CH-QUAT Excursion 2023

Organisation:

• Marius Büchi

With contributions from:

• Urs Leuzinger (Amt für Archäologie Thurgau)
• Oliver Heiri (University of Basel)
• Lucia Wick (University of Basel)
• Jean Nicolas Haas (University of Innsbruck)
• Flavio Anselmetti (University of Bern)
• Sarah Kamleitner (ETH Zürich)

The 2023 CH-QUAT excursion (September 15 and 16) took place in the Lake Constance region and focused on archaeology, paleoecology, and glacial geology. The first day started at the offices of the Archaeological Service and the Archaeological Museum of the Canton of Thurgau in Frauenfeld where Urs Leuzinger (Amt für Archäologie Thurgau) gave us a background tour. It was great to see the exciting collection and to get a first-hand insight into the work and the organization of such an institution. The second stop was on the shores of Hüttwilersee. Oliver Heiri and Lucia Wick (both University of Basel) presented new high-resolution paleoenvironmental datasets obtained from sediment cores from Hüttwilersee and Bichelsee as part of the research project "Klima, Mensch und Umwelt im Thurgau (KUMiT)". The third stop was at Pfyn Breitenloo, where Urs Leuzinger and Jean Nicolas Haas (University of Innsbruck) gave us an overview and new insights into the Neolithic settlement (Pfyn Culture) at this site.
On the second day, Flavio Anselmetti (University of Bern) presented an updated overview of the glacial history, neotectonics, and postglacial environmental changes of Lake Constance, based on the rich core, seismic, and bathymetric data acquired in recent years. Together with Urs Leuzinger, Flavio Anselmetti also reported on the exciting discovery of man-made Neolithic mounds along the shores of Lake Constance. Aboard the motorboat MS Zeppelin, the 20 participants floated over some of the best-studied mounds, where even partial underwater excavations had been carried out. The second half of the day was led by Sarah Kamleitner (ETH Zurich), who presented the fascinating results of her doctoral thesis on the subglacial landforms of the Rhine Glacier, which covered the Lake Constance area during glacial times. Sarah Kamleitner took us to textbook drumlins in the Thur valley and explained her approach of mapping and integrating streamlined subglacial landforms to better understand the ice-flow dynamics of past glaciations.