Cone penetration testing for extensive mapping of deeply buried Late Glacial coversand landscape paleotopography

Abstract

Abstract Late Glacial coversand landscapes are important archives of environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition as well as of Final Paleolithic human adaptation to these changes. However, extensive reconstruction of these landscapes is hampered by the fact that they are often preserved best when covered with later eolian, alluvial and/or marine sediments. These paleolandscapes are generally mapped by means of manual or mechanical coring to date, which is rather expensive and labor‐intensive. This study aims to develop a more efficient methodology to map paleolandscapes buried within the coversand and below Holocene floodplain deposits, using a case study in NW Belgium. Electric cone penetration testing is established as a primary technique for mapping the paleotopography of thin organic rich layers within the coversand, in combination with core sampling for lithostratigraphic correlation and validation. Radiocarbon dating and pollen analyses are used to investigate the chronological and biostratigraphic context, respectively. The results reveal the paleotopography of three undulating organic rich stabilization surfaces within the coversand, which were formed from the GI‐1d to GI‐1a. These paleosurfaces provide valuable contexts for studying Final Paleolithic archaeology in the coversand region specifically, but the developed methodology is applicable to Paleolithic archaeology in general.