@inproceedings{SchneiderTaklaRaabetal., author = {Schneider, Anna and Takla, Melanie and Raab, Alexandra and Raab, Thomas and Bonhage, Alexander and Hirsch, Florian and R{\"o}sler, Horst}, title = {Towards an inventory of historic charcoal production fields in Brandenburg, Germany}, series = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2015, Vienna, Austria, 13 April - 17 May 2015}, booktitle = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2015, Vienna, Austria, 13 April - 17 May 2015}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, language = {en} } @misc{RaabTaklaNicolayetal., author = {Raab, Alexandra and Takla, Melanie and Nicolay, Alexander and Schneider, Anna and R{\"o}sler, Horst and Heußner, Karl-Uwe and B{\"o}nisch, Eberhard}, title = {Pre-industrial charcoal production in Lower Lusatia (Brandenburg, Germany): Detection and evaluation of a large charcoal-burning field by combining archaeological studies, GIS-based analyses of shaded-relief maps and dendrochronological age determination}, series = {Quaternary International}, volume = {Vol. 367}, journal = {Quaternary International}, doi = {10.1016/j.quaint.2014.09.041}, pages = {111 -- 122}, abstract = {In pre-industrial times, charcoal burning was a common source of energy across Europe. Charcoal production and its related consequences for the upland environment are well known due to historical and palaeoenvironmental research. In recent years, awareness has grown regarding the use of woods in the lowlands for charcoal production. In the last 20 years, a large charcoal-burning field in Lower Lusatia (Brandenburg, North German Lowlands) was discovered by systematic archaeological excavations of the opencast mine of J{\"a}nschwalde. However, the excavations are limited to the mine, which only covers a portion of the J{\"a}nschwalder Heide and the surrounding forests. In this paper, we present the results of our study regarding the spatial extension and timing of charcoal production in the J{\"a}nschwalder Heide and its surrounding areas. We applied a combined approach using archaeological research results, GIS-analyses of shaded-relief maps (SRMs) and tree-ring dating of selected charcoal kiln remains. Approximately 900 excavated charcoal kiln ground plans were analysed, which provided a solid data basis for our GIS analyses. For an extensive evaluation, we enlarged our study area beyond the limits of the lignite mine. We identified and digitised the remains of the charcoal kilns by creating SRMs from digital elevation models (DEMs) that were based on high-resolution airborne laser scanning data (ALS). The data from the excavated and digitised charcoal kiln remains were analysed in terms of their sizes and spatial distributions. In addition, the dendrochronological ages of 16 selected charcoal kiln remains were determined. This study shows that charcoal production was more extensive than initially proven by archaeological excavations. The remains of more than 5000 charcoal kilns were detected on the SRMs across an area that was twice as large as the excavated charcoal-burning field. In the J{\"a}nschwalder Heide, considerably more charcoal kiln relicts exist compared with the surrounding communal areas. Furthermore, the charcoal kiln remains in the J{\"a}nschwalder Heide have larger diameters, suggesting large-scale charcoal production for supplying energy to the nearby ironworks at Peitz. However, the charcoal production on the communal land was most likely for local crafts. The ages of the charcoal kiln remains indicated that charcoal production occurred between the 17th and 19th centuries, corresponding with the main period of charcoal burning. Overall, our study suggested that charcoal production sites are underestimated in the modern landscapes of the North German Lowlands.}, language = {en} } @misc{RaabBonhageSchneideretal., author = {Raab, Alexandra and Bonhage, Alexander and Schneider, Anna and Raab, Thomas and R{\"o}sler, Horst and Heußner, Karl-Uwe and Hirsch, Florian}, title = {Spatial distribution of relict charcoal hearths in the former royal forest district Tauer (SE Brandenburg, Germany)}, series = {Quaternary International}, volume = {Vol. 511}, journal = {Quaternary International}, issn = {1040-6182}, doi = {10.1016/j.quaint.2017.07.022}, pages = {153 -- 165}, abstract = {Historical charcoal production has long been an unconsidered type of forest utilization in lowland areas. The archaeological discovery of a large charcoal burning area in the forefield of the active opencast lignite mine J€anschwalde in SE Brandenburg (North German Lowlands) has highlighted the need for multidisciplinary research in the study of the dimensions of historical charcoal burning. The charcoal produced in our study area, the former royal forest district Tauer, provided energy for the nearby Peitz ironworks during its operation from the mid-16th to the mid-19th century. Here, we aimed to record the amount, size and distribution of relict charcoal hearths (RCHs) to examine their context with respect to the ironworks and to better understand the potential impacts on late Quaternary landscape change. The applied methods combined archaeological research with shaded-relief mapping of RCHs. To evaluate the detection success of RCHs in the shaded-relief maps (SRMs), we compared the results with the results from specific archaeological surveys and conventional forest site mapping. Furthermore, we analyzed our dataset with descriptive, comparable and spatial statistics. Additionally, dendrochronological dating of charcoal fragments from selected RCHs was used to investigate the temporal relationships among the RCHs. Approximately 6000 circular RCHs were manually digitally identified in the SRMs of the 109-km2 evaluable area. However, ground truthing showed that the shaded-relief maps could not completely capture all RCHs in our study area due to local conditions. At the regional scale, two focus areas with high RCH site densities were found. Statistical analysis revealed that the diameters of the RCHs range widely from 4 to 30.5 m. Spatial statistics were applied to the RCH diameters to aggregate areas with larger or smaller RCHs. At the small scale, no systematic arrangement of RCHs was obvious in the SRMs. Dendrochronological dating of selected RCHs lying close together could not detect significant spatiotemporal relationships or patterns. The dating results also showed that some areas have been preferentially used for charcoal production for over 300 years. Due to the homogeneity of the physiogeographical location factors, we assume that these factors are not superficially responsible for site selection. Instead, economic location factors and contemporary regulations are more likely responsible for the distribution of RCHs.}, language = {en} } @misc{RaabRaabNicolayetal., author = {Raab, Thomas and Raab, Alexandra and Nicolay, Alexander and Takla, Melanie and Hirsch, Florian and R{\"o}sler, Horst and Bauriegel, Albrecht}, title = {Opencast mines in South Brandenburg (Germany) - archives of Late Quaternary landscape development and human-induced land use changes}, series = {Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences}, volume = {8}, journal = {Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences}, number = {3}, issn = {1866-9565}, doi = {10.1007/s12520-015-0227-6}, pages = {453 -- 466}, abstract = {This study outlines the opportunities for geoarchaeological research in active opencast lignite mines in southern Brandenburg (Germany). Studies on extensive outcrops that address both archaeology and soil geomorphology, combined with a geographical information system (GIS) approach, provide unique insights into human-induced environmental changes in Lower Lusatia and generally improve our understanding of landscape dynamics. We present the most recent results from three case studies and review important findings from the last several years. Studies conducted in opencast mines of Cottbus-Nord and J{\"a}nschwalde focus on (i) Late Quaternary geomorphodynamics and soil development and (ii) past land use and the legacy of agriculture and woodland use. Our results are similar to those in other regions in Central Europe, but we also observe regional differences caused by the local setting, e.g. intensification of soil erosion coinciding with the expansion of farming of cultivated lands in the Slavic Middle Ages. Our research reveals the largest archaeologically investigated area of historical charcoal production in the Northern European Lowland (NEL). We are clearly only beginning to understand the massive dimensions of charcoal production in the region.}, language = {en} } @incollection{RoeslerBoenischSchopperetal., author = {R{\"o}sler, Horst and B{\"o}nisch, Eberhard and Schopper, Franz and Raab, Thomas and Raab, Alexandra}, title = {Pre-industrial Carcoal Production in southern Brandenburg and its impact on the environment}, series = {Landscape Archaeology between Art and Science}, booktitle = {Landscape Archaeology between Art and Science}, editor = {Kluiving, Sjoerd and Guttmann-Bond, Erika}, publisher = {Amsterdam University Press}, address = {Amsterdam}, isbn = {978-90-8964-418-3}, pages = {167 -- 178}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{RaabSchneiderBonhageetal., author = {Raab, Alexandra and Schneider, Anna and Bonhage, Alexander and Takla, Melanie and Hirsch, Florian and M{\"u}ller, Frank and R{\"o}sler, Horst and Heußner, Karl-Uwe}, title = {Spatial analysis of charcoal kiln remains in the former royal forest district Tauer (Lower Lusatia, North German Lowlands)}, series = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2016, Vienna, Austria}, booktitle = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2016, Vienna, Austria}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, abstract = {Archaeological excavations have revealed more than thousand charcoal kiln remains (CKRs) in the prefield of the active opencast lignite mine J{\"a}nschwalde, situated about 150 km SE of Berlin (SE Brandenburg, Germany). The charcoal was mainly produced for the ironwork Peitz nearby, which operated from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries. In a first approach, to estimate the dimension of the charcoal production, CKRs were mapped on shaded-relief maps (SRMs) derived from high-resolution LiDAR data (Raab et al. 2015). Subsequently, for a selected test area, identified CKRs on the SRMs were compared with archaeologically excavated CKRs in the field. This survey showed a considerably number of falsely detected sites. Therefore, the data was critically re-evaluated using additional relief visualisations. Further, we extended the CKR mapping to areas which are not archaeologically investigated. The study area, the former royal forest district Tauer, consists of two separate areas: the Tauersche Heide (c. 96 km2 area) N of Peitz and the area J{\"a}nschwalde (c. 32 km2 area) NE of Peitz. The study area is characterized by a flat topography. Different former and current anthropogenic uses (e.g., military training, solar power plant, forestry measures) have affected the study area, resulting in extensive disturbances of the terrain surface. The revised CKR abundance in the study area J{\"a}nschwalde was considerably smaller than the numbers produced by our first approach. Further, the CKR mapping revealed, that a total record of the CKRs is not possible for various reasons. Despite these limitations, a solid database can be provided for a much larger area than before. Basic statistic parameters of the CKR diameters and all comparative statistical tests were calculated using SPSS. To detect underlying spatial relationships in the CKR site distribution, we applied the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic, a method to test for local spatial autocorrelation between neighbouring sites. The test is available as part of the ArcGis 10.1 spatial statistics toolbox. The outcomes are discussed in consideration of our archaeological, archival and dendrochronological research results.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{RaabRaabSchneideretal., author = {Raab, Alexandra and Raab, Thomas and Schneider, Anna and Hirsch, Florian and Takla, Melanie and Nicolay, Alexander and Bonhage, Alexander and M{\"u}ller, Frank and Heußner, Karl-Uwe and R{\"o}sler, Horst}, title = {Reconstructing anthropogenic landscape transformation in the surroundings of the ironwork Peitz (SE Brandenburg, Germany) - 16th to mid-19th centuries}, series = {4th International Landscape Archaeology Conference, Uppsala, 22nd - 25th August 2016}, booktitle = {4th International Landscape Archaeology Conference, Uppsala, 22nd - 25th August 2016}, publisher = {Department of archaeology and ancient history, Uppsala university,}, address = {Uppsala}, pages = {S. 152}, abstract = {Various sources provide information about land use history and landscape transformation. For a variety of reasons, the quality of information differs and is often discontinuous or incomplete. In this interdisciplinary study we take advantage of comprehensive archaeological data gathered by large-scale excavations that were necessary because of opencast lignite mining in Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. By using a GIS we integrate these archaeological findings with results from archival and literature studies, from historical maps, from landforms and soils as well as from analyses of shaded-relief maps derived from up-to-date LiDAR data. The long-term aim is to develop a palaeoenvironmental model and thus to reconstruct landscape changes caused by human activities. The focus of the study is the Peitz ironwork in SE Brandenburg, which was a large consumer of commodities for about 300 years. During the time it operated, extensive transformations are supposed to have affected the landscape in the vicinity because of wood consumption and especially charcoal production. Digital datasets about forested areas for different timespans reconstructed from historical maps were made available. In combination with dendrochronological dating of charred trees, the spatiotemporal dimension of charcoal kilns was determined. Also, sites of former bog iron ore mining could be identified. Moreover, the different sources contain further information about other forms of land uses such as agriculture, pastoralism and even viticulture. In conclusion we can highlight that the mosaic of past land use systems is different from the modern structure but that major changes in the forests have been retained.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{TaklaMuellerRoesleretal., author = {Takla, Melanie and M{\"u}ller, Frank and R{\"o}sler, Horst and Raab, Alexandra and Raab, Thomas}, title = {Forestry and charcoal burning in the vicinity of the ironwork Peitz (South Brandenburg, Germany) - What do we know from historical and archaeological data?}, series = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2014, Vienna, Austria, 27 April - 02 May 2014}, booktitle = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2014, Vienna, Austria, 27 April - 02 May 2014}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, abstract = {The former royal forest districts around Peitz (South Brandenburg, Germany) were used to produce charcoal for the ironwork Peitz (1554 to 1856). More than 800 archaeologically excavated ground plans of charcoal kilns give evidence of the burning activity in the study area "J{\"a}nschwalde Heide" which is only a small part of the whole forest district. The study area in the apron of the active lignite mine J{\"a}nschwalde comprises the royal forest "J{\"a}nschwalder Heide" and the surrounding community forests. Our study approach combines archaeological research, a GIS-based approach (historical maps, airborne laser scanning (ALS) data, etc.) and archival studies.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{TaklaMuellerRoesleretal., author = {Takla, Melanie and M{\"u}ller, Frank and R{\"o}sler, Horst and Raab, Alexandra and Raab, Thomas}, title = {Forestry and charcoal burning in the vicinity of the ironwork Peitz (South Brandenburg, Germany) - What do we know from historical and archaeological data?}, series = {3rd Annual ICLEA Workshop 2014, Dynamics of Climate and Landscape Evolution of Cultural Landscapes in the Northern Central European Lowlands since the Last Ice Age}, booktitle = {3rd Annual ICLEA Workshop 2014, Dynamics of Climate and Landscape Evolution of Cultural Landscapes in the Northern Central European Lowlands since the Last Ice Age}, editor = {Schwab, Markus J. and Theuerkauf, Martin and Brauer, Achim and Wilmking, Martin and Lampe, Reinhard}, publisher = {GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences}, address = {Potsdam}, doi = {10.2312/GFZ.b103-14028}, pages = {51}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{RaabRaabNicolayetal., author = {Raab, Thomas and Raab, Alexandra and Nicolay, Alexander and Takla, Melanie and Hirsch, Florian and Schneider, Anna and R{\"o}sler, Horst and B{\"o}nisch, Eberhard}, title = {Human-induced landscape dynamics in South Brandenburg - findings from different geoarchives}, series = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2014, Vienna, Austria, 27 April - 02 May 2014}, booktitle = {European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2014, Vienna, Austria, 27 April - 02 May 2014}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, abstract = {South Brandenburg is the central part of the North European Lowland (NEL) extending as a plain landscape from the North and Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Central European Highlands and reaching from the Netherlands to Poland. Since many decades lignite opencast mines have been operating in this region which is known as the Lusatian mining district. The total land demand in Lusatia is about 852 square kilometres and mining will continue for many more years or even decades. Large-scale outcrops resulting from these mining activities are excellent archives to study the younger Earth's history. The scope of our research in open cast mines is to reconstruct the Late Quaternary landscape development and to distinguishing natural from anthropogenic forcing and processes. In more detail, the aims are to identify and to quantify the impact of past land uses, i.e. changes of vegetation, landforms and soils induced by agriculture and/or forestry. Here, we are presenting latest results from our research and review important findings giving novel insights into man-induced environmental changes in Lusatia within the past thousands years and thus improving the general understanding of Late Quaternary landscape dynamics.}, language = {en} }