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There is an ongoing dispute between those who believe that the bluestones at Stonehenge were (a) transported by humans or (b) glacially transported erratics. An igneous boulder found at Stonehenge in 1924 and then lost for over 90 years has been found in Salisbury Museum. Its shape and surface characteristics suggest that it was carried from West Wales by the Irish Sea Ice Stream. The author proposes that most if not all of the 43 bluestone monoliths are glacial erratics.

Loess–palaeosol sequences (LPSs) represent continental and non-aquatic archives providing detailed information on Quaternary environmental and climate changes. We present an integrative approach combining sedimentological, rock magnetic, and bulk geochemical data, as well as information on Sr and Nd isotope composition. The approach adds to a comprehensive understanding of LPS formation including changes in dust composition and associated circulation patterns during Quaternary climate changes.

The ongoing ecological conversion of mountain forests in the Erzgebirge conceptually also requires a historical perspective on the very long-term vegetation and land-use dynamics. We collected and evaluated 121 pollen diagrams. Pollen indications of a local prehistoric human impact also in the higher altitudes find archaeological parallels in the region. The pollen data show that immediately before the medieval clearing, forests were mainly dominated by beech and fir and complemented by spruce.

During glacial times in Switzerland, glaciers of the Alps excavated valleys in low-lying regions that were later filled with sediment or water. How glaciers eroded these valleys is not well understood because erosion occurred near ice margins where ice moved slowly and was present for short times. Erosion is linked to the speed of ice and to water flowing under it. Here we present a model that estimates the location of water channels beneath the ice and links these locations to zones of erosion.

With our open-source toolbox, MiGIS for QGIS 3, we intend to advance digital micromorphological analysis. This approach focuses on the classification of micromorphological constituents based on their distinct colour values (multi-RGB signatures), acquired using flatbed scanning of thin sections in different modes (transmitted, cross-polarised, and reflected light). The resulting thin section maps enable feature quantification, visualisation of spatial patterns, and reproducibility.

We present results of the Baix loess–palaeosol sequence, SE France. Reconstructed intense soil formation under warm, moist conditions before and into the last ice age and less intense soil formations in warm (temporarily moist) phases during the generally cold, dry ice age were validated with laboratory and dating techniques. This is particularly relevant as Baix is located in the temperate–Mediterranean climate transition zone, a sensitive zone that is susceptible to future climate changes.

The loess–palaeosol sequence (LPS) at Rheindahlen provides a detailed sedimentary archive of past climate change. Furthermore, it contains Palaeolithic find horizons indicating repeated occupations by Neanderthals. The age of loess layers and the timing of human occupation are a matter of strong scientific debate. We present new data to shed light on formation processes and deposition ages. Previous chronostratigraphic estimates are revised providing a reliable chronostratigraphic framework .

Research in loess landscapes provides evidence for the paleoenvironmental settings for past human societies and for the paleoclimate evolution of the past. Archeological and geoscientific investigations must consider different relief settings due to erosion, slope wash, accumulation of sediments and relocation of artifacts. The Lower Rhine Embayment can serve as a blueprint for such research as a typical loess landscape of Central Europe.

This study aims to reconstruct the last glaciation of the southern Black Forest. Ice-marginal positions in this region were, for the first time, directly dated. Glacier retreat from the last glaciation maximum position was probably underway no later than 21 ka. Re-advances and/or standstills of glaciers (no later than 17–16 ka, 15–14 ka and 13 ka) punctuated the subsequent trend towards ice-free conditions.

In reconstructing the living conditions of the late ice age and the early warm periods, archaeologists rely on palaeobotany. Since the 1940s, there has been the common image of a treeless tundra, which changes to a light birch forest within only a few years at the transition between the periods. By using environmental data, it is demonstrated that this image must be refined, and examples are given for a better understanding of palaeobotanical data and their use in archaeological reconstructions.

Geoarchaeological research in ancient Bubastis has concentrated on the western and central parts of the city. Although the “Temple of Hermes” was investigated and roughly located in eastern Bubastis during exploratory excavations in the 19th century, no traces of the temple can be seen on the surface today. Geomorphological surveys carried out in 2023 to determine the possible location of the temple revealed a central area of elevated sandy deposits, providing a suitable area for the building.

This study presents a palaeoenvironmental record from Lake Höglwörth, Bavaria, Germany. Before 870 CE peat deposits existed. Erosion increased from 1240 to 1380 CE, followed by aquatic productivity and anoxia from 1310 to 1470 CE. Increased allochthonous input and a substantial shift in the aquatic community in 1701 were caused by construction of a mill. Recent anoxia has been observed since the 1960s.

Knowledge of subglacial conditions is of great relevance for understanding glacier dynamics. A combination of micro- and macrosedimentological analysis of diamictons and deformation structures can form the basis for the reconstruction of past subglacial conditions. We present the results of such a study on subglacial tills in the Kitzbühel Alps (Tyrol, Austria). Our study demonstrates the need for a reinvestigation of deposits in respect of genesis and importance for the glacial record.