Roebroeks, W.

English

Leiden University Scholary Publications

6 The finds discovered in Unit V 6.1 Introduction The Unit V sediments yielded only a few archaeological remains, none of which were demonstrably found in a primary context. The majority of the finds ascribed to this lithostratigraph-ical unit essentiaily were recovered from thin cobble layers which were found in most places at the base of Units V-A and V-B. The Site B data wil! be presented here, foliowed by a few finds from other parts of the pit. 6.2 Site B (upper level) The history of the Site B cutting has already been described in section 4.4, to which the reader is also referred for a description of the stratigraphy. Here it suffices to state that the finds from the upper level of Site B were recovered from a gravel layer which had eroded a soil formed in lith-ostratigraphical Unit IVA'-A (thin section 839 in fig. 82 of this volume; see: Mücher 1985, fig. 4). In total, 24 m^ were excavated in this level, which was characterized by erosional inconformities and the presence of -mostly small- stones. A total of 25 artefacts, mainly fine debitage, was recorded three-dimensionally. This small assemblage included a large Levallois-flake and a point 1 • V • • • • o • • • • • • ^ • • • • f • • k M T f r ï r M I f r F f T r rrrrrr-^ II %2 A a C)4 Fig, 107. Site B: upper level. Horizontal distribution of finds. 1. flint artefact <2cm, 2. flint artefact measuring 2-5 cm, 3. flint artefact of ^5cm (= no. 1 in fig. 108), 4. bone fragment. Fig. 108. Site B: 1 broken 'point', 2 flake (section find), scale 2:3. made from a Levallois flake (fig. 108). The flint material displays a greyish-white patination, as opposed to the few flints from the underlying Unit IV-C-I loams, which were 'fresh'. Some fauna! remains were found in the gravel layer: unidentified fragments of teeth of larger mammals (deer?) and part of a rhino humerus (Van Kolfschoten 1985). The distribution of the artefacts and the few faunal remains is shown in figure 107. The Site B assemblage was very probably found in a secondary context in view of the matrix (a thin cobble layer) and, to a lesser degree, the fact that no artefacts could be conjoined. It is quite likely that this material in the gravel layer at Site B was originally deposited in the lower unit. Unit IV-C, and redeposited in an erosional phase following the development of the luvisol. 6.3 Other Unit V Tinds We encountered artefacts in the same stratigraphical posi-tion as the finds found in the upper lever of Site B in other parts of the pit. Figure 109 shows a carefully prepared core from which blade-like flakes had been struck, found in a cobble layer at the base of Unit V-B, in a section at the eastern boundary of the Site C excavation. This section is 98 THE HNDS DISCOVERED IN UNIT V Fig. 109. Prepared core found in the gravel layer at the base of Unit V-B in a section close to Site C, scale 2:3 (see fig. 69 for the position of the artefact in the section). shown in figure 69. In 1983 a dozen larger flakes, displaying no signs of core preparation, were found in a comparable stratigraphical position in a section approximately 120 m southeast of Site C. Part of the section is shown in figure 17. So far, only one flake has been found higher up in the Unit, namely in 1983, when the author was cleaning a sec-tion at the edge of Site C. The flake was found approxi-mately 25 cm below the top of Unit V-B and no signs of fissures were observed nor other phenomena which could indicate vertical displacement from a higher or lower level. 6.4 Interpretation As already suggested for the Site B evidence, the few finds encountered in the cobble layer at the base of Unit V can be interpreted as most likely reworked artefacts that were originally present in lower units, and that were redeposited as a result of erosional processes at the beginning of or during the formation of Unit V. 

6 The finds discovered in Unit V

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6 The finds discovered in Unit V

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