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Overview

Grabow 15 is a Late Palaeolithic archaeological site in the Jeetzel Valley, Lower Saxony, Germany. The 2025 excavation (Aarhus University in collaboration with the Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege) recovered a total of 798 artefacts and provides important evidence for Federmesser-period amber-working and task-specific activity at the site.

Location & Dating

  • Site: Grabow, Lüchow (Wendland), Lüchow-Dannenberg District, Lower Saxony, Germany
  • Period: Federmesser-Gruppen (Late Palaeolithic)
  • Dating: Allerød period (~14,185–13,703 cal. BP)
  • Elevation: ~13.5 m above sea level
  • Setting: Bank of a paleochannel in a dynamic fluvial landscape

The 2025 Excavation

Campaign details

  • Duration: 5 May – 28 May 2025
  • Team: Led by Prof. Thomas Terberger, Prof. Felix Riede, and PhD student Lasse Lukas Platz Herskind, together with undergraduate students from Aarhus University
  • Excavation areas: Two main trenches (Areas A and B, ~10 m² total) and five test pits (0.5 × 0.5 m)

Methodology

Excavation followed single-context stratigraphic removal in 3–5 cm spits, with documentation by total station and GNSS. Wet sieving with UV inspection was used to recover small organic remains (including amber). All spatial data were digitized in QGIS for analysis.

Key Findings — 798 Artefacts

Material distribution

  • Wood: 387 — excellent organic preservation, primarily from Area B
  • Flint: 264 — including burins and production debris
  • Amber: 92 — indicates amber-working activities
  • Plant remains: 33 — Betula, Salix, Populus charcoal identified
  • Bone: 12 — mostly burnt fragments
  • Charcoal: 10 — evidence of fire use

Stratigraphy

Four geological horizons were documented:

  • GH1: Topsoil (plough layer, ~30 cm)
  • GH2: Light grey fluvial silt (~7–14 cm), partially sterile
  • GH3: Allerød cultural layer with dark grey-brown sediment containing most artefacts
  • GH4: Light grey sand with orange/yellow mottling (sterile)

A thin "false Allerød layer" (interpreted as a Younger Dryas flooding line) marks a transition within GH2.

Lithic Technology: Evidence of Specialized Tool Production

Burins

Five burins were recovered — notable for the Late Palaeolithic. Three have double working edges and one shows multiple resharpening episodes with associated burin spalls. Burins are interpreted as engraving tools and are consistent with specialised working activities.

Specialized flakes

Two flakes with equilateral triangular cross-sections and retouched tips were found; these appear adapted for narrow scraping or engraving and may represent a local technical innovation related to amber working.

Interpretation

The abundance and character of burins, together with associated flake types, point to specialised amber-working activities at the site.

Amber Analysis

Quantity: 1 in situ amber find and 91 additional amber fragments recovered by wet sieving (total 92 pieces), indicating substantial amber-related activity.

Microscopic observations

  • Pos. Nr. 206: crushing/impact waves suggesting mechanical working
  • Pos. Nr. 218: convex and concave impact waves on both sides — possible intentional striking
  • Pos. Nr. 247: lines initially appearing engraved, later identified as natural cracks from dehydration/heat
  • Pos. Nr. 297: thin flakes with glossy surfaces consistent with human workmanship
  • Pos. Nr. 323: distinctive beige colour; flat surface suggests flaking from a larger piece

Although no finished objects were recovered, the combined evidence (impact-marked amber fragments, specialized burins, and spatial concentration of amber) strongly supports on-site amber processing.

Environmental Context

Beaver disturbance

Features interpreted as beaver disturbance penetrate GH2–GH4 and contain large quantities of wood debris, indicating significant post-depositional mixing in parts of the site.

Landscape

The site sits on a paleochannel in the Elbe floodplain, with evidence for seasonal/episodic flooding during the Allerød and good organic preservation due to fluvial sedimentation.

Interpretation: Site Function

Grabow 15 is best interpreted as a specialised, temporary occupation focused on amber processing and related tasks. The lack of structural features, dispersed find patterns, and the concentration of amber and specialized tools point to episodic, task-specific use rather than permanent settlement.

Post-excavation Research

Ongoing analyses include radiocarbon dating (six selected samples), wood species identification, micro-XRF sediment analysis, macrofossil and biomarker analyses, and full digitization of spatial data in QGIS.

Significance & Research Questions

Grabow 15 contributes to understanding Late Palaeolithic resource exploitation, technological specialization, seasonal mobility, human responses to environmental change, and potential long-distance exchange networks involving amber.

Project information

  • Project reference: NDL_JGA_2025-1
  • Funding: Beckett-Fonden (100,000 DKK) and Queen Margrethe II's Archaeological Fund (45,000 DKK)
  • Current storage: Moesgaard Campus, Aarhus University (until analyses complete; then return to NLD)
  • Report date: June 2025

Credits

Report prepared by the Grabow 15 excavation team, Aarhus University, in collaboration with the Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege. Excavation directed by Prof. Thomas Terberger, Prof. Felix Riede, and PhD student Lasse Lukas Platz Herskind.