Disturbances Of The Holocene Lake-Bog Sediment Succession As Revealed By Pollen Record From Wietrzychowice (Southeastern Kujawy, Central Poland)

Abstract

Abstract Results of geological and pollen investigations of the lake-bog sediments from the section Wietrzychowice W5, located nearby the Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) megaliths, are presented. The pollen data reveal that sedimentation at Wietrzychowice has begun at the beginning of the Holocene (Preboreal). Pollen analysis was used to determine stratigraphy with regard to sediment characteristics. The pollen spectrum was divided into 8 LPAZes (1-7Xa, 7Xb) which were also, where possible, stratigraphically classified. Radiocarbon dating of 6 730 ± 90 BP (5 730–5 480 BC, MKL-702) at depth of 1.20 m confirmed the pollen analysis age estimation. Five settlement episodes were found in organic sediments in the upper part of the W5 core. The first was presumably during the Preboreal, the second in the early Atlantic, the third in the late Atlantic (probably Neolithic FBC), the fourth in the early Middle Ages and the last one in the late Middle Ages. The pollen analysis was useful to point irregularities in sediment succession. Such a situation made palaeoenvironmental interpretation difficult, but further research is still needed to enable an accurate reconstruction.