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In the apron of the active lignite opencast pit Jänschwalde (Brandenburg, Germany), three archaeological survey trenches were investigated in an area where aeolian sand deposits are widespread. The investigated sediment sequences contain evidence of aeolian morphodynamics, soil formation and agricultural land use. To study the age and the causes of sand drifting and surface stabilization, standard soil physical and chemical laboratory analyses as well as optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating (14C) were carried out. Two main sedimentological units were identified: Unit 1 consists of glacio-fluvial and Late Glacial aeolian sands representing the parent material for the native Podsol-
Braunerde, while Unit 2 represents the Late Holocene aeolian deposits. Four periods of Late Glacial and Holocene aeolian activity and three phases of geomorphological stability have been identified: (i) Aeolian sedimentation during the Late Glacial, (ii) Mesolithic reactivation of aeolian processes, (iii) soil formation until Late Roman Iron Age settlers intensified the agricultural land use, (iv) intensive drift sand formation
during the High Middle Ages due to agricultural expansion, (v) stabilization of the drift sands and weak soil formation, (vi) reactivation of aeolian processes due to the increasing wood consumption and charcoal production from the early 17th until the mid-19th century, (vii) surface stabilization and formation of Regosols since the mid-19th century due to afforestation.
Modern lignite mining in southern Brandenburg (East Germany) causes the destruction of entire landscapes. To date, research concentrated on the reclamation of areas affected by mining-related activities, but the significance of prehistoric and historic cultures on land use changes is disregarded. Recently, a joint research project was launched for interdisciplinary long-term palaeoenvironmental research and to study anthropogenic landscape change in southern Brandenburg. The project partners are geoscientists from the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus and archaeologists from the Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Museum (BLDAM), within the scope of this project pedological and geomorphological investigations are carried out to reconstruct Holocene landscape and land use change in the apron of the opencast pit Jänschwalde (Lower Lusatia), c. 100 southeast of Berlin and c. 15 km northeast of Cottbus. By law large-scale surveys and excavations have to be carried out in the forefield to document all archaeological findings. In combination with the excellent outcrop situation the archaeological investigation offers ideal conditions to study the soil geomorphology on a landscape scale.
Fieldwork includes topographical surveying by differential GPS. Soils and sediments are described along cross-sections (up to 140 m long, up to 2 m deep). Field-portable XRF analyzes (FPXRF) is used for a quick characterization of total element concentrations of the substrates. Standard analytical methods (e.g., soil texture, contents of pedogenic oxides) are carried out in the laboratory. To obtain chronological information, radiocarbon and OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) dating are applied on suitable material.
Evidence of different land use and land use change in the study area is abundant. For example, at several cross-sections agricultural soil horizons are covered with up to 150 cm thick eolian sands, proving that deforestation and agricultural use induced eolian soil erosion. In addition, remnants of charcoal piles buried under up to 150 cm thick eolian sands indicate remobilization of Quaternary sands as a consequence of clearing for charcoal production.
The ongoing investigations will concentrate on fieldwork. Preliminary results are presented.
In pre-industrial times, charcoal burning was a common source of energy across Europe. Charcoal production and its related consequences for the upland environment are well known due to historical and palaeoenvironmental research. In recent years, awareness has grown regarding the use of woods in the lowlands for charcoal production. In the last 20 years, a large charcoal-burning field in Lower Lusatia (Brandenburg, North German Lowlands) was discovered by systematic archaeological excavations of the opencast mine of Jänschwalde. However, the excavations are limited to the mine, which only covers a portion of the Jänschwalder Heide and the surrounding forests.
In this paper, we present the results of our study regarding the spatial extension and timing of charcoal production in the Jänschwalder Heide and its surrounding areas. We applied a combined approach using archaeological research results, GIS-analyses of shaded-relief maps (SRMs) and tree-ring dating of selected charcoal kiln remains. Approximately 900 excavated charcoal kiln ground plans were analysed, which provided a solid data basis for our GIS analyses. For an extensive evaluation, we enlarged our study area beyond the limits of the lignite mine. We identified and digitised the remains of the charcoal kilns by creating SRMs from digital elevation models (DEMs) that were based on high-resolution airborne laser scanning data (ALS). The data from the excavated and digitised charcoal kiln remains were analysed in terms of their sizes and spatial distributions. In addition, the dendrochronological ages of 16 selected charcoal kiln remains were determined.
This study shows that charcoal production was more extensive than initially proven by archaeological excavations. The remains of more than 5000 charcoal kilns were detected on the SRMs across an area that was twice as large as the excavated charcoal-burning field. In the Jänschwalder Heide, considerably more charcoal kiln relicts exist compared with the surrounding communal areas. Furthermore, the charcoal kiln remains in the Jänschwalder Heide have larger diameters, suggesting large-scale charcoal production for supplying energy to the nearby ironworks at Peitz. However, the charcoal production on the communal land was most likely for local crafts. The ages of the charcoal kiln remains indicated that charcoal production occurred between the 17th and 19th centuries, corresponding with the main period of charcoal burning. Overall, our study suggested that charcoal production sites are underestimated in the modern landscapes of the North German Lowlands.
In der Niederlausitz finden sich - meist unter Kiefern- und Eichenforsten versteckt - zahlreiche Relikte der historischen Landnutzung, die bisher kaum bekannt sind. Zu den auffälligsten Formen zählen Wölbäcker und Plätze ehemaliger Kohlemeiler. In einigen Regionen der Niederlausitz ist die Verbreitung der Landnutzungsrelikte so groß bzw. ihre Dichte so hoch, dass sie prägend für die Bodenlandschaft werden. Dieser Beitrag zeigt an repräsentativen Beispielen die charakteristischen Merkmale und Eigenschaften der Böden auf Wölbäckern und Relikten von Holzkohlenmeilern (HKM).
South Brandenburg is the central part of the North European Lowland (NEL) extending as a plain landscape from
the North and Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Central European Highlands and reaching from the Netherlands to Poland. Since many decades lignite opencast mines have been operating in this region which is known as the Lusatian mining district. The total land demand in Lusatia is about 852 square kilometres and mining will continue
for many more years or even decades. Large-scale outcrops resulting from these mining activities are excellent archives to study the younger Earth’s history. The scope of our research in open cast mines is to reconstruct the
Late Quaternary landscape development and to distinguishing natural from anthropogenic forcing and processes. In more detail, the aims are to identify and to quantify the impact of past land uses, i.e. changes of vegetation, landforms and soils induced by agriculture and/or forestry. Here, we are presenting latest results from our research and review important findings giving novel insights into man-induced environmental changes in Lusatia within the past thousands years and thus improving the general understanding of Late Quaternary landscape dynamics.