Illustrating 8,000 years of environmental change and human impact in the Areuse River Delta
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2016-10-27

The delta of the Areuse River lies between the foot of the Jura Mountains and the north-western shore of Lake Neuch tel in Switzerland. Archaeological investigations were carried out there between 1995 and 1998 prior to the construction of the A5 motorway. Before this, knowledge about human history and palaeohydrology in the delta was very limited. After preliminary soundings proved positive, a major research programme was set up that involved a team of some twenty archaeologists and specialists from the earth and life sciences.
Test-pitting and trenching across two-thirds of the width (1,3 km) of the upstream part of the delta, followed by excavations and the detailed documentation and sampling of the complex stratigraphies, have revealed a remarkable history of alluvial change and human occupation that covers the last 11,000 years. Over forty palaeochannels have been identified, dating from the Preboreal (c. 9,000 BC) to the post-Medieval period, and since the Middle Neolithic most channels were found to contain archaeological remains.
Five reconstruction drawings representing the alluvial plain of the Areuse River during the Older Atlantic period, the Middle Neolithic, the Late Bronze Age, the Roman period and the Early Medieval period were created in order to illustrate the synthesis chapter of the interdisciplinary study. The aim of these drawings is to visualize the evolution of environmental change and human impact in the study area over a period of 8,000 years. The presentation will focus on the criteria applied during the preparative phase of the drawings to select the archaeological periods to be portrayed and the choices made relating to the depiction of such features as angle of view, geographical scope, season, types of vegetation and human activities. In addition, the underlying environmental and archaeological data taken into account will be discussed as well as the issues of uncertainty and imprecision pertaining to these data, or absence of information. Finally, the composite drawing techniques used for the creation of the illustrations will be explained.

Author - Lic. phil. I Kraese, Jeannette, Office du Patrimoine et de l’archéologie du canton de Neuchâtel,
Hauterive, Switzerland (Presenting author)
Co-author(s) - Thew, Nigel, Office de la culture (OCC), section d’archéologie et de paléontologie,
canton of Porrentruy, Switzerland
Co-author(s) - Von Burg, Alexander, Federal Roads Office of Switzerland (FEDRO), Bern, Switzerland
Co-author(s) - Elmer, Chloé, Office du Patrimoine et de l’archéologie
du canton de Neuch tel, Hauterive, Switzerland
Co-author(s) - Ram rez, Katherine, Office du Patrimoine et de l’archéologie
de Neuch tel (OPAN), Hauterive, Switzerland