Geoarchaeological records in temperate European river valleys: Quantifying the resource, assessing its potential and managing its future

Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e9

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Geoarchaeological records in temperate European river valleys: Quantifying the resource, assessing its potential and managing its future Andy J. Howard a, *, Sjoerd J. Kluiving b, c, Max Engel d, Vanessa M.A. Heyvaert e, f a

Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK Institute for Geo- and Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands c Department of Archaeology, Classics and Near Eastern Studies, Faculty of Arts, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands d Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany e Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, OD Earth and History of Life, Jennerstraat 13, 1000 Brussels, Belgium f Universiteit Gent, Department of Geology and Soil Science, Krijgslaan 281, Gent, Belgium b

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Available online xxx

Throughout the Quaternary, episodes of glaciation and associated low sea level have resulted in the connection of the terrestrial landmasses of Britain and mainland Europe. The river systems that established themselves across these newly emergent land surfaces of the coastal plain would have created important migration corridors for both animals and humans, a point corroborated by the affinity of Palaeolithic remains across Britain and Europe. Technological developments within the last decade have allowed these now submerged valley floors and adjacent terrestrial landscapes associated with the last cold stage and early and middle parts of the current (Holocene) interglacial to be explored and their archaeological legacies unravelled, providing geoarchaeologists with an opportunity to contribute to major cultural debates. However, in order to maximize knowledge, it is essential that geoarchaeologists working within river valleys across both Britain and the European continent are addressing similar research questions by collecting data using comparable methodologies. This paper reviews the approach taken in different regions and provides a baseline assessment to allow the development of a coherent European-wide framework for alluvial geoarchaeology and geoprospection, particularly with respect to the Holocene record. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Keywords: River valleys Geoarchaeology Europe Landscape evolution Geoprospection

1. Introduction During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), globally low sea levels resulted in the connection of the terrestrial landmasses of Britain and continental Europe, repeating a pattern observed in earlier cold stages. The similarity of Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblages between sites in mainland Europe with those in Britain together with evidence from cave paintings demonstrate significant cultural associations between geographically distant hunter gatherer groups

* Corresponding author. Landscape Research & Management, 24 Russell Close, Stanmore, Bridgnorth WV155JG, United Kingdom. E-mail addresses: [email protected], a.j. [email protected] (A.J. Howard), [email protected] (S.J. Kluiving), max. [email protected] (M. Engel), [email protected] (V.M.A. Heyvaert).

and, by implication, mobility between these two regions. During the last four decades, the interpretation of large amounts of geological data, swathes of geophysical (seismic) and bathymetric data collected across the North Sea basin and English Channel (D’Olier, 1975; Jergersmsa et al., 1979; Henriet and De Moor, 1989; Bridgland and D’Olier, 1995; Gibbard, 1995; Gupta et al., 2007; Gaffney et al., 2009; Cohen et al., 2012a; Hijma et al., 2012) have provided insights into the landscape between mainland Europe and Britain, the former area popularly known as Doggerland (Coles, 2000). Within this now submerged landscape, the river valleys that dissected the region would have been important migratory corridors, extending well beyond the established alluvial systems of the present day (Hijma et al., 2012; Cohen et al., 2013). Climatic amelioration and deglaciation associated with temperature rises in the Late Weichselian and at the onset of the Holocene resulted in global sea-level rise and the isolation of

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Please cite this article in press as: Howard, A.J., et al., Geoarchaeological records in temperate European river valleys: Quantifying the resource, assessing its potential and managing its future, Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.05.003

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continental European and British river systems (Sturt et al., 2010; Hijma et al., 2012). Numerous empirical studies in both Britain and north-western Europe have demonstrated that, immediately prior to this, the rivers transformed from braided to meandering systems during the alternating warm and cold phases of the Late Weichselian and Lateglacial (Rose et al., 1980; Kiden, 1991; Collins et al., 1996; Mol et al., 2000; Andres et al., 2001; Cohen et al., 2002; Kasse et al., 2005; Nádor et al., 2007; Bogemans et al., 2012). During the LGM and colder phases of the Lateglacial, the deflation of fine-grained sediments from exposed surfaces led also to the deposition of extensive coversand (and loessic) deposits across eastern Britain and the low-lying alluvial plains of central and northern Europe (Bateman, 1995; Bateman and Van Huissteden, 1999; Meijs, 2002; Haesaerts, 2004; Bogemans and Vandenberghe, 2011; Tolksdorf et al., 2011; Derese et al., 2012; Turner et al., 2013; Vandenberghe et al., 2013). In the low countries numerous archaeological excavations have proved that ‘river dunes’, wind-blown deposits from and next to the Lateglacial braided river system, were important foci of settlement during the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (Mol, 2003; Weerts et al., 2012; Bos et al., 2013). In the past few decades, relative sea-level (RSL) rise and shifting coastlines along the North Sea margins have been intensively investigated. Several Holocene RSL curves for the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and southern Denmark have been developed (Van de Plassche, 1982, 1995; Denys and Baeteman, 1995; Kiden, 1995; Lambeck et al., 2002; Shennan and Horton, 2002; Van de Plassche et al., 2005; Gehrels et al., 2006; Vink et al., 2007; Pedersen et al., 2009) and palaeogeographical reconstructions published (e.g. Baeteman and Declercq, 2002; Baeteman, 2008; Sturt et al., 2010; Vos et al., 2011; Vis et al., in press). It is now generally accepted that the coastal evolution of the southern North Sea mainland coast has strong temporal and regional aspects and the extrapolation from one region to another is not justifiable (Bungenstock and Weerts, 2010, 2012; Baeteman et al., 2011; Weerts, 2013). This arises from the fact that the development of a coastal plain is controlled by the changing rate of RSL rise, sediment budget, the topography of the pre-transgressive surface and humanactivities during the Late Holocene. The relative impact of these controlling factors has changed through time and can be different for each region (Baeteman et al., 2011; Weerts, 2013). RSL change at any given location is a function of global eustatic sea-level change (Cronin, 2012) and land-surface movement (influenced by structural control, tectonics, glacio-and hydro-isostatic effects and the compaction of soft sediments and oxidation of peats) that has a local to regional component. Moreover, regional and local effects such as the flood-basin effect (Makaske et al., 2003), estuary effect (Vink et al., 2007) and avulsion effect (Kiden et al., 2008), influence local ‘Mean High Water’ conditions and should all be assessed when making palaeo-reconstructions (Weerts, 2013). These conclusions regarding the complexity of landscape evolution and marine transgression/regression are corroborated by radiocarbon dates from the southern North Sea (Ward et al., 2006; Weerts, 2013) and more recent dating of sediments using OSL (Mauz et al., 2010; Tappin et al., 2011), which suggest that some parts of the southern North Sea basin may have remained dry land until the Neolithic (Busschers et al., 2007). The distinction of ‘wetland’ and ‘dryland’ environments has significant implications for how these areas may have been exploited and settled in the Early and Mid-Holocene as well as the connectivity of populations and the exchange of new ideas and cultural practices between Britain and the near continent (Sturt et al., 2010; Garrow and Sturt, 2011; Cohen et al., 2012a). Therefore, knowledge of the occupation of river valleys is important in understanding key patterns of adaptation within the

archaeological record, particularly in the Early and Mid-Holocene (Cummins and Harris, 2011). Decades of university program drilling activities in the Holocene Rhine-Meuse delta in the central Netherlands have delivered a geological-geomorphological map of Holocene stratigraphy and a palaeogeographic reconstruction of the whole delta highly relevant to archaeological reconnaissance from the Mesolithic to recent times (Berendsen and Stouthamer, 2001; Cohen et al., 2012b). Although challenges still remain (Bates et al., 2007a), the methodological advances over the past decade are beginning to provide geoarchaeologists with an opportunity to map and correlate sites across the terrestrial and submerged zone and to extend knowledge of European river valleys into hitherto unexplored areas. However, if geoarchaeologists studying alluvial landscapes are to contribute towards wider European archaeological debate, it is essential that they are investigating landscapes using comparable methodological approaches and with similar research questions in mind. Therefore, using selected examples from across temperate Europe, the aim of this paper is to consider the geoarchaeological approaches, opportunities and challenges facing researchers attempting to elucidate settlement patterns, understand preservation and geoprospecting for archaeology in the river valleys of Britain and the near continent, particularly with respect to the Holocene record. It is hoped that such a review can contribute to the development of a European wide research framework for investigating alluvial environments. This paper will therefore focus on: a) reconstructing landform elements; b) understanding vegetation history, climate change and sediment supply; c) securing chronologies and event correlation; and lastly d) approaches to mapping and geoprospection. 2. Reconstructing landform elements Since the advent of aerial photography and systematic largescale surface collection during field surveys, archaeologists have recognised that the visibility and spatial distribution of archaeological remains within alluvial landscapes is intimately related to superficial geology (Potter, 1976; Gladfelter, 1977). Therefore, understanding landform elements, geomorphological processes, particularly erosion and sedimentation histories, as well as the subsurface three-dimensional record are essential starting points for geoarchaeological study (e.g. Berger, 2011; Meylemans et al., 2013). Furthermore, as Brown (2008) has noted, the advancement of radiometric dating and development of high-resolution multiple chronologies have allowed these reconstructions to become fourdimensional. In Britain, a review of Holocene river system development by Howard and Macklin (1999) demonstrated that rivers had responded in a variety of ways to the effects of sea-level change, glacio-isostacy, changing vegetation dynamics and sediment supply, natural climate change and human impacts. Depending on geographic location, rivers were demonstrated to have evolved through either: (1) progressive incision, punctuated by periodic, initially coarse sedimentation by mobile braided or wandering gravel bed channels in the upland and piedmont zones; or (2) overbank, largely fine-grained sedimentation associated with relatively stable, single or anastomosed channels in lowland and perimarine zones. In a recent paper based on the analysis of radiocarbon-dated fluvial sequences, Macklin et al. (2013) have suggested that extreme floods may be responsible for initiating entrenchment and terrace formation on the British mainland during the Holocene, rather than as a direct response to glacio-tectonic uplift or incremental valley lowering by combined incision and lateral reworking. Whilst providing a mechanism for incision, it is notable that the distribution of the terraces described by Macklin et al. (2013) appears closely associated with the imprint of

Please cite this article in press as: Howard, A.J., et al., Geoarchaeological records in temperate European river valleys: Quantifying the resource, assessing its potential and managing its future, Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.05.003

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icesheets of the Last Glacial Maximum and therefore the empirical morphostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic evidence suggests that glacio-isostacy must play a role (Bridgland et al., 2010) and perhaps these processes should be considered complementary and not mutually exclusive. Generic models have also been developed for continental European rivers with systems characterised by well-developed terrace staircases indicative of progressive incision (e.g. Straffin et al., 1999; Vannière et al., 2003) and those dominated by vertically accreted sediment stacks, the latter particularly in the lowlands and coastal margins (Weerts and Berendsen, 1995; Cohen et al., 2002; de Moor et al., 2008; Bogemans et al., 2012); in systems spanning a range of physiographic environments elements of both models can also be identified (e.g. Berger, 2011). On the northern margins of continental Europe, particularly Fennoscandia (Kaufmann and Lambeck, 2002), the effects of glacio-isostatic processes on postglacial uplift are evident from sea-level curves and, although the influence of such processes decreases southwards (Vink et al., 2007; Vos et al., 2011), factors such as neotectonics remain important, for example, in the fluvial development of the Rhine-Meuse delta (Cohen et al., 2002). Whatever the mechanisms of valley-floor evolution, the identification of landform assemblages provides archaeologists with a much greater understanding of spatial patterning within the cultural record (Passmore et al., 2002, 2006; Vannière et al., 2003; Guccione, 2008; Howard et al., 2008; Meylemans et al., 2013). Particularly in lowland and perimarine reaches of Britain and Europe, wide valley floors have provided the opportunity for the preservation of palaeochannels and evidence of past channel mobility within pre-engineered floodplains. A key question for geoarchaeologists attempting to understand preservation potential and reworking within the floodplain corridor has been to determine if these palaeochannels are part of single- or multi-channelled (anastomosed or braided) systems and the mechanism of channel change. For example, in the Netherlands, detailed coring and dating of the Rhine-Meuse delta over the past two decades has demonstrated that meandering and anastomosing channels have moved predominantly by avulsion, particularly during the early and mid Holocene, though in this region there is an intimate link to sea-level change (Weerts and Berendsen, 1995; Berendsen and Stouthamer, 2001; Stouthamer and Berendsen, 2001, 2007; Cohen et al., 2002; Cohen et al., 2012b) and this model may not be applicable for other continental river systems (e.g. Meylemans et al., 2013). In the case of the Rhine-Meuse, avulsion has certainly aided preservation of sites within the alluvial stack (van Dinter and van Zijverden, 2010; van Dinter, 2013) and the same has also been suggested for the Middle Trent in Britain (Brown et al., 2013a). Notably in this latter case, previous models have centred on classic lateral channel migration (e.g. Salisbury et al., 1984) and within such systems avulsion may be much more important than previously considered. Certainly in Britain, beyond the historical documentary record (e.g. Passmore et al., 1993), the absence of multiple dated sequences within single river systems has hindered the high-resolution analysis of longer-term channel change; this is in stark contrast to areas of continental Europe where detailed Holocene sedimentation histories have been established through detailed stratigraphic analysis underpinned by high-resolution radiometric dating (e.g. Berendsen and Stouthamer, 2002; Erkens and Chen, 2009; Meylemans et al., 2013). 3. Understanding vegetation history, climate change and sediment supply Key to understanding river development, particularly in the Early and Mid-Holocene, is an understanding of drivers of change.

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Whilst both intrinsic and extrinsic factors play a role, geoarchaeological research has traditionally focused on the relationship of vegetation history, climate change and sediment supply and, where regionally important, tectonics and sea-level change (Erkens et al., 2009). In both Britain and Europe, it is generally agreed that climatic amelioration during the Late Weichselian and Early Holocene led to vegetation expansion and initial stabilisation of fluvial environments, although recent debate has started to question both the density and composition of woodlands during the Early Holocene period (e.g. Whitehouse and Smith, 2010). However, such discussions beyond the immediate site scale are often hampered by the uneven temporal and spatial preservation of organic remains, usually resulting in a concentration of multi-proxy palaeoecological analyses in discrete catchment zones. To reconstruct vegetation, climatic and anthropogenic histories at a European scale requires much more systematic palaeoecological investigation of sediments capable of providing local proxy records from a variety of topographic settings (e.g. Cyprien et al., 2004; Chiverrell et al., 2008a) and will certainly aid in the debates concerning the landscape character of pre-industrial landscapes (e.g. Kaplan et al., 2009). In Britain, early models of valley-floor development suggested that deforestation, soil erosion and associated hydrological changes in response to anthropogenic activity, initially during the Bronze Age, resulted in the majority of fine-grained overbank alluviation (Shotton, 1978), further exacerbated in the Romano-British period by the expansion of winter cereal production and the introduction of deeper ploughing techniques (Buckland and Sadler, 1985). Therefore, human impact manipulating vegetation dynamics was viewed as the main driver of change. However, more recent studies suggest that significant alluviation occurred during the Medieval period (French et al., 2005; Foulds and Macklin, 2006; Brown, 2009). This concept of prolonged alluviation from later prehistory into the Medieval period and linked to human impact is well established in European river valleys (Lang and Nolte, 1999; Vannière et al., 2003; Zolitschka et al., 2003; de Moor et al., 2008; Dotterweich, 2008; Tinapp et al., 2008; Bogemans et al., 2012; Meylemans et al., 2013). Recently, it has been suggested that in Britain such anthropogenically generated sediments, termed agro-industrial alluvium, could be used as an ‘event marker’ for defining the Anthropocene (Foulds et al., 2013), although such debates are fraught with difficulty (e.g. Gale and Hoare, 2012; Lewin and Macklin, 2013; Brown et al., 2013b) and are well beyond the scope of this paper. Over time, the role of climate as a driver of change has gained greater emphasis (Macklin, 1999), particularly through the statistical analysis of radiocarbon datasets (Macklin et al., 2010) and their correlation with other proxy records of climate change (Mayewski et al., 2004). However, some workers still suggest the need for caution when trying to unravel such records and their underlying drivers (Zolitschka et al., 2003), whilst others have questioned the validity of the methodology underpinning the statistical analyses (Section 4). In Germany, significant information on valley floor hydrology and palaeoclimate has been gained from the dating and stable isotope analysis of sub-fossil oak remains in a number of valley floors (Spurk et al., 2002; Mayr et al., 2003). Given their robust nature, it seems likely that such sub-fossil trees would be a common feature of the alluvial record across mainland Europe, yet they have not received such detailed attention elsewhere; in Britain, whilst limited analysis of radiocarbon and dendrochronological records from sub-fossil oaks has been undertaken in the Trent Valley (Salisbury et al., 1984), this remains an isolated example. One approach that geoarchaeologists and geomorphologists have taken to understanding drivers of valley-floor change is to study landscape transformation during historical episodes of climatic instability (Kadlec et al., 2009). These studies include the

Please cite this article in press as: Howard, A.J., et al., Geoarchaeological records in temperate European river valleys: Quantifying the resource, assessing its potential and managing its future, Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.05.003

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analysis of urban flood records where there is a long history of documentation and despite the problems of estimating some palaeohydraulic parameters (e.g. bed roughness), studies such as from the city of Cologne demonstrate the potential of such records to enhance our overall knowledge base (Herget and Meurs, 2010). In both Britain and across Europe, numerous empirical studies have demonstrated that the climatic oscillations of the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and Little Ice Age (LIA) resulted in the active transformation of valley floors from relatively stable to actively braided systems (Rumsby and Macklin, 1996; Brown, 1998). In Britain, active transformation particularly during the LIA is most notable in river systems affected by historic metal mining, such as the Tyne catchment draining the Pennine orefields of north-east England (Rumsby and Macklin, 1994; Macklin, 1997) where the release of large volumes of metal-contaminated sediments during flooding prevented the recovery of riparian vegetation. However, in some parts of continental Europe where metal mining has been historically important, the role of human impact is still considered the primary driver of slope-channel coupling (Klimek and Latocha, 2007); elsewhere in Europe, despite the recognition of significant historic metal contaminated sediments (Raab et al., 2005; de Moor et al., 2008; Hürkamp et al., 2009), there has been little geoarchaeological focus on their role in valley-floor transformation. As well as looking at the historical record, another important way forward in recent years have been the attempts of geomorphologists to model past landscape evolution and tease out the role of climate and land-use using geoarchaeological data (Coulthard and Macklin, 2001). Modelling suggests that neither climate or anthropogenic factors alone result in landscape change but rather humans prime landscapes, allowing geomorphological thresholds to be crossed upon climate change, a conclusion borne out by some empirical studies (e.g. Chiverrell et al., 2007). Whilst such studies allow new insights into landscape histories, the validation of models still presents challenges (Coulthard et al., 2007; Coulthard and Van De Wiel, 2012) and as French (2010, p 344) notes, ‘modelling is no absolute substitute for good palaeoenvironmental data directly related to human activities in well understood culturally shaped landscapes’. 4. Securing chronologies and event correlation The development of secure chronologies is integral to understanding whether system response is driven by natural environmental change, or is triggered by human activity. In Britain, whilst the dating of isolated Holocene fluvial sequences has been relatively common place since the mid 1970s (Shotton, 1978; Robinson and Lambrick, 1984), it was not until the early 1990s that any attempt was made to collate dates and interrogate them in order to elucidate the underlying drivers of river sedimentation and erosion histories (Macklin and Lewin, 1993). Refinement of the data and further comparison with cultural and climatic records (e.g. Macklin, 1999) was initially augmented by a greater understanding of the depositional contexts and taphonomic issues affecting dated materials (Lewin and Macklin, 2003; Lewin et al., 2005; Howard et al., 2009). In the past decade, these large datasets have been subjected to increasingly advanced statistical analysis using cumulative probability density functions to identify clustering of dates and comparing patterns with hydro-climatic records (Macklin et al., 2010) and whilst concerns over the methodological approach have been expressed (Chiverrell et al., 2011), they continue to be used to identify synchronous events and teleconnections, even on an inter-hemispheric basis (Macklin et al., 2012). In mainland Europe, despite significant campaigns of radiometric dating, cumulative probability density functions are beginning to be used to

tease out causal linkages (e.g. Starkel et al., 2006; Hoffman et al., 2008), although such work is still in its infancy here. In addition to radiocarbon studies, the last two decades have seen the increasing refinement of optically stimulated luminescence techniques to single grains of sand and silt, overcoming many of the issues associated with sediment reworking and the incomplete zeroing of the luminescence signal, particularly, although not exclusively within alluvial environments (Wallinga, 2002; Vandenberghe et al., 2004, 2013; Rittenour, 2008). Whilst this technique is providing powerful new datasets, it is not without its challenges and significant problems still remain (e.g. estimating past water tables). Given the constraints on both techniques, perhaps the greatest potential of developing robust chronologies lies in the use of multiple techniques together with the refinement of dates through modelling within a Bayesian framework (Chiverrell et al., 2008b; Brown et al., 2013c). A promising avenue for future research lies in the combining of archaeological and historical proxies to derive estimates of Holocene sea-level rise (Sivan et al., 2001; Kluiving et al., 2013). Furthermore, the development of other techniques will continue to provide new opportunities to secure chronologies; for example, recent advances in the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide dating of fluvial deposits is allowing the reconstruction of the geomorphological evolution of river valleys (Dunai, 2010; Rixhon et al., 2011), extending age controls far back to Palaeolithic contexts (Rixhon et al., 2014). 5. Approaches to mapping and geoprospection Given the complexity of valley-floor behaviour, it is essential that geoarchaeologists adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to elucidating the cultural and environmental record. In terms of surface morphology, landform assemblages (palaeochannels, terraces, etc.) have traditionally been mapped through simple aerial photographic analysis of vertical and oblique images (French et al., 1992; Baker, 2006), augmented by ground-truthing, usually including an element of geomorphological mapping. Although Landsat marked the advent of widespread availability of satellite imagery, the spatial resolution of early data was not high enough to elucidate archaeological features on the ground and whilst modern sensors such as IKONOS and Quickbird are well within desirable scale limits and offer multi-channel capabilities (Smith and Pain, 2009; Lasaponara and Masini, 2011), their cost is often prohibitive for geoarchaeological investigations, although where used, they have provided insightful results (Rajani and Rajawat, 2011; Traviglia and Cottica, 2011). To a certain extent, such problems are beginning to be overcome by the use of free online viewers such as Google Earth (Kaimaris et al., 2011) together with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Remote Piloted Vehicles (RPVs) (Chiabrando et al., 2011), although the full potential of such platforms has yet to be fully explored. In Britain, the routine collection of LiDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) data as part of floodplain hydrological studies by the Environment Agency and its sister organisations has revolutionized the speed and accuracy of mapping of both natural landforms (Jones et al., 2007) and archaeological features more generally (Opitz and Cowley, 2013). Although it is less effective as a geoarchaeological tool in systems where channels have remained stable and vertical accretion has dominated (thereby blanketing and smoothing floodplain topography), it has revolutionized our insights into spatial patterning of known archaeological remains, especially where it can be compared with other assembled datasets (Powesland et al., 2006; Howard et al., 2008; Bennett et al., 2013). The reflected return pulse signal of LiDAR, which is used to generate a digital terrain model (DTM) (Challis, 2006), continues to be the

Please cite this article in press as: Howard, A.J., et al., Geoarchaeological records in temperate European river valleys: Quantifying the resource, assessing its potential and managing its future, Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.05.003

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focus of technique refinement in order to improve image clarity and prospection potential (Devereux et al., 2008; Hesse, 2010). Limited research also suggests that the intensity signal may provide important information regarding land cover and the burial environment of archaeological remains; however, the precise nature of any relationships and the factors influencing them require much further investigation (Challis et al., 2011; Challis and Howard, 2013). In Europe, with some exceptions (e.g. Berendsen and Volleberg, 2007), LiDAR data appears to be less readily accessible via national agencies and therefore the opportunities to examine extensive tracts of alluvial landscape are less forthcoming. However, where it has been used in small valley-floor case studies, for example to review settlement on the I zica floodplain of the Lubliana Marshes, it has led to a complete reinterpretation of the archaeological record (Budja and Mleku z, 2010). Away from valley floors, its use has grown and it has been applied with great effect in the forested uplands of Austria (Doneus et al., 2008) as well as the mixed landscape of the Baden-Württemberg area, southern Germany (Hesse, 2013). An alternative approach to creating highresolution DTMs, which has been used in a valley-floor context, is through the collection of dGPS data during systematic geoprospection surveys (e.g. Bogemans et al., 2012). The refinement of digital elevation models (DEM) and associated imagery is continuing to enhance our understanding of archaeological contexts (van Dinter, 2013); furthermore, in geomorphology, the use of multi-temporal DEM analysis is providing insights into the microtopography of floodplain evolution (e.g. Brasington et al., 2000) and such methodologies may well have a role in future geoarchaeological prospection. In addition to LiDAR, the collection of multispectral and hyperspectral data using sensors which record various wavelengths of reflected light is increasingly being used to identify archaeological features and landform assemblages and provide information on ground conditions. In Britain, data has been collected using aircraftmounted sensors (notably CASI and CASI2 [Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager], ATM [Airborne Thematic Mapper], Eagle and Hawk); where used, such technologies have demonstrably enhanced the record of known archaeology, but the lack of widely available ‘off-the-shelf’ datasets restricts their application (Challis et al., 2009; Bennett et al., 2013). Across Europe, there appears to be a greater emphasis on the analysis of multi-sensor data captured by satellites across a range of geomorphological settings (Rowlands and Sarris, 2007; Grøn et al., 2011) and although alluvial contexts have been investigated (Traviglia and Cottica, 2011), there is greater scope for the development of tailored methodologies for such environments. As well as describing surface morphology and near-surface features, description of archaeological sites within alluvial settings requires an understanding of the three dimensional architecture of the floodplain, beyond the single exposure. In Britain this has traditionally relied upon the collation and interpretation of borehole records usually collected by hand augering or mechanized drilling as part of major site investigation works in advance of resource exploitation and/or major infrastructure developments. Across the low-lying alluvial plains of north-west Europe geoarchaeologists and physical geographers have a long history of systematic coring campaigns (Weerts and Berendsen, 1995; Berendsen and Stouthamer, 2002; Bogemans et al., 2012; Cohen et al., 2012b). In both Britain and Europe, the development of GIS has allowed the integration of multiple datasets, modelling and interrogation of stratigraphic relationships (Bates, 2003; Challis and Howard, 2003; Berendsen et al., 2007). In addition to coring, a combination of Ground Penetrating Radar and Electrical Resistivity techniques have been used to map subsurface architecture (Bates and Bates, 2000; Howard et al.,

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2008) with further enhancement of methodologies gained through the addition of palaeoecological data (Bates et al., 2007b). When integrated with our knowledge of the contemporary landscape collected from airborne remote sensors, such toolkits provide a powerful approach to landscape modelling (Leopold and Völkel, 2004; Carey et al., 2006; Berendsen, 2007; Howard et al., 2008). 6. Conclusions This paper has sought to provide an overview of geoarchaeological approaches to understanding site distribution preservation potential and geoprospection in alluvial environments across Britain and continental Europe. It appears that whilst techniques and approaches may differ between researchers working in different countries, the unified aim is to reconstruct fluvial processes and to dovetail this information with the archaeological record to aid geoprospection and assessment of preservation potential. Similarities are observed in the evolution of geographically discrete river catchments across Europe and this provides archaeologists with an opportunity to develop standardized transnational ‘best practice guidance’. In general, this overview suggests that researchers in Britain and continental Europe are using similar methodological approaches to address key research questions concerning landscape evolution; where different approaches are observed, these almost always reflect issues of data availability (such as those relating to airborne remote sensing) and access to equipment etc. A key challenge across Europe and especially as we move further towards inter-regional comparison is how to deal with the issues raised by comparing catchments of different scale (e.g. de Moor et al., 2008), although such challenges are not new. Furthermore, by their very nature, fluvial records are fragmentary and an additional challenge is how to integrate proxy records of varying resolution (e.g. Arnaud et al., 2005). However, continuity of investigation is essential if as a geoarchaeological community we are to contribute to a wider understanding of landscape and exploit opportunities offered by initiatives such as the European Landscape Convention (http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Summaries/ Html/176.htm; English Heritage, 2009). Such issues are ever more pressing as we are enter a period of significant climatic and environmental challenges in the light of global warming (Brown et al., 2013c). Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Professor Tony Brown and Professor Mark Macklin for providing pre-publication copies of a number of important papers and to Dr Frieda Bogemans (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences) and Mark Kincey (University of Durham) who provided helpful discussions on a draft of this manuscript. Professor David Bridgland is also thanked for his insightful comments on this paper. References Andres, W., Bos, J.A.A., Houben, P., Kalis, A.J., Nolte, S., Rittweger, H., Wunderlich, J., 2001. Environmental change and fluvial activity during the Younger Dryas in central Germany. Quaternary International 79, 89e100. Arnaud, F., Revel, M., Chapron, E., Desmet, M., Tribovillard, N., 2005. 7200 years of Rhone river flooding activity in Lake Le Bourget, France: a high-resolution sediment record of NW Alps hydrology. The Holocene 15 (3), 420e428. Baeteman, C., 2008. De Holocene geologie van de Belgische Kustvlakte. Geological Survey of Belgium, Professional Paper 2008/2-N. 304: 36 p. Baeteman, C., Declercq, P.-Y., 2002. A synthesis of early and middle Holocene coastal changes in the Belgian lowlands. Belgeo 2, 77e107. Baeteman, C., Waller, M., Kiden, P., 2011. Reconstructing middle to Late Holocene sea level change: a methodological review with particular reference to ‘A new Holocene seal level curve for the southern North Sea’ presented by KeE Behre. Boreas 40 (4), 557e572.

Please cite this article in press as: Howard, A.J., et al., Geoarchaeological records in temperate European river valleys: Quantifying the resource, assessing its potential and managing its future, Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.05.003

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