Environmental history of the Csorna plain (Western Danube plain, NW Hungary) from the late glacial to the late Holocene as seen from data of multiproxy geoarchaeological investigations

Abstract

This study presents the results of a comprehensive geoarchaeological study implemented at an archeological site covering ca. 5 ha near the city of Csorna on the NW part of the Danube Plain, NW Hungary. The site itself exposed a complex fluvial system of an ice age creek with near bank and overbank areas (levee, point bar, back swamp). Spatial distribution of archeological features allowed for the interpretation of differential use of the fluvial landscape by different cultures. According to our data, the referred fluvial system must have emerged during the Late Glacial. At this time, creeks originating from hills to the SE followed a uniform NW trajectory. From the Holocene, small creeks were beheaded turning into inactive flood channels. It was the time when the gradual infilling of the floodplain started. Alternating layers of floodwater coarses and floodplain fines mark recurring floods at our site. These could have been correlated with cooler, wetter climatic phases of the North Atlantic, Western Europe and high stands in Central European lakes. Highest floods are recorded during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages besides the Neolithic. Pollen data enabled us to make inferences on the vegetation as well.