A predictive map of compression- Sensitivity of the dutch archaeological soil archive

Weak soils like unconsolidated clay and peat may deform and compress considerably by loading, for example, by sand bodies for roads and railways. Archaeological sites within such easily compressible soil layers may therefore be heavily affected by different kinds of construction works. The vulnerability of archaeological sites to compression is...

Middle Palaeolithic artefact migration due to periglacial processes; a geological investigation into near-surface occurrence of Palaeolithic artefacts (Limburg-Eastern Brabant coversand region, the Netherlands)

The original distribution pattern of Middle-Palaeolithic artefacts may be affected by tectonic movement, sedimentation and periglacial processes. This is e.g. the case in the coversand area of Limburg and Eastern Brabant (NL), where the occurrence of numerous finds in a SW-NE trending zone across the Roer Valley Graben is considered enigmatic....

Compositional variation in Roman colourless glass objects from the bocholtz burial (the Netherlands)

We investigated the major and trace element composition and Pb and Sr isotope characteristics of a series of about 20 colourless glass objects from a single high-status Roman burial from the Netherlands (Bocholtz). The major elements show a relatively homogeneous group, with one outlier. This is corroborated by the Sr isotopes. Based on the Sb...

Degradation processes in colourless Roman glass: Cases from the Bocholtz burial

A group of Roman glass objects from the Bocholtz burial in the SW of Limburg (The Netherlands) was found to have been subject to varying degrees of degradation. Many of the 25 colourless glass objects were fragmented to pieces <0.1 cm ("sugared"), whereas the three transparent blue-green glass objects were in near-pristine state. Analyses using...

Spatial prediction of the variability of Early Pleistocene subsurface sediments in the Netherlands - Part 1: Heavy minerals

We investigated the spatial variability of the heavy-mineral composition in the Early Pleistocene fluviatile Kedichem Formation in the Netherlands in order to meet the demand for more information about subsurface sediment composition. We first determined the spatial extension and thickness of the sediment body, then used Fuzzy clustering...

Spatial prediction of the variability of Early Pleistocene subsurface sediments in the Netherlands - Part 2: Geochemistry

We started a geochemical mapping campaign in the Early Pleistocene fluviatile Kedichem Formation in the Netherlands in order to meet the demand for more information about subsurface sediment compositions. Geochemical data were collected during a sampling campaign, and about 600 samples from the Kedichem Formation were analyzed. By linking the...

A geological interpretation of heavy metal concentrations in soils and sediments in the southern Netherlands

The natural variation in heavy metal contents of subsurface sediments in the southern Netherlands is described, based on a series of 820 bulk geochemical analyses. The detrital heavy metal contents of these sediments show linear correlations with Al as a result of their joint occurrence in phyllosilicates. Anomalous enrichments occur as a result...