The archaeological investigation of the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Sites (Bringmans 2000, 2001; Bringmans et al. 2000, 2001a, 2001b; Vermeersch 2001) located in the Vandersanden Brickyard Quarry began in 1995 and is still on going. The excavations are directed by the Laboratory for Prehistory at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in close collaboration with the Institute for the Archaeological Heritage (IAP) of the Flemish Community. In 2002 the City of Maastricht also stepped in with funding and specialist support is further provided by the Gallo-Roman Museum of Tongeren. The preliminary results of this year's excavation campaign are outlined in the report that follows.
From July 5 until September 9, 2002 a fifth excavation campaign took place at the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Sites. This year's excavation team included students from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), the Universiteit Gent (Belgium), the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium), the Open Universiteit (Belgium), the Universiteit Leiden (The Netherlands), the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (The Netherlands), University College London (United Kingdom) and from the Politecnico di Torino (Italy).
The goal of the "Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Project" is the analysis of the Middle Palaeolithic occupation in this part of Northwest Europe in the context of rapidly changing climates and landscapes between ca. 175,000 and 35,000 years ago. Efforts to assemble and evaluate relevant data concerning the relations between Middle Palaeolithic hominins and their environments have been very limited until now. The question of how the Interglacial-Glacial climate changes and the palaeoenvironments of Northwest Europe matched the resource needs and adaptive capability of Middle Palaeolithic hominins still has to be addressed. The task of assessing connections between human activities and the changing environments has been made more complex by recent Quaternary Studies, which show that the late Middle and Late Pleistocene climate (Dansgaard et al. 1993; Petit et al. 1999) was very unstable.
Although conceived with an archaeological goal in mind, the "Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Project" had to begin by constructing palaeoclimatical syntheses from available environmental data, because late Middle and Late Pleistocene environments are too poorly understood in Northwest Europe for a mere review of existing literature to suffice. The palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Sites, used as proxies for hominin presence and absence, include firstly the Quaternary stratigraphy of the loess quarry, secondly the botanical remains and lastly the faunal remains. In this study, this data is also used as a framework for the spatio-temporal distribution of the lithic assemblages at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater.
The Quaternary (Gibbard & West 2000) has a long-established tradition of sediment sequences being divided on the basis of represented climatic changes. The divisions were in fact fundamentally lithological. The overriding influence of climatic change on sedimentation and erosion in the Quaternary has meant that climate-based classification has remained central to the subdivision of the Quaternary succession. The recognition of climatic events from sediments is by its nature an inferential method and is by no means straightforward. Sediments are not unambiguous indicators of contemporaneous climate and other evidence such as fossil assemblages, characteristic sedimentary structures (including periglacial structures) or textures, soil development and so on must be used wherever possible to further illuminate the origin and climatic affinities of a particular unit.
Over the last 15 years, there has been a huge surge of interest in the study of "Cyclothem Scale Sedimentary Cycles" that have been generated by changes in the Earth's orbit. The investigation of the frequently complex way in which orbital cycles have influenced the Earth's climates, oceans and ice-caps and of the resulting cycles in the stratigraphical record, is called "Cyclostratigraphy" (House & Gale 1995), a term first used at a meeting in Perugia (Italy) in 1988.
The Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Sites, which are still being excavated, also produced significant botanical (charcoal) remains at the late Saalian 2 (late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6) and late Last Interglacial s.l. (MIS 5a) sites, which again aid in the reconstruction of palaeoenvironments. Lastly, the macro and meso faunal remains of the early Middle Weichselian sites (early MIS 3) and the micro faunal remains of the still calcareous deposits complete the palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Sites.
Lithic remains of at least five different Middle Palaeolithic valley settlements, separated by thick stratigraphic units have been partially excavated. These Middle Palaeolithic settlements, situated in the valley of the Hezerwater, tributary of the River Maas, were occupied at different times during the late Saalian 2 (late MIS 6), the late Last Interglacial s.l. (MIS 5a) and the early Middle Weichselian (early MIS 3). It is worth noting that in collaboration with the Universities of Groningen (NL), Cheltenham (UK) and Oxford (UK) a new absolute dating research programme at the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater sites, including thermoluminescence and radiocarbon dating, is currently underway. A greater number of thermoluminescence and radiocarbon measurements should allow us to construct an even more detailed chronological framework.
The Vandersanden Company exploited the fill of the asymmetrical Hezerwater Valley. The final quarry wall was preserved by the Vandersanden Company and the City of Maastricht further placed the quarry at the disposal of the Laboratory for Prehistory for further excavations, since several archaeological levels had been located. We would like to refer to Gullentops et al. (1998), Bringmans (2000), Bringmans et al. (2000, 2001a, 2001b) and to Gullentops & Meijs (2002) for a full description of the stratigraphy at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater.
4.1. The "Lower Sites" at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater (late MIS 6)
4.1.1. The Debris Avalanche Levels
4.1.1.1. Level I & II
Locally the Saalian "Hezerwater Sand and Silt" and the "Hezerwater Gravel" are overlaid by a disordered mass of River Maas terrace gravel. This first process of "landsliding" in the flank of the terrace had the form of a "debris avalanche". This debris avalanche was generated by a failure, which flowed rapidly in a single event. The debris avalanche is mainly characterised by hummocky terrain in the lower parts, corresponding to a thick sedimentary deposit. The largest boulder carried and deposited on the fan was weighing more than 100 kg.
The oldest archaeological levels at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater should be seen in relation to this debris avalanche. It is important to note that many frost-cracked cobbles were encountered inside these debris avalanche deposits. This means that these deposits underwent very intensive periglacial frost action. At the base of and inside these deposits, several rather thick (1.5 cm) non-Levallois flakes were found. These excavated artefacts measured between 4 and 9 cm.
4.1.1.2. Level III or the "Core-Chopping Tool Level"
A large flint core-chopping tool weighing 2 kg was found at the top of the same debris avalanche deposits. As it was not found inside the deposits, we presume that it was deposited on top of it. Possibly, the nodule was flaked in order to obtain implements with useful sharp working edges. However, the core itself could also have been used as a heavy chopping tool. In the same level a small tested flint core was also excavated and some Levallois flakes were found as well.
4.1.2. GRA-Levels & ZNB-Levels
4.1.2.1. Introduction
This second process of "landsliding" in the flank of the River Maas terrace, at a spot 15 m to the North of the first, had the form of repeated "debris flows". This repeated debris flow activity affected the slope, where erosion and the base-of-slope, where high sedimentation rates took place. These debris flows have probably amphitheatre-shaped scarps at their heads in the flank of the Maas terrace. The debris flows have smaller scarps and the tails of redeposited material are longer and thinner than that of the already described debris avalanche.
4.1.2.2. Lower GRA-Level or GRA-Level 0
In this gravel bed a few cores and flakes were found. The artefacts appear to have undergone fluviatile transport, because the whole assemblage is clearly abraded. Most artefacts have clear signs of edge rounding. This means that the artefacts were certainly not found in situ.
4.1.2.3. ZNB-Levels
ZNB-Level A is a gravel line in which some Levallois flakes and bladelets were excavated. The artefacts appear to have undergone fluviatile transport. Again, these artefacts were not in situ. ZNB-Level B is a very interesting archaeological level situated in loamy sediments. Some "fresh" tools and some large Levallois blades (up to 10 cm) were found in this soil horizon. These "fresh" late Saalian 2 (late MIS 6) artefacts were probably found in situ.
This data supports the hypothesis that elongated flint blades, which are often treated as an invention of "Modern Humans" around 40,000 years ago, appeared as early as 300,000 years ago (Bar-Yosef & Kuhn 1999) among various members of the Homo lineage.
4.1.2.4. Upper GRA-Levels
4.1.2.4.1. Introduction
In the main gravel-bed of this Hezerwater amphitheatre-shaped side-valley, with two relatively steep slopes and a flat bottom, approximately 150 artefacts were found last year (GRA-Levels 1 & 2). During this excavation season, a further 350 artefacts have been excavated in these levels. The debris flow deposits of the main gravel-bed are a loose mixture of all the rock types from the old Maas terrace, plus some Hezerwater material.
The matrix, filling the pores between the larger rocks, is composed of pebbles and loam. Some of the larger rocks are partly shattered, but still there is a crude arrangement of the gravel and the more loamy sediments, so that layering can be observed in the main gravel-bed. This layering allows us to subdivide the Upper GRA-Levels into two sub-levels.
It is interesting to note that all the Levallois products (GRA-Level 1) were found in deeper positions than the non-Levallois products (GRA-Level 2). One might therefore argue that the Levallois products (GRA-Level 1) are probably older than the non-Levallois products (GRA-Level 2) found in the Upper GRA-Levels at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater.
4.1.2.4.2. GRA-Level 1
The GRA-Level 1 "fresh" artefacts were flaked according to Levallois debitage techniques. One Levallois core, five Levallois blades, several Levallois flakes, several Levallois points and chips were recovered.
A first raw material unit (RMU) comprises a Levallois flake and a Levallois core-edge flake. These two artefacts could be refitted to each other and were both manufactured according to a recurrent unipolar Levallois debitage technique. The other Levallois products, including the Levallois core, appear to belong to another RMU. The main debitage surface of the Levallois core is clearly laminar. A recurrent bipolar Levallois debitage technique was implemented here to manufacture the laminar Levallois products. But at the other side of the same Levallois core a large "non-Levallois" flake was removed. This means that from the same core Levallois blades and "non-Levallois" flakes were detached.
4.1.2.4.3. GRA-Level 2
About 90 % of the GRA-Level 2 non-Levallois artefacts (n = 300) were found in GRA-Level 2IB comprising more than 50 cores, many flakes, blades and points, several denticulated tools and some side-scrapers. Several refits have also been found. Although no Levallois artefacts s.s. have been found in GRA-Level 2, one has the impression that these hominins were probably capable of implementing Levallois technology when needed. This has been proven by the presence of a few Mousterian cores.
To assess the quality of the flint, preliminary testing of the flint nodules by the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Neanderthals was followed by occasional cortical flake removals. Consequently, more time was invested and more systematic, even Levallois-like, removal of flakes followed when the flint nodules were of excellent knapping quality. Quality control was always an important consideration for the Neanderthals at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater, because knapping flakes from raw material cobbles of different quality would always result in the utilisation of different technological strategies.
4.1.3. VLL-Site & VLB-Site
4.1.3.1. Introduction
At the "Lower-Sites", a small valley (width about 20 m) created two slopes, stable enough to allow the development of an incipient soil. Both the VLL and the VLB soil at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater contain artefacts. Numerous charcoal pieces, identified as Pinus silvestris (determination by F. Damblon - KBIN Brussels - 1998), were excavated in the loamy matrix of the VLB soil.
4.1.3.2. Contact GL/VLB
About 150 artefacts have been found near the contact between the GL and the VLB soil on the north facing valley-side. This concentration comprises a core, several small flakes and about one hundred chips. Several pieces on this north facing valley-side could be refitted. This is clearly an in situ knapping workshop, where a simple pebble was worked into a core in order to create small flakes.
4.1.3.3. VLL-Site
The excavation of the VLL soil horizon on the south facing valley-side yielded up to now about 300 artefacts. Beside several flakes, blades and amorphous cores, five small bipolar cores for blades, some with two carefully prepared striking platforms at both ends, were found. Several cortical blades could be refitted to one core. A few notched tools were also recovered. The non-Levallois direct unipolar parallel laminar debitage, the non-Levallois direct unipolar convergent laminar debitage and the non-Levallois direct bipolar laminar debitage techniques (Révillion 1995; Révillion & Tuffreau 1994) are all present at the VLL-Site. The blades were thus produced by direct non-Levallois methods with the assistance of the natural convexities of the elongated flint nodules.
4.1.3.4. VLB-Site
The excavation of the VLB soil on the south facing valley-side yielded up to now about 200 artefacts. Here several flakes, blades, amorphous cores and three cores for blades with carefully prepared striking platforms were found. A burin was also recovered from the site. The non-Levallois direct unipolar parallel laminar debitage technique is present at the VLB-Site. The blades were thus produced by a direct non-Levallois method with the assistance of the natural convexities of the elongated flint nodules. Resharpening of the striking platform of the elongated cores is attested by means of the removal of rejuvenation core flakes.
4.1.3.5. Discussion of the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Small-Tool Assemblages at the VLL-Site and the VLB-Site
It is important to recognise that generally speaking, we are dealing in the VLL and the VLB find horizons with very similar non-Levallois flake and blade industries. They are probably the result of at least two, maybe three, different occupation phases, because to date on the south facing valley-side no refits have been established between the VLL and VLB artefact assemblages.
The mostly small dimensions of the artefacts and the tools of the VLL-Site and the VLB-Site may be determined by the character of the locally available Hezerwater raw material used for flaking. But, it is worth noting that the small well-rounded, egg-like Maas pebbles, which were also present in the gravel-bed river channel, have not been used for flaking. This could mean that the small dimensions of the tools were not per se an answer to specific raw material conditions, so that at the VLL-Site and the VLB-Site at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater, we are probably dealing with non-Levallois, laminar, so-called "Middle Palaeolithic Small-Tool Assemblages".
Some sites in Central Europe have also yielded "microlithic" assemblages, which were certainly not an answer to specific raw material conditions (Moncel 2001). These settlements are often linked to water springs and the associated fauna assemblages are composed of one or two great herbivores. Sometimes, elephants belong to this fauna. But some sites have yielded a higher frequency of these herbivores, which were often young animals. We are probably dealing here with anticipated specialized settlements in favorable areas for animals (Moncel 2001). These great herbivores have been dismembered by a team of organized hunters aided by very small tools showing the diversity of Middle Palaeolithic hominin technical behavior.
4.1.4. Surface Flint Quarrying Activities at the Lower-Sites
All the artefacts from the VLL and the VLB soil horizons and also those artefacts, which came out of the GRA-Levels 0, 1 & 2, were not patinated. The artefacts from the VLL and the VLB soil horizons represent a very "fresh" conservation condition. Most of the artefacts excavated in the GRA-Levels 1 & 2, which occurred in loamy lenses, were also "fresh" in appearance, whereas the GRA-Level 0 assemblage is clearly abraded.
These observations suggest that the VLL and VLB assemblages are clearly in situ, that the GRA-Level 1 & 2IB assemblages have not been rolled over long distances, but are still near to the place where they have been discarded and finally that the GRA-Level 2IA assemblage is clearly not in situ.
In all the different archaeological levels of the "Lower-Sites" we found many complete flint nodules, tested nodules, cores and blanks, as well as large quantities of lithic waste material. Only a few tools, mostly denticulated pieces, were excavated. The raw material found at these sites is often of low quality. In many cases, the flint nodules show a natural elongated shape. There is clearly evidence for a deliberate selection of raw material, because those elongated nodules were preferentially worked into cores.
We think that the Neanderthals came here to search the gravel-bed and to pick out the elongated flint nodules. The hypothesis that surface flint quarrying activities were being carried out by the Neanderthals at the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater "Lower-Sites" seems to be valid. The Neanderthals repeatedly used this gravel-bed channel as a source of coarse flint. The flint-rich gravel-bed itself and the gently sloping banks along both sides of the river channel were an obvious location for the Neanderthals to manufacture their flakes, blades, points and tools. During the time of the flint knappers working on the gravel-bed and on the river banks, the surrounding area would have been covered by the late Saalian 2 (late MIS 6) loess deposits, where new vegetation (e.g. pine trees) would be beginning to be established.
We can state that the Middle Palaeolithic "Lower-Sites" at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater, with an intermittently active spring to the West, where water seeped out of the cliff face, have yielded several archaeological levels, which represent several occupation phases. The chronological (late MIS 6) and typological setting of the tools, as well as the elongated morphology of the blanks and the evidence for surface flint quarrying activities by the Neanderthals, confirm the original character of the "Lower-Sites" at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater.
4.2. The "Upper-Site" or VBLB-Site at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater (MIS 5a)
A succession of several Bt-horizons separated by bleached and humic soils can be observed (Bringmans et al. 2000, 2001a, 2001b; Gullentops & Meijs 2002; Schirmer 2002). The Veldwezelt-Hezerwater Last Interglacial s.l. soil succession (MIS 5) can also be correlated with the soil sequence at the Garzweiler (Germany) browncoal opencast mine (Schirmer & Kels 2002). At Veldwezelt-Hezerwater only the greyish VBLB Bth-horizon contains many in situ artefacts and charcoal pieces, identified as Betula sp. (determination by F. Damblon - KBIN Brussels - 1998). The dark humic horizons (HZB) and especially the OHZB contain the expected volcanic minerals with enstatite (Meijs 2002). This remarkable detailed succession of mature soils and humic horizons, representing the "Rocourt Soilcomplex" covered by the "Warneton Soilcomplex" gives us a fairly complete image of the complex terrestrial climatic fluctuations during the Last Interglacial s.l. (MIS 5).
It is of utmost importance to bear in mind that the lithic material of the VBLB-Site certainly does not belong to the Eemian s.s. (MIS 5e). The absence of artefacts in the lowest Bt soil horizon of the "Rocourt Soilcomplex" at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater, which is the terrestrial equivalent of the Eemian s.s. (MIS 5e), has also been observed at neighbouring archaeological loess sites (e.g. Veldwezelt-Op-de-Schans, Kesselt-Brickyard-Quarry and Vroenhoven-Kanaal), where geological and archaeological research is currently under way (Groenendijk et al. 2001; Gullentops & Meijs 2002; Meijs 2002). This absence of artefacts could indicate that at least this part of Northwest Europe was apparently deserted by the Neanderthals during the Eemian s.s. (MIS 5e).
The lithic assemblage (n = 350) of the VBLB-Site is primarily characterised by the predominance of the Levallois debitage technique. The lithic material comprises one Levallois core, used as a side-scraper and one recurrent centripetal Levallois core with several refits.
Ten larger Levallois flakes (> 5 cm) and several smaller Levallois flakes (< 5 cm) were also found. Some larger non-Levallois flakes were present in the lithic assemblage as well. The toolkit is made up of two single side-scrapers, one déjeté side-scraper, one notched piece, one bifacial single convex side-scraper and one bifacial foliate. None of these tools seem to have been produced on Levallois blanks.
At the "rich area" of the VBLB-Site the Neanderthals were beyond any doubt aiming to manufacture large Levallois blanks, which were discarded at the "poor area", where the Neanderthals utilised the tools s.l. in a variety of tasks. The "Southern Concentration" could be interpreted as an in situ knapping workshop (Bringmans et al. 2001b), whereas the "Northern Sector" could be explained as the tool utilisation zone (Bringmans et al. 2001b), where the presence of numerous pieces of charcoal (Betula sp.) also indicated the proximity of a hearth.
4.3. The Rocourt-Island-Site or the VBLB-South-Site at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater (MIS 5a)
The pedo-stratigraphical situation at the VBLB-South-Site is more or less comparable with the situation at the VBLB-Site, which is also situated in the upper Bth soil horizon of the "Rocourt Soilcomplex". However, the vertical artefact distribution, from the overlying bleached horizon just under the humic horizons, down to the top of the PGB, amounts to more than 75 cm. This could be seen as a result of the postdepositional processes like bioturbation and cryoturbation. Most of the larger artefacts were excavated in the upper part of the find horizon.
The lithic assemblage (n = 75) is primarily characterised by the dominance of the Levallois knapping method. Several Levallois flakes, a few small blades, several core-edge flakes and some pseudo-Levallois points have been excavated. Until now, no Levallois cores and no tools were found. The raw material ranges from dark grey flint to course grained chert.
4.4. The TL-R-Site, the TL-GF-Site and the TL-W-Site at Veldwezelt-Hezerwater (early MIS 3)
The loess, loess-derived sediments and the many intercalating fossil soils overlying the "Rocourt Soilcomplex" and the "Warneton Soilcomplex" belong to the Weichselian s.s. representing the terrestrial equivalent of MIS 4, 3 and 2. Here a complex stratigraphy has been established, with several horizons containing microfauna and abundant mollusc shells. The TL-Site, the TL-R-Site, the TL-GF-Site and the recently discovered TL-W-Site are situated on the east facing valley-side of a Middle Weichselian Hezerwater valley (early MIS 3). In the TL-Scarp several arc-shaped side-gullies are preserved. The excavated artefacts are related to the fill of this gully-system and not to the erosional process.
The artefacts (n = 57) of the TL-R-Site include one irregular core, one Levallois core (14 cm), several flakes, of which two refit, some chips and a small hammer stone. Some fragmentary faunal remains (n = 25) have also been excavated.
The lithic assemblage (n = 27) of the TL-GF-Site found at three distinct levels, comprises one hammer stone, a large core (15 cm), several smaller flakes and two large retouched flakes, but chips are virtually lacking. A typical Quina transverse side scraper has also been excavated on this site. Some fragmentary faunal remains (n = 11) have as well been excavated.
The artefacts of the recently discovered TL-W-Site (n = 20) include several ordinary flakes, but also some Levallois flakes. These artefacts are probably in situ.
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