2.1 Geoarchaeology and human–environment interactions

Appel et al. (2024) reconstruct the historical watercourse systems of the Hessische Ried (URG, Germany), focusing on Roman-era river regulation and water management. Using high-resolution digital elevation models, geophysical surveys, sediment analyses, and radiocarbon dating, they identify abandoned fluvial channels and reconstruct the region's hydrological evolution. The findings challenge previous assumptions, showing that the Weschnitz and Winkelbach/Lauter rivers did not contribute to the Roman Landgraben waterway, which instead relied on smaller tributaries for navigation.

Garbe et al. (2024) investigate the ancient city of Bubastis in the southeastern Nile Delta, where geoarchaeological research has primarily focused on the western and central areas. While the “temple of Hermes” was estimated to be roughly located in the east during 19th-century explorations, its exact position remains unknown. Geomorphological surveys in 2023 identified an elevated sandy area as a potential temple site, offering new insights into the city's landscape and settlement history.

Losaberidze et al. (2024) present a multi-stage landscape archaeological survey of the Shiraki Plain (southeast Georgia) to investigate late Bronze Age–early Iron Age fortified settlements. Using remote sensing, photogrammetry, and archaeological surveys, the research reveals a dense network of massive fortifications, suggesting a well-organised defensive system. These findings contribute to a broader regional understanding of social complexity and settlement patterns in the South Caucasus.

Reiß et al. (2025) investigate the drowned medieval Trendermarsch outside the modern sea dike of Nordstrand in the north Frisian Wadden Sea. Combining geophysical prospection, sediment analyses, and historical sources, they reconstruct landscape evolution and human impact since the Middle Ages. The findings reveal settlement sites, dike remnants, and evidence of salt peat processing after the 1634 CE storm surge, highlighting how past societies adapted to coastal changes and extreme events.

Tinapp et al. (2025) investigate a multi-cultural site near Kieritzsch with archaeological remains spanning the early Neolithic to the early Bronze Age. Geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses, including pollen and macro-remain studies, enabled the reconstruction of Neolithic vegetation and land use history, revealing early forest clearance for agriculture during the Linear Pottery culture and subsequent landscape changes. A hiatus of over 3000 years follows the Neolithic, with sedimentation resuming in the early medieval period, marked by substantial deforestation and intensified human impact.

2.2 Landscape evolution

Bartz et al. (2024) provide the first numerical age estimates of the Rhine's main-terrace deposits in the emblematic Kärlich profile along the Middle Rhine Valley via electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of optically bleached quartz. Consistent depositional ages around 1.5 Ma (i.e. older than previously expected) (i) give valuable new insights into the aggradation time of this key geomorphologic marker in this valley section and (ii) call for further numerical dating of the main terrace complex and other terrace subsets of the Rhine.

Gegg et al. (2024) propose a quantitative lithostratigraphic analysis of glaciofluvial sediments deposited in the URG's southeastern part (Germany). They use material collected from three boreholes and apply an approach combining sedimentary facies with gravel morphometrics and petrography. Based on endmember modelling and principal component analysis, they highlight (i) a shift in sediment provenance over consecutive glaciations of the Middle and Late Pleistocene (i.e. enrichment of alpine lithologies during more recent times) and (ii) the usefulness of quantitative analyses for petrographic studies.

Hofmann's (2024) PhD thesis provides new key information on the glacial history of the southern part of the Black Forest in Germany. This study proposes a consistent chronological framework for deglaciation during the Late Pleistocene maximum in the Feldberg area based on ¹⁰Be exposure ages obtained from moraine boulders and erratics. It also underlines the need for further chronological data in the Black Forest, which has high potential for future climate reconstructions.

Reitner and Menzies (2024) study till formation and subglacial deformation processes in a complex sequence (i.e. alluvial, glaciolacustrine, and subglacial deposits) from the Austrian Alps. Based on a combination of micro- and macro-sedimentological analysis of both diamictons and deformation structures, evidence of rapid changes in both till rheology and stress field dynamics in the subglacial environment is highlighted. The authors interestingly question the notion of “till” with respect to sedimentology and emphasise the need to reinvestigate complex sedimentary sequences located in the vicinity of former active ice interfaces in alpine environments.