Papers by van dinter marieke
Fluvial lowlands have become attractive human settling areas all around the world over the last f... more Fluvial lowlands have become attractive human settling areas all around the world over the last few millennia. Because rivers kept changing their course and networks due to avulsion, the sedimentary sequences in these areas are archives of both fluvial geomorphological and archaeological development. We integrated geological and archaeological datasets to demonstrate the concurrence of the gradual abandonment of a major Rhine channel (Utrecht, The Netherlands), the development of human habitation in the area, and the interactions between them.
The Utrecht case study highlights the stage-wise abandonment of a natural river channel, due to avulsion, coincident with intensifying human occupation in Roman and Early Medieval times (1st millennium AD). The analyses make maximum use of very rich data sets available for the study area and the tight age control that the geo-archaeological dataset facilitates, offering extra means of time-control to document the pacing of the abandonment process. This allows us to quantify change in river dimensions and meander style and to provide discharge estimates for successive stages of the abandonment phase over a 1000-year period of abandonment succession, from mature river to eventual Late Medieval overbuilt canal when the Rhine branch had lost even more discharge.
Continued geomorphic development during this period - which includes the 'Dark Ages' (450-1000 AD) - appears to have been crucial in the development of Utrecht from Roman army fortress to Medieval ecclesial centre. The settlement dynamics in and around the city of Utrecht changed during the various phases of abandonment. In the bifurcating network of river branches forming the Rhine-Meuse delta, the main Rhine branch hosted the Roman limes military border and transport route. The Rhine- Vecht bifurcation at Utrecht provided an excellent location to raise a Roman fort. Continued geomorphic activity during abandonment in Early Medieval times was characterised by enhanced overbank sedimentation and shifts in the position of bifurcations. River flooding became more incidental in this stage, and alluvial-ridge occupancy became sensitive to flooding events for several centuries. We conclude by demonstrating that similar human-river interactions during Roman times occurred in several other deltas within the former Roman empire, with differences depending on the position of a settlement within the delta, the overall hydrological situation, and the ability of societies to control the changing environment.
In this part two of a diptych of articles, we modelled and quantified the carrying capacity of th... more In this part two of a diptych of articles, we modelled and quantified the carrying capacity of the landscape and the demand and supply of the Roman army in the western Lower Rhine delta with wood and food in the period A.D. -. The absolute volumes of the wood and food were calculated (in m and kCal) and converted into surfaces needed (in km ). In addition, the acreage of available land in the area was quantified (in km ). A comparison of these various values reveals that the carrying capacity of the landscape was larger than hitherto assumed. Initially, the landscape was not limiting for the total demand. However, the pressure on the landscape increased due to a growing population, and because of this the upper limits on the possibilities of production set by the landscape may have been reached in the second century A.D. Furthermore, our calculations show that wood and food, especially cereals, could be procured from agrarian settlements in the immediate surroundings. Therefore, the local population was probably much more involved in the provisioning of the Roman army in the Lower Rhine delta. It seems likely that the Roman army combined local provisioning with extra-regional supply and long-distance transport.
For a long time, historical sources and the marginal landscape have led to the assumption that th... more For a long time, historical sources and the marginal landscape have led to the assumption that the Roman army in the Rhine delta was mainly supplied with products transported over medium and long distances. In a diptych of articles, we will investigate whether this assumption is tenable for wood and food, based on archaeological, palaeo-environmental and geological research carried out in the past twenty years. The first article provides a review of the data, which leads to the argument that the Roman army also procured wood and food (especially cereals and beef) from agrarian settlements in the immediate surroundings. The second article will investigate the scale of local provisioning on the basis of a calculation model.
Castellum Fectio was one of the largest fortifications along the Limes, the northern border of th... more Castellum Fectio was one of the largest fortifications along the Limes, the northern border of the Roman Empire. The castellum, situated 5 km southeast of Utrecht, the Netherlands, was occupied from around the start of our Era to ca. A.D. 260. It was situated along a river bend of the Rhine that was cut off from the main stream during the occupation of the Roman fort. A 6 m long sediment sequence was recovered from the infill of the residual channel and pieces of Roman wall plaster, glume bases of Triticum spelta and radiocarbon dates indicate that the sediments were deposited during the period of Roman occupation. The combined palaeoecological analysespalynological, macrobotanical, entomological and geochemical-allow a detailed reconstruction of changing environmental conditions as a consequence of the Roman occupation. The pollen record reveals a dramatic decrease in arboreal pollen, suggesting that the Romans were involved in large-scale deforestation, transforming semiopen parkland to a landscape of meadows and agricultural fields. Non-pollen palynomorphs, botanical macrofossils and insect remains support this conclusion. The recorded mycoflora shows a shift from assemblages characterised by the tree pathogen Kretzschmaria deusta to assemblages dominated by spores of fungi associated with herbaceous plants, concurrent with the decrease in arboreal pollen. The presence of masticated bran fragments of cereals, clover remains, eggs of intestinal parasites and entomological and geochemical data in the upper part of the sequence indicates that these sediments largely consist of faeces that were dumped into the former channel. Surprisingly, seeds of salt tolerant species are encountered in the sediments of this inland site, which was situated outside the influence of the sea. Horses may have brought these seeds to Fectio in their intestinal tracts after grazing in coastal meadows.
In this part two of a diptych of articles, we modelled and quantified the carrying capacity of th... more In this part two of a diptych of articles, we modelled and quantified the carrying capacity of the landscape and the demand and supply of the Roman army in the western Lower Rhine delta with wood and food in the period A.D. -. The absolute volumes of the wood and food were calculated (in m and kCal) and converted into surfaces needed (in km ). In addition, the acreage of available land in the area was quantified (in km ). A comparison of these various values reveals that the carrying capacity of the landscape was larger than hitherto assumed. Initially, the landscape was not limiting for the total demand. However, the pressure on the landscape increased due to a growing population, and because of this the upper limits on the possibilities of production set by the landscape may have been reached in the second century A.D. Furthermore, our calculations show that wood and food, especially cereals, could be procured from agrarian settlements in the immediate surroundings. Therefore, the local population was probably much more involved in the provisioning of the Roman army in the Lower Rhine delta. It seems likely that the Roman army combined local provisioning with extra-regional supply and long-distance transport.
For a long time, historical sources and the marginal landscape have led to the assumption that th... more For a long time, historical sources and the marginal landscape have led to the assumption that the Roman army in the Rhine delta was mainly supplied with products transported over medium and long distances. In a diptych of articles, we will investigate whether this assumption is tenable for wood and food, based on archaeological, palaeo-environmental and geological research carried out in the past twenty years. The first article provides a review of the data, which leads to the argument that the Roman army also procured wood and food (especially cereals and beef) from agrarian settlements in the immediate surroundings. The second article will investigate the scale of local provisioning on the basis of a calculation model.
Modern climate in western Norway shows a strong west-east gradient in oceanicity-continentality (... more Modern climate in western Norway shows a strong west-east gradient in oceanicity-continentality (coast to inner fjord) and altitudinal temperature gradients that control the regional and altitudinal zonation of vegetation. To discover if similar gradients existed during the Lateglacial and early Holocene, plant-macrofossil analyses were made from five lacustrine sediment sequences in the Nordfjord-Å lesund region selected to sample the present climatic gradients. The macrofossil assemblages could be interpreted as analogues of the present vegetation, thus allowing reconstruction of past vegetation and climates. When the five sites were compared, climatic gradients could be detected. During the Lateglacial interstadial, mid-alpine assemblages with Salix herbacea and S. polaris occurred at the lowland coast and upland inland sites, whereas the inland lowland site had low-alpine dwarf-shrub heath dominated by Betula nana, demonstrating a strong west-east gradient in temperature and precipitation and an altitudinal gradient inland. During the Younger Dryas stadial, assemblages at the lowland coast and upland inland sites resembled high-alpine vegetation, whereas the inland lowland site was warmer with mid-alpine vegetation, demonstrating west-east and altitudinal temperature gradients. Gradients became less pronounced in the Holocene. The early abundance of Betula nana in the inner fjord sites but its rarity at the coast is striking and reflects the oceanicity gradient. All sites became forested with Betula pubescens a few centuries into the Holocene. This forest was probably close to tree line at 370 m a.s.l. at the coast. Inland, there was no detectable altitudinal gradient, with the tree line well above 400 m a.s.l. reflecting the present pattern of tree-line elevation.
Archaeological Reports by van dinter marieke
Rurale nederzetting in Kromme-Rijngebied uit de Late-IJzertijd, Romeinse tijd en Late-Middeleeuwen
Resultaten van het archeologische onderzoek 2002-2004 in binnenstad van Worden naar het Romeinse ... more Resultaten van het archeologische onderzoek 2002-2004 in binnenstad van Worden naar het Romeinse fort Laur(i)um, de vicus en de platbodem 'Woerden 7'.
Archeologisch onderzoek naar Romeinse limesweg en naastgelegen rurale nederzetting.
Thesis Chapters by van dinter marieke
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Papers by van dinter marieke
The Utrecht case study highlights the stage-wise abandonment of a natural river channel, due to avulsion, coincident with intensifying human occupation in Roman and Early Medieval times (1st millennium AD). The analyses make maximum use of very rich data sets available for the study area and the tight age control that the geo-archaeological dataset facilitates, offering extra means of time-control to document the pacing of the abandonment process. This allows us to quantify change in river dimensions and meander style and to provide discharge estimates for successive stages of the abandonment phase over a 1000-year period of abandonment succession, from mature river to eventual Late Medieval overbuilt canal when the Rhine branch had lost even more discharge.
Continued geomorphic development during this period - which includes the 'Dark Ages' (450-1000 AD) - appears to have been crucial in the development of Utrecht from Roman army fortress to Medieval ecclesial centre. The settlement dynamics in and around the city of Utrecht changed during the various phases of abandonment. In the bifurcating network of river branches forming the Rhine-Meuse delta, the main Rhine branch hosted the Roman limes military border and transport route. The Rhine- Vecht bifurcation at Utrecht provided an excellent location to raise a Roman fort. Continued geomorphic activity during abandonment in Early Medieval times was characterised by enhanced overbank sedimentation and shifts in the position of bifurcations. River flooding became more incidental in this stage, and alluvial-ridge occupancy became sensitive to flooding events for several centuries. We conclude by demonstrating that similar human-river interactions during Roman times occurred in several other deltas within the former Roman empire, with differences depending on the position of a settlement within the delta, the overall hydrological situation, and the ability of societies to control the changing environment.
Archaeological Reports by van dinter marieke
Thesis Chapters by van dinter marieke