Research Interests:
ABSTRACT The present study aims to improve our understanding of the chronology of vegetation changes in north-western Germany during the Neolithic. Therefore, four archived peat profiles from small mires that had been pollen analysed and... more
ABSTRACT The present study aims to improve our understanding of the chronology of vegetation changes in north-western Germany during the Neolithic. Therefore, four archived peat profiles from small mires that had been pollen analysed and partly conventionally radiocarbon dated during the 1990s were re-evaluated. Based on new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates, there are considerable differences between the existing and the newly developed age–depth models. These are also caused by the exclusion of pollen events that were previously assumed to be synchronous, and results from archaeological investigations as dating horizons, hence avoiding circular reasoning in the present study. In addition to the re-evaluation of archived material, a new profile was recovered, pollen analysed and AMS radiocarbon dated to gain insights into the regional vegetation development and to put local human impact on the landscape in a broader context. The results indicate three different phases of human-induced vegetation changes. The local vegetation changes do not follow this general pattern, but reflect a very patchy landscape which in turn probably refers to quite small pollen source areas. The study emphasizes that vegetation changes seen in local pollen profiles should neither be regarded as general trends nor be used as dating horizons for neighbouring sites.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Archaeology and Geology
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Seit 2007 fordert die DFG Forschungen zur Struktur und Bedeutung des kaiser- und volkerwanderungszeitlichen Zentralplatzes von Sievern, Lkr. Cuxhaven. Ausgangspunkt ist eine fur den norddeutschen Raum einzigartige Konzentration von... more
Seit 2007 fordert die DFG Forschungen zur Struktur und Bedeutung des kaiser- und volkerwanderungszeitlichen Zentralplatzes von Sievern, Lkr. Cuxhaven. Ausgangspunkt ist eine fur den norddeutschen Raum einzigartige Konzentration von Goldbrakteaten, die in der Nahe von zwei Befestigungsanlagen gefunden wurden. Aufgrund der archaologischen Landesaufnahme und seit den 1990er Jahren intensivierten Prospektionsarbeiten war anzunehmen, dass in der Umgebung der Burgen eine Reihe von Siedlungen existiert haben, die teilweise die Funktion von Bootslandeplatzen hatten. Im Rahmen des Projekts gelang der Nachweis, dass die im Bereich der Landeplatze gelegenen Siedlungen handwerklich gepragt waren. Die Burganlagen wurden nicht gleichzeitig genutzt und hatten vermutlich unterschiedliche Funktionen.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Volume 11 Vegetation History and,4rchaeobotany starts with a special double issue, the outcome of the 12th symposium of the international Workgroup for Palaeoethnobotany (IWGP) at Sheffield, 17th-24th of June 2001. This is the third time... more
Volume 11 Vegetation History and,4rchaeobotany starts with a special double issue, the outcome of the 12th symposium of the international Workgroup for Palaeoethnobotany (IWGP) at Sheffield, 17th-24th of June 2001. This is the third time that the proceedings of the triannual meeting have been published in a special double issue of Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, the official organ of the IWGP. For this issue M Charles and G Jones act as additional guest editors. The IWGP meeting was attended by 123 participants from 25 countries and in all there were more than 70 presentations. The papers covered a wide geographical and chronological range and were presented under four themes although, inevitably, some papers cover more than one theme. All these themes are included in this volume: consumption: food, fodder and cuisine (Bakels, Dalnoki and Jacomet, Valamoti), collecting and cultivation (Kubiak-Martens, Bieniek, Fairbaim et al., Willcox, Wollstonecroft), historical archaeobotany (Motta, Jacomet et al., Robinson M, Zach, Benes et al., Vermeeren and van Haaster) and analytical archaeobotany (Butler, Charles et al., Rosch et al., Bogaard, Karg and Mdrkle, Kreuz and Schdfer). The symposium provided a forum for lively debate and the papers presented demonstrate how alive this area of research is at the beginning of the 21st century. The editors of this 'special' volume are grateful to the referees for their prompt work and diligence.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
From two profiles of an archaeological trench in the centre of the city Oldenburg 108, Burgstr. , Lower Saxony, two largely overlapping cores, 50 (length) x 10 (width) x 5 (thickness) cm, of highly organic sediments were taken and one... more
From two profiles of an archaeological trench in the centre of the city Oldenburg 108, Burgstr. , Lower Saxony, two largely overlapping cores, 50 (length) x 10 (width) x 5 (thickness) cm, of highly organic sediments were taken and one sample of about 2 l in a plastic bag from the northern profile 44 in 2005 (June 2nd). Subsamples were taken following the layers in the metal boxes, sieved in the laboratory using stacked sieves of mesh-sizes 1, 0.71 and 0.3 mm and botanical macroremains were picked out using a microscope (magnification 10x-50x), identified and counted in the course of 2006. The identified remains (seeds, fruits, vegetative remains, zoological remains) dating to the Late Medieval were assigned to ecological groups allowing the reconstruction of the environmental conditions at the time of deposition. The aims of the analyses were to reveal which human activities took place at the place, which cultural plants can be traced, which structures were present, what kind of sed...
Research Interests:
This article uses age-depth models based on 29 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates from charred plant macroremains (seeds, chaff), wood charcoal, and snail shells found in two moats from the settlement Fidvár near Vráble (SW... more
This article uses age-depth models based on 29 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates from charred plant macroremains (seeds, chaff), wood charcoal, and snail shells found in two moats from the settlement Fidvár near Vráble (SW Slovakia) to improve the absolute chronology of the Early Bronze Age in central Europe. The charred macroremains were taxonomically identified to species or genus level and the lifespan of the objects and the archaeological context were considered carefully. The selected snail shells were identified to provide reliable age information. This study demonstrates that under certain conditions, ditch archives can be well suited to contribute to archaeological chronologies. For the first time, the transition from the Hatvan to the Únětice period is dated absolutely.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Radiocarbon ages and pollen record of Kongor Lake sediments, supplement to: Shumilovskikh, Lyudmila S; Hopper, Kristen; Djamali, Morteza; Ponel, Philippe; Demory, François; Rostek, Frauke; Tachikawa, Kazuyo; Bittmann, Felix; Golyeva, Alexandra; Guibal, Frédéric; Talon, Brigitte; Wang, Liang-Chi; ...more
The Gorgan Plain (NE Iran) is characterized by fertile soils formed on a loess plateau and is at present primarily exploited for intensive agriculture. However, the timing and intensity of the human impact on the landscape in the past are... more
The Gorgan Plain (NE Iran) is characterized by fertile soils formed on a loess plateau and is at present primarily exploited for intensive agriculture. However, the timing and intensity of the human impact on the landscape in the past are still unclear. A sediment core, taken from the centre of the eastern Gorgan Plain in the Kongor Lake covering the major part of the Holocene from 6.1 to 0.8 ka (all ages are calibrated before present), has been studied for pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, botanical macroremains, insects, charcoal, geochemistry, biomarkers and magnetism in order to provide new insights into the evolution of the landscape and to estimate the intensity of human activities. The data obtained suggest a dry period between 5.9 and 3.9 ka and an increase in regional humidity afterwards with a maximum between 2.7 and 0.7 ka, during the period of the Persian empires (Achaemenid through Sasanian) and the Islamic era. The eastern part of the Gorgan Plain was characterized by o...
During a rescue excavation in 2003 at the Wurt Upleward, NW-Germany, two houses of early Medieval age were detected. From one of the profile with several cultural layers samples have been taken and analysed. In addition two parallel auger... more
During a rescue excavation in 2003 at the Wurt Upleward, NW-Germany, two houses of early Medieval age were detected. From one of the profile with several cultural layers samples have been taken and analysed. In addition two parallel auger cores were drilled from the lowermost level with the aim to get to or close to the base of the Wurt. Five radiocarbon dates spanned from the late Iron Age to the early medieval.
Research Interests:
While we are struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic, it is with greater pleasure and nostalgia that we remember the intense and “free to hug” days of the 18th Conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany held in... more
While we are struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic, it is with greater pleasure and nostalgia that we remember the intense and “free to hug” days of the 18th Conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany held in Lecce, Italy, between the 3rd and 8th of June, 2019. Thanks to the hosting team of the Laboratorio di Archeobotanica e Paleoecologia and the great efforts of the researchers, students and administrative staff of the Department of Cultural Heritage at the University of Salento, the conference was a great success and pleased all participants. It was the first time that an IWGP meeting had taken place in Italy, where the young Maria Follieri (1932–2012) took the first steps in studying plant remains and who was among the small group of colleagues who met in Prague in 1968 to found the Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Paläoethnobotanik (IAP), the predecessor of the IWGP. While we were planning the 18th IWGP, we lost another great personality: it was o...
Research Interests:
Volume 11 Vegetation History and,4rchaeobotany starts with a special double issue, the outcome of the 12th symposium of the international Workgroup for Palaeoethnobotany (IWGP) at Sheffield, 17th-24th of June 2001. This is the third time... more
Volume 11 Vegetation History and,4rchaeobotany starts with a special double issue, the outcome of the 12th symposium of the international Workgroup for Palaeoethnobotany (IWGP) at Sheffield, 17th-24th of June 2001. This is the third time that the proceedings of the triannual meeting have been published in a special double issue of Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, the official organ of the IWGP. For this issue M Charles and G Jones act as additional guest editors. The IWGP meeting was attended by 123 participants from 25 countries and in all there were more than 70 presentations. The papers covered a wide geographical and chronological range and were presented under four themes although, inevitably, some papers cover more than one theme. All these themes are included in this volume: consumption: food, fodder and cuisine (Bakels, Dalnoki and Jacomet, Valamoti), collecting and cultivation (Kubiak-Martens, Bieniek, Fairbaim et al., Willcox, Wollstonecroft), historical archaeobotany...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The results of pollenanalytical and archaeobotanical studies presented here show the development of veg-etation in the state of Brandenburg, which was characterized by the climate and the associated natural spread of plants as well as the... more
The results of pollenanalytical and archaeobotanical studies presented here show the development of veg-etation in the state of Brandenburg, which was characterized by the climate and the associated natural spread of plants as well as the use of the resource forest by man.The plant food of humans was first obtained by gathering and, since the beginning of permanent settle-ment in the Neolithic period, mainly by means of agriculture. The cultivation of plants continued over the millennia, with most archaeological cultures showing their typical inventory of crops. The dynamics of these developments require further research, as there are still many spatial and temporal gaps. However, in addition to the influence of natural habitats such as climate, soil properties and water supply on agricul-ture, the importance of the exchange of crops and new methods of cultivation between different cultures regarding the local supply of food is already being shown.
Research Interests:
Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is not one of the founder crops domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but was domesticated in northeast China by 6000 bc. In Europe, millet was reported in Early Neolithic contexts... more
Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is not one of the founder crops domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but was domesticated in northeast China by 6000 bc. In Europe, millet was reported in Early Neolithic contexts formed by 6000 bc, but recent radiocarbon dating of a dozen 'early' grains cast doubt on these claims. Archaeobotanical evidence reveals that millet was common in Europe from the 2nd millennium bc, when major societal and economic transformations took place in the Bronze Age. We conducted an extensive programme of AMS-dating of charred broomcorn millet grains from 75 prehistoric sites in Europe. Our Bayesian model reveals that millet cultivation began in Europe at the earliest during the sixteenth century bc, and spread rapidly during the fifteenth/fourteenth centuries bc. Broomcorn millet succeeds in exceptionally wide range of growing conditions and completes its lifecycle in less than three summer months. Offering an additional harvest and...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Within the multidisciplinary WASA project, 160 cores up to 5 m long have been obtained from the back-barrier area and off the coast of the East Frisian island of Norderney. Thirty-seven contained basal peats on top of Pleistocene sands of... more
Within the multidisciplinary WASA project, 160 cores up to 5 m long have been obtained from the back-barrier area and off the coast of the East Frisian island of Norderney. Thirty-seven contained basal peats on top of Pleistocene sands of the former Geest and 10 of them also had intercalated peats. Based on 100 acclerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates and analyses of botanical as well as zoological remains from the peats, lagoonal sediments and the underlying sands, a variety of distinct habitats have been reconstructed. On the relatively steep slopes north of the present island, a swampy vegetation fringe several kilometres wide with carrs of alder (Alnus glutinosa) moved in front of the rising sea upwards of the Geest as it existed then until roughly 6 ka, when the sea level reached the current back-barrier region of Norderney at around −6 m NHN (German ordnance datum). From then on for nearly 4000 years a changing landscape with a mosaic of freshwater lakes and fens existed w...
Research Interests:
Michael Baales, Felix Bittmann & Bernd Kromer (1998): Verkohlte Bäume im Trass der Laacher See-Tephra bei Kruft (Neuwieder Becken). Ein Beitrag zur Datierung des Laacher See-Ereignisses und zur Vegetation der Allerød-Zeit am Mittelrhein.... more
Michael Baales, Felix Bittmann & Bernd Kromer (1998): Verkohlte Bäume im Trass der Laacher See-Tephra bei Kruft (Neuwieder Becken). Ein Beitrag zur Datierung des Laacher See-Ereignisses und zur Vegetation der Allerød-Zeit am Mittelrhein. Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 28, 191-204.
Bei Kruft im Neuwieder Becken wurden innerhalb der Laacher See-Tephra aufrecht stehende Bäume, Pappeln, entdeckt und beprobt. Sie sind mit 14C datiert worden und stellten einen Beitrag zur Datierung des Laacher See-Vulkanausbruches dar (2021 sind sie in Reining et al., Nature, genau hierfür erneut genutzt worden).
Near Kruft in the Neuwied Basin, upright trees, poplars, were discovered within the Laacher See tephra and sampled. They have been dated with 14C and represented a contribution to the dating of the Laacher See volcanic eruption (in 2021 they have been used again in Reining et al., Nature, exactly for this purpose).
Bei Kruft im Neuwieder Becken wurden innerhalb der Laacher See-Tephra aufrecht stehende Bäume, Pappeln, entdeckt und beprobt. Sie sind mit 14C datiert worden und stellten einen Beitrag zur Datierung des Laacher See-Vulkanausbruches dar (2021 sind sie in Reining et al., Nature, genau hierfür erneut genutzt worden).
Near Kruft in the Neuwied Basin, upright trees, poplars, were discovered within the Laacher See tephra and sampled. They have been dated with 14C and represented a contribution to the dating of the Laacher See volcanic eruption (in 2021 they have been used again in Reining et al., Nature, exactly for this purpose).
Research Interests:
francaisDes leves, ainsi que des prospecrions archeologiques, geophysiques et palynologiques, furent realises de 2009 a 2011 sur le plateau de Kupres en Bosnie-Herzegovine. Une date 14C etablit une occupation du plateau deja pour... more
francaisDes leves, ainsi que des prospecrions archeologiques, geophysiques et palynologiques, furent realises de 2009 a 2011 sur le plateau de Kupres en Bosnie-Herzegovine. Une date 14C etablit une occupation du plateau deja pour l'Eneolithique. A l'Age du Bronze, le plateau acquiert une connotation sacree avec l'erection de tumuli en partie monumentaux. Visibles de loin, ils supposent un paysage deja bien degage, ce que confirrnent les analyses polliniques. Par centre, deux habitats de hauteur, apparemment contemporains, etaient situes a un endroit du plateau qui ne permettait pas de voir la plupart. DeutschVon 2009 bis 2011 fanden in der Hoehebene von Kupres (Bosnien-Herzegowina) Begehungen und Vermessungen sowie geophysikalisehe und palynologisehe Prospektionen statt. Ein dabei gewonnenes 14C-Datum legt eine Nutzung der Ebene bereits im Aneolithikum nahe. Mit der Bronzezeit erhalt die Ebene dureh die Erriehtung von teilweise rnonumentalen Grabhugeln einen sakralen Bez...
Research Interests:
Abstract The coastal area of the southern North Sea passed through several stages of development during the Holocene starting with swamps and bogs on Pleistocene sands. These were covered due to the rising sea-level by brackish and... more
Abstract The coastal area of the southern North Sea passed through several stages of development during the Holocene starting with swamps and bogs on Pleistocene sands. These were covered due to the rising sea-level by brackish and intertidal sediments with intercalated peat layers indicating repeated shoreline replacements. Such sedimentary archives are excellent sources for environmental reconstructions and potentially suited to deliver a regional sea-level curve. We analysed a 4.6 m-long sediment core recovered south of the island of Norderney (East Frisia, Germany) using a multiproxy approach. The record comprises a vertical stack of changing sedimentary facies, including a basal peat and a second peat layer intercalated between marine sediments, which provides a sedimentological record of local coastal evolution since 7000 cal. BP. High-resolution stratigraphic, geochemical and paleobiological analyses enables reconstructing environmental variability in response to sea-level changes including a short-lived transgressive-regressive cycle. This took place around 6000 cal. BP and lasted only a few hundred years. Our multiproxy approach demonstrates that the combined analyses of geochemical and biological parameters in concert with statistical evaluation are indispensable for the reconstruction of coastal evolution and short-term sea-level fluctuations.
Research Interests:
"The Neolithic settlement and land use history in northwestern Germany is subject to detailed archaeological and palynological investigations that are carried out within the framework of the DFG priority program “Early... more
"The Neolithic settlement and land use history in northwestern Germany is subject to detailed archaeological and palynological investigations that are carried out within the framework of the DFG priority program “Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation –the Emergence of Neolithic Monuments and Early Complex Societies in Northern Central Europe”. Up to now, only little is known about the settlement structure and the environmental conditions and changes in northwestern Germany during the 4th and 3rd millennium BC, although various megalithic monuments, grave mounds as well as surface finds indicate that the area was settled by the West Group of the Funnel Beaker and the subsequent Single Grave Cultures. Therefore, five local research areas were selected that bear high poenclosures, in order to shed light on the cultural context of Neolithic societies in Northern Europe since 4100 BC (compiled by Müller 2009; 2011). In Northwestern Germany, the distribution area of the west group of the Funnel Beaker Culture (TRB) and the Single Grave Culture (EGK) is to be investigated. Several traces were left by both cultures in the areas between the Elbe and Ems rivers. The most prominent features are the numerous megalithic tombs that – at least partly – still shape today’s landscape (Fig. 1). They have often been objects of scientific research as their architecture and distribution reveal regional differences in settlement intensities and land use. In addition, a few flat graves, hoards, and settlements with building features are known (complied by Assendorp 1999; Kossian 2005; Laux 1995; Strahl 1990), while no causewayed enclosures have yet been identified from the mentioned area (compiled by Richter 2002, 3 pp.). Therefore, this setting is ideally suited for investigations into the Neolithic colonisation history of the 4 th and the early 3 rd millennia BC. The research project of the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research (NIhK) commences here. Within the project it is necessary to explore whether the rare TRB settlement features can be considered to be characteristic for this epoch and which settlement pattern might be presumed. Hence, the localisation and the extensive examination of wellpreserved TRB and EKG settlements are of great significance (Nösler et al. 2011). The relationships between graves and coexistent settlements and the existence of hierarchical structures among single settlements and graves, respectively, are important topics that will be addressed within the examinations. It is also of great importance to know which natural preconditions the Neolithic settlers had to deal with and which climatic and ecological changes they had to face. Palynological investigations will give insights into these developments. A number of further questions are to be investigated. For example, when was the TRB established on the Northwestern German Plain? From which cultures (Ertebølle, Swifterband, Rössen / Bischheim) did the TRB evolve? Which culture(s) influenced the TRB, and what reasons were crucial for this development? The transition from the TRB to the EGK, including when and why it took place, will also be analysed. The state of the art prior to the project’s commencement and its first results shall be presented in the following."
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Three folded charts in pocket. Thesis (doctoral)--Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen, 1991.
Baales, M., Bittmann, F. & Wiethold, J. (2001): Vom Laacher See-Vulkan vor 12.960 Jahren verschüttete Bäume bei Kruft. Landkreis Mayen-Koblenz, Heimatbuch 2002, 161-165. Populärer Bericht über die allerödzeitliche Umwelt anhand von... more
Baales, M., Bittmann, F. & Wiethold, J. (2001): Vom Laacher See-Vulkan vor 12.960 Jahren verschüttete Bäume bei Kruft. Landkreis Mayen-Koblenz, Heimatbuch 2002, 161-165.
Populärer Bericht über die allerödzeitliche Umwelt anhand von Neufunden unter und in der Laacher See-Tephra.
Populärer Bericht über die allerödzeitliche Umwelt anhand von Neufunden unter und in der Laacher See-Tephra.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Bioturbation and intrusive ecofacts are major concerns for the analysis of archaeological sites in wetland environments. Postsedimentary influence of beavers (Castor fiber) is described for a well dated Late Palaeolithic archaeological... more
Bioturbation and intrusive ecofacts are major concerns for the analysis of archaeological sites in wetland environments. Postsedimentary influence of beavers (Castor fiber) is described for a well dated Late Palaeolithic archaeological record situated in a floodplain in Northern Germany. An extensive burrow system was documented and analysed according to its spatial dimensions and sedimentological properties; it was interpreted to be the result of beaver activity. Palynological analyses proved a Mid-Holocene origin of the infill material and helped in understanding the history of site formation. In addition, a pointed piece of wood was examined and identified as ecofact, which had been gnawed by a small rodent, possibly Arvicola amphibius (water vole). Our study thus illustrates the potential complexity of post-sedimentary sitealteration, describes the sub-surface morphology of a burrow system in a wetland context and documents risks for erroneous archaeological interpretation.
Research Interests:
The Gorgan Plain (NE Iran) is characterized by fertile soils formed on a loess plateau and is at present primarily exploited for intensive agriculture. However, the timing and intensity of the human impact on the landscape in the past are... more
The Gorgan Plain (NE Iran) is characterized by fertile soils formed on a loess plateau and is at present primarily exploited for intensive agriculture. However, the timing and intensity of the human impact on the landscape in the past are still unclear. A sediment core, taken from the centre of the eastern Gorgan Plain in the Kongor Lake covering the major part of the Holocene from 6.1 to 0.8 ka (all ages are calibrated before present), has been studied for pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, botanical macroremains, insects, charcoal, geochemistry, biomarkers and magnetism in order to provide new insights into the evolution of the landscape and to estimate the intensity of human activities. The data obtained suggest a dry period between 5.9 and 3.9 ka and an increase in regional humidity afterwards with a maximum between 2.7 and 0.7 ka, during the period of the Persian empires (Achaemenid through Sasanian) and the Islamic era. The eastern part of the Gorgan Plain was characterized by o...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Pollen analytical investigations have been carried out on the sediments of five profiles from a former lake exposed at the Kärlich clay-pit, Middle Rhine region, of Germany, with the aim of clarifying the stratigraphic position of the... more
Pollen analytical investigations have been carried out on the sediments of five profiles from a former lake exposed at the Kärlich clay-pit, Middle Rhine region, of Germany, with the aim of clarifying the stratigraphic position of the Kärlich Interglacial (Middle Pleistocene) within the European Pleistocene. The pollen sequence starts with a QM (Quercetum mixtum) phase followed by a Carpinus phase. After the interglacial period there are oscillations (Mühlheim I and II Stadials, and the Kettig Interstadial) and the sequence ends with a cold steppe phase. Parallel with these developments, conditions in the lake changed from meso- to eutrophic and back again to meso-oligotrophic. The lake was finally filled in by silty and organic sediments and then covered by loessic material, with evidence for oscillations between limnic and telmatic phases. Numerous macrofossil remains in the interglacial sediments allowed reconstruction of plant communities mainly from the lake itself, but also from the surrounding forests. The pollen analytical results indicate a warm stage that belongs to the Cromerian Complex. That is corroborated by a good conformity with the upper part of the Cromerian interglacial (Rhume Interglacial) from Bilshausen, Lower Saxony, Germany, which is considered to belong to the youngest part of the Cromerian Complex. 40Ar/39Ar laser dates of the Brockentuff (396±20 ka), a basaltic tephra deposited during the early QM phase of the same warm stage, enable the interglacial sequence to be correlated with oxygen isotope stage 11. On account of biostratigraphic arguments and old-palaeolithic artefacts within the interglacial sediments, the Kärlich Interglacial is considered to have its stratigraphical position between the Cromerian IV (based on the Dutch stratigraphy) and the Holsteinian sensu stricto.