A Late Holocene case study from south‐west France: Combining geomorphology and geophysics to understand archaeological site morphology

• Published in: Archaeological prospection Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 517 - 532
• Main Authors: Larcanché, Marie, Verdet, Cécile, Sirieix, Colette, Steinmann, Ronan, Colin, Sylvain, Mathé, Vivien, Chevillot, Christian, Matéo, Sylvain, Houillon, Nicolas, Hantrais, Juliette, Hiriart, Eneko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bognor Regis Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2023; Wiley
• Subjects: archaeological remains; archaeological stratigraphy; Archaeology; Archaeology and Prehistory; bedrock detection; colluvial filling; Electrical resistivity; electrical resistivity tomography (2D and 3D); Geology; Geomorphology; Geophysics; Holocene; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogeology; Limestone; Valleys; France
• ISSN: 1075-2196; 1099-0763
• DOI: 10.1002/arp.1913

This article combining geophysics and archaeology aims to provide a more comprehensive characterization of the La Ruchelle valley located in the south of the Celtic site of La Peyrouse (Saint‐Félix‐de‐Villadeix, Dordogne, France) (occupied between the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD) through geological prospection (core sampling, geotechnical prospection and mechanical prospection) and near‐surface geophysics (electrical resistivity tomography). On this site, other studies have been carried out since the discovery of the site, such as magnetic prospecting and a hydrogeological study. Geophysical data coupled with geological prospection were used to understand the geology of the valley: (1) The bottom of the valley is filled with colluvium with a thickness of 6 m maximum; (2) part of the colluvium filling characterize by a very low resistivity is indeed archaeological remains; (3) three very distinct geological horizons have been detected—two of these horizons are characteristic of Campanian limestone (C6d and C6e), and the last consists of colluvium with a filling between 2 and 6 m in the centre of the valley, which is particularly thick. This last very thick formation is in fact filled with archaeological and prehistoric remains.