Chronological Horizon Research Articles

Pre-Mongolian Medieval Nomadic Monuments from the Saratov Region

The purpose of the article is to compile an up-to-date summary of the medieval nomad monuments dating back to the pre-Mongol period on the territory of the Saratov region. The following tasks are solved: cultural and chronological attribution of the complexes; their mapping; generalization and analysis of the data obtained in the context of the history of the Eastern European nomads. Various methods were used in the work: diachronic (periodization of the nomads existence in the studied territory), historical-systemic (study of nomadic society as a system) and historical-comparative (identification of general developmental patterns of nomadic societies), typological (typology and classification of the archaeological materials and complexes), and chronological (study of gradual development of the nomadic culture in the Lower Volga region). The main source of the study is the materials and publications on the nomadic archaeological sites from the Saratov region, as well as previous generalizing works on this topic. Data on 74 monuments are analyzed and mapped. The complexes are grouped into three natural and geographical zones (the basin of the Khopyor and Medveditsa rivers; the Volga Upland; and the Steppe Trans-Volga region). The complexes are also classified according to the three conditional chronological horizons: Saltovo-Mayaki (8th – 9th centuries); Oghuz-Pechenegs (9th – 11th centuries); and Polovtsian (late 11th – early 13th centuries). An attempt is made to correlate the well-known complexes of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture with its separate ethno-cultural groups (the Bulgars, the Khazars, and the Alans) and among the materials of the 9th –11th centuries to single out the Pecheneg and Oghuz components. The Polovtsian sculptures and the burials were correlated with written data on the groups of nomads from the Volga-Don steppes dating back to the middle of the 9th – early 13th centuries.

Vizitatorii muzeului Sighișoara Veche în perioada de început 1899−1917

The oldest cultural institution in Sighișoara is the History Museum housed in the Clock Tower, the symbol of the town. It opened its doors to the public on 25 June 1899 and it remains open to this day. An important source related to the beginnings of the Sighișoara museum is its first Visitors Signing Book. It was used in the first decades of the institution’s existence. According to the dating of the signatures, it would fit into the chronological horizon between 1899 and 1918. Unfortunately, due to its unrestricted exhibition in the 1940s and 1970s, there are also signatures of visitors from this period.

Set Belts from the Catacomb No. 31 of the Early-Medieval Burial Ground near Verkhnii Saltiv Village

The materials of the catacomb burial no. 31 investigated in 1985 by the expedition of the Kharkiv Historical Museum under the leadership of V. H. Borodulina on the main site of the Early-Medieval burial ground in Verknii Saltiv village (VSM1) are introduced into the scientific circulation. The burial chamber, transverse to the dromos, contained the remains of two people (a man and a woman) with the traces of deliberate destruction committed in ancient times (fig. 1: 1). Inventory found with the buried people (fig. 2) allows dating this complex to the second — third quarters of the 9th century. The elements of the belt set found in the burial, represented by cast bronze plaques and a fragment of a bronze belt buckle (fig. 1: 2—6) are of interest. Two belt plaques with a fixed loop in the lower part of the shield are decorated with a lotus ornament (fig. 1: 6) typical for the 3rd chronological horizon of the Saltiv antiquities. Two square-shaped plaques with a rectangular hole that has a pointed top in the lower part of the shield (fig. 1: 3, 4) are distinctive among the Turkic antiquities of the 8th—10th centuries. Similar plaques of the Saltiv period are found in the assemblages of the Volga River middle region and the Southern Urals (Volga Bulgarians, Magyars, Mordovians, Mari), where they are part of the decorations of the Turk-Ural circle. Five more round plaques are decorated with floral ornament (fig. 1: 5), which finds analogies in the monuments of the “Magyar” circle of the 9th—10th centuries (Elizavetino-Mikhailovka, Kriukovo-Kuzhnovskii burial grounds in the Volga region, burial in the village of Nova Mykolaivka in the Dnipro Oblast). This belt set consists of three types of plaques that correspond to different traditions. Appearance of the set reflects existence of certain military fashion in the Saltiv society associated with the role played by the Magyars in the 830–890s, being in allied relations with the top of the Khazar Khaganate.

The Avellino Event. Cultural and Demographic Effects of the Great Bronze Age Eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Overview of main project results, publications and valorisation activities

Between 2015 and 2019, a team of archaeologists, palaeobotanists and geologists from the Universities of Groningen, Amsterdam and Leiden looked into the distal effects of a powerful eruption of the Somma–Vesuvius volcano in Campania on the former wetlands of the Agro Pontino and Fondi coastal plains in Central Tyrrhenian Italy. These wetlands are located c. 60 km south of Rome and between 90 and 140 km north-west of Mount Vesuvius. The ‘Avellino’ eruption took place during an advanced stage of the Early Bronze Age and was radiocarbon dated around 1900 BCE. This article reports on the results of the research programme “The Avellino Event: Cultural and Demographic Effects of the Great Bronze Age Eruption of Mount Vesuvius”, funded by the Dutch Research Council. The team’s main hypothesis, that people living in the surroundings of Mount Vesuvius in the Early Bronze Age who had time to escape the proximal effects of the eruption – pyroclastic flows and heavy ash falls – fled to the relative safety of nearby coastal areas to build a temporary or permanent new existence, was disproved by field evidence early on. No major environmental and archaeological impacts were evident in the archaeological and environmental record of the study area around the date of the eruption. Nonetheless, the research resulted in a significant increase in geological and palaeobotanical data, which has proved extremely useful for the reconstruction of the longue durée of human–landscape interactions. The Avellino tephra was a most reliable chronological horizon in this reconstruction contributing to the overall objectives of the long-running Pontine Region Project of the University of Groningen. This contribution contains an overview of the main results of the Avellino Event Project, including an overview of scientific publications, valorisation output, and a brief discussion of some remarkable spin-off projects.

Die Hunnen kommen! Zur Deutung den Brandschuttschichten und Zerstörungshorizonten innerhalb der spätkaiserzeitlichen Fundstellen der Sântana de Mures-Černjachov-Kultur / The Huns are coming! On the interpretation of layers of fire debris and horizons of destruction within the late Imperial period sites of the Sântana de Mures-Černjachov culture

In the collective memory of many European people, the Huns are perceived as one of the most violent gentes west of the Dniester, which might have committed many atrocities, acts of vandalism, and destructions in the territories they crossed. The image of these violent Huns influenced the archaeological research as well. One can often find mentions of a so-called Hunnic phase (Hunnenzeit), associated with levels of violent destruction in the Sântana de Mures-Cernjachov settlements and disruption of their behaviours: periods without burials, a new chronological phase of buried treasures, etc. All these create the image of a so-called Katastrophenhorizont (chronological disaster horizon). The spatial distribution of its traces should indicate the ways and directions the Huns entered the region. This study tries to discuss both the written sources related to the arrival of the Huns in the geographical space west of the Dniester and the archaeological traces associated with the Huns in the area inhabited by the SMCK culture. Among the main conclusions of the study, one may observe that we cannot speak about an invasion of a large Hunnic army. Rather, we can identify traces of many small-group invasions that led to the decay of the Gothic confederation. From an archaeological standpoint, it must be underlined that the field research shows a high level of significant destruction in the archaeological sites, mainly in the settlements, west of the Dniester. The nature of the archaeological discoveries rather indicates that the local population had already left the settlements before their destruction.

Harbour geoarchaeology of Lechaion (Corinth area, Greece) sheds new light on economics during the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition

Lechaion in Corinth, Greece, is the largest ancient port in Greece. Harbour geoarchaeological investigations, based on 14C-dated palaeoenvironmental archives taken from a well-studied inner basin (Basin 3) and a still unknown outer basin (Basin 4), revealed anthropogenic lead excesses starting from the 12th century BCE, associated with brown coal fragments, for the first time discovered in such an ancient archaeological context. Given that historical sources trace the foundation of the port back to the 7th century BCE, these results attest to protohistoric industrial use of the site and push back its chronology by over five centuries. The existence of such ancient port activity not only extends the chronological horizon for harbour activity in the Corinthian area, but also provides new insights for the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age (LBA/EIA) transition, including potential trading routes that may have transited through Lechaion, likely spanning across the Gulf of Corinth and possibly even beyond, to western Mediterranean urban centers.

SURVEY AT HOLOSKIV 1 SITE

The results of archaeological research carried out at the two-layered Сucuteni-Trypillia settlement of Holoskiv 1 in the Middle Dniester region are described in the paper. The study establishes the relative chronology of the Middle Trypillia sites of this territory, basing on the analysis of ceramic material.
 New archaeological data, discovered through the surveys of the Kamianets-Podilskyi State Historical Museum-Reserve expedition, makes it possible to add and revise certain elements in the scheme of the relative chronology of the Middle Trypillia on the Dniester.
 The analysis of ceramic finds (study of the morphology and ornamentation of painted ware) make it possible to distinguish two chronological horizons at the Holoskiv 1 settlement. The lower one was assigned to the final stage BI. This horizon included the pottery decorated with polychrome and bichrome painting, which refers to the Kadyivtsi type of sites (according to T. Movsha). Analogies to these finds made it possible to expand a number of similar sites, which may later be considered within the Kadyivtsi local group. It included Kadyivtsi-Bavky A, Kudryntsi I, Schipenitz A, Nezvysko II, Frydrivtsi, Havrylivtsi-Stinka, Pidpylyp’ya (lower horizon), Hrynchuk (lower horizon), Tymkiv I, Kubachivka (lower horizon), Kozak I, Holoskiv 1 (lower horizon), Hlybochok, possibly Velyka Slobidka-Khreschate (lower horizon), Babyn-Yama, Zinkivtsi 4, Zinkivtsi 5 and Zinkivtsi 6.
 The upper horizon was mostly represented by samples of tableware with monochrome black ornament. Following N. Vynohradova, S. Ryzhov, T. Tkachuk, it was assigned to the stage Trypillia B II. The analysis of the discovered material confirms Tkachuk’s opinion that the settlement belongs to the Mereşeuca-Schipenitz contact zone. Only further archaeological research on wide areas, and obtaining a consistent series of C14-dates for representative closed assemblages of the region sites will improve the local-chronological division of the Cucuteni-Trypillia settlements in the Middle Dniester region.

Pottery traditions in Kydonia: Preliminary results from the petrographic analysis of three pottery assemblages in Chania

Chania, or Minoan Kydonia according to the Linear B tablets, has been an important Minoan settlement throughout the Bronze Age. Systematic and rescue excavations on the hill of Kastelli since the 1970 s has revealed the presence of a major palatial centre of the Late Minoan III (LM IIIA1-B1) period that kept thriving even after the collapse of the Minoan palatial system. This paper deals with the combined analysis of three assemblages from Chania covering all phases of the Postpalatial period (LM IIIA1 to LM IIIB2). The petrographic analysis of an array of coarse and fine wares allowed the in-depth investigation of pottery production throughout the LM III period and the establishment of the main pottery recipes. Issues of provenance and technology of manufacture are investigated with emphasis on the use of different types of raw materials for the production of coarse wares used for domestic purposes as well as semi-fine and fine wares used for transportation and consumption of staples and liquids. With an approach incorporating pottery from different contexts and different chronological horizons of the LM III period this paper examines continuity and discontinuity in the use of fabrics and clay recipes in time and at a micro-regional level. Last but not least, the technological characteristics of the renowned ‘Kydonian workshop’ are examined.

Late Acheulean Handaxes from Northeastern Caucasus: Morphology and Technology

We describe the variability of morphological and technological features of handaxes from two culturally and chronologically consecutive Acheulean assemblages of Dagestan, Northeastern Caucasus. The early one, dating to MIS 11–10, is represented by three sites: Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 (complex IV, layer 3), Darvagchay-Zaliv-4 (layer 5), and Darvagchay-Zaliv-2. The late complex, dating to MIS 7, includes the sites of Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 (complex IV, layer 2), Darvagchay-Zaliv-4 (layer 3), and Darvagchay-Karier. We examine analogies from other Acheulean sites in the Caucasus. Two-dimensional geometric-morphometric analysis was used to study the shape of tools from Dagestan. The findings suggest that the shape of unifacial tools is the same as that of Ьifaces. The comparison of tools from two cultural and chronological horizons, including those from contemporaneous sites in the Caucasus, indicates a higher variability in earlier tools. Based on the scar pattern analysis, three chaînes opératoires in manufacturing handaxes were reconstructed. Tools of the later complex had been subjected to a more thorough reduction than those of the early complex. Technological continuity was traced over a considerable timespan (MIS 11–7). It was manifested in the standardization of bifacial shape and the gradual sophistication of chaînes opératoires. Given the high morphological homogeneity of tools from Dargvachay complexes and other contemporaneous industries of the Caucasus, it can be suggested that these technological tendencies are characteristic of the entire Caucasus.

‘Scrap Metal Hoards’ of the Later Urnfield Period in the Carpathian Basin

Large ‘scrap’ metal hoards have so far been seen as a characteristic of the older Urnfield Period in the eastern Carpathian Basin. Using the hoard from Dezmir, Romania, as a starting point, this paper describes a group of hoards with chronologically and spatially diverse components. These hoards were hidden during the younger Urnfield Period and represent smaller variants of the older, large ‘scrap’ hoards. Earlier research has used them to define a chronological horizon (‘Phase 3-Jupalnic-Turia-Ha A2’). Based on archaeological observations, spatial data and a correspondence analysis, we argue that they represent a specific hoarding practice instead, characteristic of Phase 4, i.e. the younger Urnfield Period.

Investigation of human remains from the archaeological areas of “Parco archeologico di Ostia antica”: The role of CT imaging

• CT has been demonstrated a valuable method for studying ancient skeletal remains. • CT can highlight internal alterations in a non-invasive manner. • CT may be used to detect many pathologies, such as trauma, infection, arthropathy. • CT can support and enhance anthropological conclusions. Archeological excavations in the area of the “ Parco archeologico di Ostia antica ” uncovered human remains requiring radiological insight to clarify the etiology of multiple morphological alterations. The purpose of this paper was to analyze CT findings of the remains, to push forward the contribution of CT in anthropological analysis. We examined human remains belonging to four different individuals, coming from different chronological horizons, ranging from the Roman Imperial Age (cases 1, 2 and 4) to the Middle Age (case 3). Bone remains of each individual underwent CT scan separately using a 268-slice scanner (GE, medical system, revolution CT). CT findings added value in reaching effective hypotheses on the origin of bone alterations and on biological aspects of the examined individuals. In three out of four cases the radiological hypotheses corresponded to the anthropological ones (cases 1, 3 and 4), with better resolution of the inner alterations of bones which strengthened the initial hypothesis. In one case (case 2), CT imaging proposed an alternative hypothesis (i.e., osteomyelitis versus osteosarcoma). CT highlights internal alterations in a non-invasive manner, exposing hypotheses that are not evident or that can be underestimated from an external examination. Hence, this imaging modality may be used as a valuable tool to study archaeological remains and to detect a wide variety of pathologies, including trauma, infections, arthropathies and neoplasms, in the context of a multidisciplinary approach to archeological investigations.

Four centuries of cooking wares at Priene: Tracing transformation in supply and trade patterns in western Asia minor (Turkey)

This paper presents the results of a diachronic and multidisciplinary investigation into the production and consumption of cooking ware in the ancient city of Priene (Turkey). Three major chronological horizons are considered, covering the fourth to the first century BCE: the late Classical/early Hellenistic period, the middle Hellenistic period, and the late Hellenistic/early Roman Imperial period. Following a thorough typological and macroscopic study of fabrics, an integrated analytical approach combining petrography and elemental analysis (wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence) was applied to investigate the main macroscopic types and fabrics that characterised cooking wares. Integration of the results from the typological study with the subsequent analyses of 90 representative samples has provided high-resolution insights into cooking ware production and consumption at Priene over the study period. In addition to tracing transformations in local and regional manufacture over time, the results show that cooking wares were imported to the city from several places and, moreover, at a scale at least equivalent to that for other categories of ceramic vessels at that time. Changes in the manufacturing technology of local and regional products and the origin of imports are discussed in the context of significant historical developments that took place in this region over the period covered by the study.

Social structures in Late Iron Age Transylvania. Archaeological evidence of social competition and hierarchy

The scope of this article is to discuss the main components of the social structures which characterized the “Celtic” and the “Dacian” cultural and chronological horizons, and to identify, on the basis of the available archaeological evidence, the means and practices through which social hierarchy and competition was expressed within the communities of each horizon. The rural society specific to the “Celtic” horizon was largely heterarchic, whereas the “Dacian” horizon was characterized by a hierarchic social organization. The differences between these two horizons can be observed in the funerary practices, the organization of the landscape, and the range of visual symbols used in the expression of social status and power by the local elites.

Late Quaternary geological history of the Sydney estuary, Australia

The present study provides valuable new information on the evolution of Sydney estuary by tracing the development of the complete marine–estuarine–fluvial system through a full glacial cycle (Last Interglacial, LIG, to the present Interglacial). Extensive seismic (361.3-line km) and sedimentological studies provided a sound foundation for production of a detailed litho- and seismic-stratigraphic record for the estuary. In the absence of reliable age data, a relative chronology was constructed based on Quaternary flooding surface elevations constrained by a recent local relative sea-level record supported by other global studies. A thick, ubiquitous estuarine unit deposited during the LIG period (MIS 5.5; 130–115 ka BP) was an important chronological marker horizon and played a critical role in controlling seismic interpretation and correlation throughout the estuary. Deposition during the MIS 5.1/5.3 interstadial period (100–80 ka BP) resulted in deposition of fine-grained, estuarine sediments in the lower estuary and time-equivalent, fluvial-sourced estuarine and channel sediments, and marsh sediments in the upper and central estuary, respectively. The MIS 3 interstadial event did not play a significant role in sedimentation in Sydney estuary. An eolian dune field formed adjacent to the southern shores of the estuary during the last glacial (31–24 ka BP) when most of the sediment in the lower estuary had been removed by fluvial erosion. Transgressive marine sand, which deposited in the lower paleovalley after the ocean re-entered the estuary, experienced repeated erosion and infilling by laterally migrating paleoriver channels. A marine flood-tide delta now occupies the estuary mouth, and the lower and upper/central estuary are mantled in a veneer (mean 7 m) of Holocene sand and mud, respectively. KEY POINTS A relative chronology was based on Quaternary flooding surface elevations constrained by relative sea-level. First geological history of the Sydney estuary with a complete marine–estuarine–fluvial system. A late Quaternary estuary evolution through a full glacial cycle. Geological history includes an interstadial (MIS 5.3/5.1) estuarine sequence.

On the emergence and changing positions of old-established groupings in migration contexts: A process perspective on group formation in Jordan

While being ‘old-established’ is usually seen as a product of the social negotiation of migration, there is little empirical research on how this category evolves and changes over time. To unravel this process, we focus in this article on the group formation processes which contribute to the making and unmaking of being ‘old-established’ as a pattern of interpretation, a we-image and a potential power chance in various figurations. A combination of figurational and biographical approaches with an extended chronological horizon provides a theoretical and methodological framework to focus on when, and in what circumstances, residents distinguish between ‘old-established’ and ‘newcomers’ in their we- and they-images. Attention is paid to the socio-historical transformations which increase or reduce material and immaterial power chances (such as ownership of land, length of association and internal cohesion) within dynamic processes of group formation in migration societies. A multigenerational case study of an extended family in Jordan shows the complex processuality of how long-time residents become ‘old-established’ as a group, which expands their power chances, and under what circumstances this status can become eroded.

Cranial deformation in the northwestern Caspian Sea region in the Bronze Age: Siberian parallels

AbstractThis research examined the occipitoparietal deformations of the Early Bronze Age skulls from the southern European part of Russia and the similarities between those deformations and head modifications among the population of the Okunev culture in Southern Siberia. The study objects used were 3D models of neurocrania from 41 individuals retrieved from Early Bronze Age graves in the northwestern Caspian Sea region and 64 individuals from the Okunev graves. Analyses, of the skull shape variations, included geometric morphometrics, generalized Procrustes analysis, and principal component analysis with visualization of morphological changes as heat maps. Statistically significant differences between the subgroups were tested by performing dispersion analysis (ANOVA) using the Geomorph package. The samples of Early Bronze Age skulls from the southern European part of Russia showed differences between deformed and non‐deformed skulls, as well as differences in the location of the deformed regions in both males and females. The differences between chronological groups turned out to be stronger than the difference between undeformed and deformed skulls in the Okunev samples. The next analysis focused only on the Okunev deformed skulls involving a study and assessment of the differences in the types of deformation between the early and late subgroups. The final analysis demonstrated similarities between the Bronze Age male deformed neurocrania from the northwestern Caspian Sea region and those from the early Okunev culture. The study confirmed the occipitoparietal flattening on the Bronze Age skulls from the southern European part of Russia using geometric morphometrics. This skull deformation finds analogies among deformed male neurocrania from the early chronological horizons of the Okunev culture. The similarity of head modifications in populations from different geographical regions indicates contact between these populations. This is confirmed by archaeological data and nonmetric cranial traits.

Analogue Non-Causal Null Curves and Chronology Protection in a dc-SQUID Array

We propose an analogue quantum simulator of a 1 + 1D spacetime containing non-causal curves, in particular null geodesics going back in time, by means of a dc-SQUID array embedded on an open superconducting transmission line. This is achieved by mimicking the spatial dependence of the metric with the propagation speed of the electromagnetic field in the simulator, which can be modulated by an external magnetic flux. We show that it is possible to simulate a spacetime region containing non-causal null geodesics, but not a full spacetime containing a chronological horizon separating regions with non-causal null geodesics and regions without them. This is in agreement with a recent suggestion of an analogue-gravity chronology protection mechanism by Barceló et al.

Ранняя история: о реконструкции культурных и исторических процессов римского времени в днепро-донецкой лесостепи

The article responds to A. M. Oblomsky’s publication, published in Stratum plus (4, 2021). The methodology for reconstructing cultural and historical processes is one of the essential issues in the archaeology of the Roman period in Eastern Europe. It should be based on the scientific developments of Western European (mainly German) scholars. The method of constructing “cultural-historical groups” is criticized, in fact, based on a relatively insignificant sample (“rediscovered culture”) of ceramic fragments originating from exclusively partially excavated settlements. The basis for identifying the “chronologicalcultural horizon” is precisely the chronological horizon — a set of dating items of the same time in a particular territory associated with burial and settlement objects, containing ceramic vessels of a specific set of shapes.

Characterization of ceramic from the Early Bronze Age Xinzhai site, Henan Province, China, by using a multi-analytical approach

This study investigates ceramic production at the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2050–1640 BCE) site of Xinzhai, in central China. The excavation of this settlement produced rich and well-contextualized archaeological material that depicts the Longshan-Erlitou Culture’s development stage. A total of sixty ceramic samples, representative of the various pottery categories and chronological horizons evidenced at this site, and five geological samples gathered around the Xinzhai site were chosen to conduct this analysis. By combining chemical compositional analysis (XRF), spectroscopy analysis (FTIR), and mineral identification (XRD), we were able to define the geochemical signature and mineral characteristics of these ceramics. Ceramic bodies' chemical and mineral composition indicate that raw materials were carefully selected. The firing temperatures of ceramics are between 750 and 950 °C.

The Late Quaternary geological history of the upper and central Sydney estuary (Australia)

Sydney estuary, on the east coast of Australia, is a small, drowned river valley with a narrow, sinusoidal channel in the upper reaches; a wide, U-shaped valley with large embayments and tributaries in the central section; and an extensive, more marine lower waterway. The estuary has experienced repeated flooding episodes during Quaternary high sea-level stands, in the absence of neotectonism. The present work considered only the upper and central estuary and therefore, potentially records the highest Quaternary sea-level stands.Valuable information on the geology and sedimentology of Sydney estuary stored in poorly-accessible grey literature has been synthesised and summarised in the current work. The first seismic-stratigraphic model was correlated to borehole data to provide a new Late Quaternary geologic history for the upper and central estuary. Limited absolute geochronological data necessitated reliance on stratigraphic correlation and conformity (uniformitarianism).A basal fluvial unit was overlain by a thick, extensive estuarine sequence, which was followed by fluvial marsh and channel sands and muds with minor wood, gravel and peat. Holocene estuarine muds mantled the upper surface of the estuary. Seismic expression was generally consistent with this lithologic subdivision. The thick estuarine unit acted as an important chronological marker horizon and played a critical role in controlling seismic interpretation throughout this part of the estuary. The paleo-estuarine sequence onlaps the modern shoreline and was most likely deposited during the Last Interglacial highstand (MIS 5.5 at 130–115 kyBP) when relative sea-level in Sydney estuary was between ＋4.5 m to ＋5.5 m above the present surface. The channel and marsh sequences were probably backstepping, progradational units in the upper estuary and possibly bayhead deltaic deposits in the central section. An erosional upper surface, as well as the stratigraphic position of these sequences, suggested deposition during a subsequent Interstadial event, most likely the MIS 5.1 at 82–87 kyBP. The knowledge generated by this study provided useful information for greater understanding of Quaternary estuarine evolution on the Australian east coast and for current and future construction projects in and across the estuary.