The Fensmark settlement and the almost invisible Late Palaeolithic in Danish field archaeology

Abstract

Traces of Late Palaeolithic activity in the North European landscape are practically invisible to modern field archaeology. The result is an almost complete loss of information about the presumably numerous activity sites from this period which each year are either damaged or destroyed by agriculture and development. This article addresses the root causes of this situation and outlines the possibilities for its mitigation. The difficulties involved in demonstrating the existence of Lateglacial settlements are illustrated via the investigation history of the Fensmark site on the margin of the bog, Holmegård Mose. This is a typical settlement of the Bromme culture, dated to 10,810 ± 120 radiocarbon years BP. The site’s considerable unexploited research potential has been secured for the future by a landscape scheduling which protects a wide range of archaeological remains hidden beneath the soil.

Keywords

• archaeology
• method
• assessment
• trial excavation
• in situ preservation
• wetland