant factors
in coastal landscape transformation, the preservation
of past cultural traces and landscape archaeology.
Thus we will give an introduction to landscape
development first before an overview on the cur-
rent state of research on the Mesolithic in the area
is presented. Finally, some recent projects and new
data are introduced and discussed.
The coastal area - landscape develop-
ment during Mesolithic times
The coastal plain of Lower Saxony is part of the low-
lands bordering the coast of the southern North Sea.
The low-lying area (below +3 m a.s.l. [NHN in Ger-
man]) is bordered to the south by shallow uplands of
Pleistocene deposits. During and after the last glacial
maximum, when the sea level was up to 130 m lower
than today, large tracts of presently submerged areas
in the North Sea basin were dry land and used by hu-
mans. The pre-Holocene land surface along the east
Frisian peninsula was shaped by drainage patterns of
numerous natural watercourses. These palaeovalleys
were incised up to 20 m deep into the glacial deposits
by surface discharge during times of low sea level. They
created a landscape relief that was much more lively
during the early Holocene than today. The melting of
the continental ice sheets since the end of the last gla-
ciation caused a global sea level rise and consequently
a continuous coastline displacement within the North
Sea basin (Streif 1990; 2004; Behre 2007), covering
former terrestrial areas with marine deposits. These
Holocene deposits covering the Pleistocene basement
are up to 20 m thick and are evidence of a complex en-
vironmental history during the last 7,000 years. The Ho-
locene sediments are composed of siliciclastic intertidal
and saltmarsh deposits as well as freshwater peat, the
latter’s growth being induced by a rising groundwater
level due to sea level rise. This so-called basal peat was
radiocarbon dated to max. 6,000 calBC, giving evidence
for the position of the former coastline close to that of
the present-day barrier islands during that time.
Fen peat and raised bog peat locally occur at the
base of the clastic sediments as well as intercalated
within or on top of them indicating the formation of
fenland in the coastal flats and therefore a repeated
lateral shift of the coastline. On the landward part of
the Holocene deposits the individual layers of basal,
intercalated and overlying peat merge into thicker units
or into a continuous peat sequence close to the Pleisto-
cene hinterland. On this adjacent moraine area raised
bog peat started growing due to a more humid climate
in the first half of the Holocene (Petzelberger et al.
1999). Tree stubs on the bottom of the peat bogs as well
as the basal peat show that this development led to a
massive deforestation through time, which must have
influenced the life of the late hunter-gatherers in the
area. From an archaeological perspective the peat cover
has sealed large areas of the former surface, burying all
remains of human activity beneath.
Marine sedimentation around 5,000 calBC is limit-
ed to the channel structures of the palaeovalleys (Fig. 1).
Thus, former river-dominated valleys were transformed
into estuaries and narrow tidal basins (Karle / Gold-
hammer 2017). Until approx. 4,000 calBC channel infill
took place with local peat erosion on channel flanks.
With an ongoing rise in sea level, sheltered tidal flats
developed in the coastal plain above -9 m below sea
level (bsl). Lateral erosion of tidal channels with an
erosion depth of only a few decimetres in the landward
part, but up to several metres close to the tidal inlets
between the barrier islands resulted in erosional loss of
former mainland areas. Therefore, artefacts may have
been eroded and relocated within the tidal system, so
that find sites often do not relate to the original find
context, depending on transport distance and energy.
Current state of research
The coastal marshes and adjacent areas have under-
gone massive changes since Mesolithic times due to
the accumulation of marine deposits and peat for-
mation as well as natural erosional processes, both
induced by Holocene coastline displacement. In ad-
dition, there is a massive human impact on landscape
development in later times due to land reclamation
and peat extraction on the moraine area during the
last 800 years. Therefore, Mesolithic sites were cover-