A Database-Driven Excavation of a Waterlogged Neolithic Settlement: The Case of Küssnacht-Immensee Dorfplatz (Switzerland)

Abstract

A settlement excavation of a site with waterlogged conditions was conducted in Küssnacht-Immensee (Lake Zug, Canton Schwyz, Switzerland). The documentation abandoned the idea of drawings and verbal description. Instead, based on prior research on the deposition mechanisms of this type of settlements, clearly specified sediment features were documented in a semi-quantitative fashion in a database, allowing for generic 3D modelling of the deposits and efficient 2D GIS-based evaluation of the excavation results. We present the database design and some example results that characterise the depositional processes. Strain-free profile photographs were mounted in the same 3D virtual model. We discuss different procedures and their pros and cons.