Marais de Tasdon

Le Marais de Tasdon is on the southern outskirts of the historic city and port of La Rochelle, and today is largely occupied by marshland.

Quest was commissioned by Amelie together with the Department of Charente-Maritime, France to undertake a programme of geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental investigations aimed at: (1) mapping the former landscapes of the site, (2) reconstructing the environmental history, and (3) detecting palaeoecological evidence for human activity that might be associated with nearby archaeological remains.

Twenty geoarchaeological boreholes were initially put down in order to map the stratigraphic sequence and identify those sequences with greatest potential for laboratory analysis. Undisturbed core samples were subsequently collected from six locations, a selection of which were radiocarbon dated and analysed for biostratigraphic remains (pollen, diatoms, Mollusca, Ostracoda, Foraminifera, Charophytes, waterlogged wood and seeds).

The results of the investigation provide a new and significant record of the evolving landscape across the marsh spanning the early to late Holocene, demonstrating the complex interactions between floodplain and dryland vegetation succession, human activities and relative sea level.

The findings of the investigation have been integrated into a BAR report: Soler et al. (2013) Le fief des quatre Chevaliers. Etude paléo-environnementale aux abords d'une enceinte néolithique sur le littoral atlantique à Périgny (Charente-Maritime, France). In (Daire M.-Y., Dupont C., Baudry A., Billard C., Large J.-M., Lespez L., Normand E. & Scarre C.) Ancient Maritime Communities and the Relationship between People and Environment along the European Atlantic Coasts, 635-646. British Archaeological Report Series 2570.

Sabrina Save

Responsable scientifique et Personne Compétente en Radioprotection