Rhine flood deposits recorded in the Gallo-Roman site of Oedenburg (Haut-Rhin, France)

Abstract

From the first to the fourth century AD, the Gallo-Roman town of Oedenburg developed in the alluvial landscape of the southern Upper Rhine Graben. Throughout this period, the landscape mosaic, composed of palaeochannels, stable palaeoislands and river terraces, continued to evolve. A district of this town, situated on a lateral Rhine channel system, was archaeologically excavated. Largescale excavation and cross-section analysis provide evidence of changing fluvial conditions during the period under study. At about AD 20 or earlier, this lateral part of the floodplain, affected by very fine sedimentation, was occupied by moribund marshy palaeochannels. When the first Gallo-Roman settlers occupied the site, they filled parts of the channels with woven brushwood in order to create an efficient circulation surface. The sedimentary infill of this palaeochannel records four different flood deposits interlayered with dated anthropogenic units (pavements, road embankments, and other structures). Archaeological analysis and dendrochronological dating indicate that these four flooding events occurred during a short time period between AD 20 and AD 145/146. These geoarchaeological observations focus on floods that do not seem to have significantly affected human occupation in this part of the Rhine floodplain. These results are set in the broader context of the Rhine catchment and the Alps.

Roman Rhine settlement dynamics evidenced by coin distribution in a fluvial environment (Oedenburg, Upper Rhine, France)

“…Environmental evolution may have reduced the attractiveness of that palaeo-island. This hypothesis seems to be difficult to argue because of two points raised in previous work: (1) during the period of occupation of the camp, floods affected the zone but no effects on settlement were evidenced (Ollive et al, 2006); (2) the topography of this zone is only as sensitive and vulnerable to fluvial impact as other parts of the Roman settlement that are still occupied up to phase III. For this reason, we reject this hypothesis: the non-resettlement of PZA cannot be influenced by hydrological constraints.…”

“…As excavations have already established, the Oedenburg site was affected by four floods between AD 20 and AD 145/146, which were recorded on the eastern part of PZB in the immediate neighbourhood of the military camp in PZA (Ollive et al, 2006). However, field study does not yet indicate that such events affected the internal structure of the military settlement and forced its desertion.…”

Exploratory palynological studies at the Tell el-Daba'a-Avaris archaeological site

“…This sequence is also observed in boreholes AV-03, 02, 04, and 62 and does not appear anywhere else at the Avaris site, especially considering its thickness (up to 4 m). It presents a grain-size distribution and an organic component [ 17 ]. This kind of deposit is also typical of well-protected environments, and is often found in harbor sediments [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Enregistrement sédimentaire et environnement Holocène de la plaine alluviale du Giessen (Scherwiller, Bas‑Rhin, Alsace)

“…Les contextes fluviatiles et les zones humides dans la Plaine d'Alsace ont déjà fait l'objet de plusieurs travaux (Maire, 1967 ;Carbiener, 1969Carbiener, , 1983Hirth, 1971 ;Vogt, 1978 ;Vogt, 1984Vogt, , 1992Schmitt, 2001 ;Boës, 2005 ;Ollive et al, 2006Ollive et al, , 2008Ollive et al, , 2009Boës et al, 2007). Les données que nous publions dans cet article s'inscrivent dans cette démarche.…”