Subsistence strategies, settlement structure, and communication in the Terminal Mesolithic, using the example of a submerged microregion in the Bay of Kiel

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Submarine archaeological investigations in the outer Kiel Fjord revealed organogenic sediments with finds from the pre-pottery Ertebølle phase. These records lie in six metres water depth in an area of fallen oak trunks approx. 900 m off the Stohl cliff line. First test excavations in 2012 gave proof of a substantial inventory and excellent preservation conditions. Especially organic finds were preserved including human remains. Typological and absolute-chronological datings suggest that hunter-gatherers used the site between 5390 and 4750 BC. Therefore the occupation of the site belongs to the prepottery period of the Ertebølle Culture (Jäckelberg and Rosenfelde phase). For that time only few records of in-situ preserved finds are known at the North German Baltic Sea coast. The settlement under investigation was located on the shore of a lagoon where hunters, gatherers and fishermen produced tools made of flint, bone, antler and wood. They exploited their marine and terrestrial environment for food, processed their diet and furthermore used the place for waste disposal. A submarine survey carried out 2014 in an area of 1 ha showed that organic layers containing finds are preserved not only in the sector of the test excavation but also in the surroundings. In addition to that, divers reported more scattered finds and fallen tree trunks as well as exposed organic layers. The scientific significance of the find region Strande lies in its specific period of time which precedes the cultural development of ceramic use, the intensification of contact with fully developed Neolithic cultures, the import of domesticated livestock and finally the complete Neolithic way of life. Next to unsolved chronological research questions there is also a spatial research gap, as only a few late Mesolithic finds are known from the Bay of Kiel. The excellent preservation conditions of the Strande LA 163 site provide great potential for investigating the pre-pottery phase of the Terminal Mesolithic in the micro region of the western Kieler Außenförde. A comparison of the cultural remains allows the reconstruction of contact networks and communication routes to adjacent regions. Moreover, the reconstruction of small-scale landscape development enables the locating of the exact settlement positions in the surrounding of the waste disposal zone. Years of experience in diving archaeology in Denmark and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern give proof that only a systematic search on the seabed can uncover previously unknown find scatters which are otherwise hidden below sand or silt. Its potential can be unlocked using modern submarine excavation techniques which gives evidence about subsistence, settlement structure and settlement organisation of the foragers.