Towards timing and stratigraphy of the Bronze Age burial mound royal tomb (Königsgrab) of Seddin (Brandenburg, northeastern Germany)

Moritz Nykamp,Jacob Hardt,Tony Reimann,Jens May,Philipp Hoelzmann

doi:10.5194/egqsj-70-1-2021

Abstract

Abstract. This study uses an integrated multi-method geoarcheological and geochronological approach to contribute to the understanding of the timing and stratigraphy of the monumental burial mound royal tomb (Königsgrab) of Seddin. We show that the hitherto established radiocarbon-based terminus post quem time frame for the construction of the burial mound of 910–800 BCE is supported by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The radiocarbon samples were obtained from a substrate directly underneath the burial mound which supposedly represents the late glacial/Holocene soil that was buried below the structure. We use sedimentological (grain-size analyses) and geochemical analyses (element analyses, carbon, pH, and electric conductivity determinations) to reassess and confirm this hypothesis. In addition to the burial age associated with the last anthropogenic reworking during construction of the burial mound, the OSL dating results provide new insights into the primary deposition history of the original substrates used for the structure. In combination with regional information about the middle and late Quaternary development of the environment, our data allow us to provide a synoptic genetic model of the landscape development and the multiphase stratigraphy of the royal tomb of Seddin within the Late Bronze Age cultural group “Seddiner Gruppe” of northern Germany. Based on our initial experiences with OSL dating applied to the sediments of a burial mound – to the best of our knowledge the first attempt in Europe – we propose a minimal invasive approach to obtain datable material from burial mounds and discuss related opportunities and challenges.

Highlights

Burial mounds form part of the most important monuments of European prehistory, and many thousands of these architectural elements are still visible in the landscapes of Europe (Doorenbosch, 2013)
Loose, sandy material was deposited during the construction of the burial mound (May, 2018)
Our optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology – on account of its much larger age range – matches the radiocarbon-based terminus post quem time frame of 910–800 BCE for the construction period of the monumental burial mound royal tomb (Königsgrab) of Seddin and therewith supports its chronological affiliation to the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age with process-based datings

Summary

Introduction

Burial mounds form part of the most important monuments of European prehistory, and many thousands of these architectural elements are still visible in the landscapes of Europe (Doorenbosch, 2013). Archeologists from the different European regions and specialists for certain cultural epochs are usually able to date newly discovered burial mounds based on their external appearance, numerical age control is often still required to reliably relate a burial mound to a specific cultural epoch. This mostly requires excavation for either archeological artifacts or macroscopic remains of organic matter suitable for 14C dating – the former is undesirable in many cases for the purposes of cultural heritage preservation and the latter is often difficult to obtain (Kristiansen et al, 2003). To the best of our knowledge, OSL dating has not yet been performed on burial mounds in Europe, unlike examples from archeological mound structures (e.g., tells and burial mounds) in the USA, Israel, and Jordan (e.g., Feathers, 1997; Porat et al, 2012; Pluckhahn et al, 2015; al Khasawneh et al, 2020)

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Conclusion