New information on the Havelte Group site Ahrenshöft LA 58 D (Nordfriesland, Germany) - Preliminary results of the 2008 fieldwork

Abstract

Late Glacial processes of human colonisation, adaptation and development represent a large field of study with a wide range of approaches. With respect to the archaeological succession from the classic Hamburgian to the Havelte Group, studies on the latter are still rare in Northern Germany. This paper aims to contribute to the chronological and archaeological characterization of the Havelte Group by presenting some new results from the Ahrenshöft LA 58 D site. Located in a micro-region rich in Late Glacial occupations, especially of the Hamburgian, the site was the subject of excavation in 1995. Questions regarding the homogeneity and chronological attribution of the site had been raised, leading to further fieldwork in 2008. This included palynological, micro-tephra and soil micromorphology analyses, which were partly supplemented by samples collected in 2009. The preliminary results presented here confirm the absence of indications of archaeological heterogeneity and, despite taphonomic difficulties, seem to confirm a recent age for the occupation, after the early Late Glacial Interstadial and within the Havelte Group.