An Environmental Record of the Settlement Decline at the Turn of the 2nd Century BC From a La Tène Well at Nördlingen, Bavaria

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Abstract
Environmental on‐site records covering the late La Tène culture in the late 2nd century BC and early 1st century AD are rare in southern Germany. On a local level such records could help to address the question if and when a settlement gap occurred in southern Germany between the late La Tène culture in the late 1st century BC and the onset of Roman colonisation in the late 1st century AD. Various scenarios have been proposed, ranging from complete depopulation of some areas to the collapse of primarily larger settlements accompanied by only a partial decline of land‐use intensity, up to a settlement continuity that remains obscured by taphonomic filters and insufficient typochronological resolution. Precisely dated environmental on‐site records covering the beginning of this time period therefore provide crucial evidence. Here, we present a multi‐proxy analysis (macrobotanical remains, palynology, archaeozoology and entomology) of the sediments within a wooden well structure built after 133 BC in the highly fertile Nördlinger Ries area, Bavaria. The initial record reflects nearby settlement activities, including husbandry and agriculture. A secondary use of the structure for processing of nettle is likely. The upper infill layers provide a pollen sequence that shows a rapid decline of taxa related to human activity, accompanied by species indicative of ecological succession on abandoned patches of land. We conclude that settlement activities in this region declined drastically during the 1st century BC. Our results support the hypothesis of regional depopulation in southern Germany prior to the establishment of the Roman province of Raetia.

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