Geomorphological evolution of the Petrovaradin Fortress Palaeolithic site (Novi Sad, Serbia)

Slobodan B Marković,Milivoj B Gavrilov,Jef Vandenberghe,Milica G Radaković,Dušan Mihailović,Zoran M Perić,Igor Obreht,Frank Lehmkuhl,Christian Zeeden,Janina J Nett,Thomas Stevens

doi:10.1017/qua.2020.88

Abstract

AbstractTwo phases of archaeological investigation were performed in the Novi Sad City Museum at Petrovaradin Fortress. In this study, we summarize the results of geo-archaeological investigations of the second period of excavation inside the Novi Sad City Museum building. The fortress is situated on a Danube terrace with the top of the bedrock at ca.123 m asl. The investigated section consists of undisturbed fine-sandy silt. The grain-size distribution of the sediments indicates clearly its alluvial reworking but shows also a general similarity with typical primary loess in the region. All analyzed proxies indicate slightly stronger weathering in the upper part of the profile. Luminescence ages suggest that the investigated sequence covers the last glacial period and the terrace presumably formed during MIS 4. Subsequently, the Danube started its incision at the start of the next warmer period (MIS 3) onward. This terrace age and elevation enable us to derive an uplift rate of the terrace of ca. 0.73 mm/a for the last 60 ka, which seems to increase towards the present. Basal loessic material, in which artifacts occur, likely in the reworked position, indicate that the area close to today's Petrovaradin Fortress was already inhabited in MIS 5.

Highlights

IntroductionThe investigated loessic sequence is located in the southeastern part of the Carpathian Basin at a terrace position on the Petrovaradin rock (the northernmost edge of the Fruška Gora Mountain), on the right bank of the Danube River (Fig. 1)
The investigated loessic sequence is located in the southeastern part of the Carpathian Basin at a terrace position on the Petrovaradin rock, on the right bank of the Danube River (Fig. 1)
The fortress of Petrovaradin is built on a Mesozoic (TriassicJurassic) ophiolite sequence composed mostly of diabase that is partly metamorphosed into greenschist

Summary

Introduction

The investigated loessic sequence is located in the southeastern part of the Carpathian Basin at a terrace position on the Petrovaradin rock (the northernmost edge of the Fruška Gora Mountain), on the right bank of the Danube River (Fig. 1). The strategic significance of the Petrovaradin rock and surroundings initiated its continuous occupation since the Middle Paleolithic. Excavations conducted during 2003 and 2004 yielded thousands of Middle Palaeolithic artifacts from the lower part of the stratigraphic sequence, representing the most convincing evidence of the settlement of. Geomorphological evolution of the Petrovaradin Fortress Palaeolithic site (Novi Sad, Serbia).

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion