Local pathways to the Fluvial Anthroposphere at Echaz (Rhine) and Eger (Danube). A comparative analysis from c. AD 1100 to 1800

Insights into the field work

Drilling at the Echaz

Major Aim and Research Area 

Our project aims to explore the evolution of local pathways to the Fluvial Anthroposphere and the underlying socio-ecological processes during the medieval and pre-industrial modern periods. It will provide a comprehensive multidisciplinary description of fluvial societies and floodplains analysed from the perspectives of a number of interconnected thematic fields combining archaeology, geosciences and history. In order to distinguish local exceptions from general trends, the floodplains of two comparable third order karst rivers in southern Germany, the Echaz (Rhine) and the Eger (Danube) with their tributaries, which nowadays are distinct Fluvial Anthropospheres, will be systematically compared. From c. AD 1100 to 1800, urban agents, the nobility, monastic communities and communes radically restructured both floodplains with individual local pathways.

We will focus on six thematic objectives and key hypotheses:

1. we will analyse hydropower exploitation: We hypothesise that specific local chronologies and distribution intensities led to individual path dependencies and impacts on floodplains and fluvial societies with several formative phases.

2. we will reconstruct the impact of urban craft and waste disposal on floodplain pollution: We hypothesise that towns are the main pre-industrial contaminators with a specific downstream pollution footprint that increased significantly over the course of the 13th to 15th century.

3. we will reconstruct the evolution of channel engineering: We hypothesise that hydropower facilities, urban water management and floodplain land use produced a distinct spatial pattern of artificial channels, with a particularly formative phase during the 13th-14th centuries.

4. we will reconstruct floodplain land use: We hypothesise that from the 12th-13th centuries extensively grazed wet meadows were transformed into managed water meadows and drained fields, with distinct chrono-spatial patterns and associated local effects.

5. we will reconstruct the human impacts on aquatic fauna: We hypothesise that channel engineering, hydropower exploitation, fishing and water pollution had a significant impact on aquatic biodiversity and that this impact, its individual spatial pattern and social consequences can be detected through various archives from the 13th-14th century onwards.

6. we will analyse the rights of and conflicts between different fluvial agents: We hypothesise that individual interests led to local pathways towards the Fluvial Anthroposphere, with the 13th-14th centuries being a particularly formative phase.

Methodological Approach

Using a multidisciplinary approach and integrating the evaluation of our key hypotheses, we will elucidate the specific chronological and spatial patterns of the emerging Fluvial Anthroposphere from c. AD 1100 to 1800. This will be based on new indices of anthropogenic impacts and sophisticated spatiotemporal modelling to guarantee transferable and scalable results.

Our Study Area

enlarge the image: The river systems and floodplains of the Echaz (left) and the Eger (right) with key areas of fieldwork. Drawing: Lukas Werther"
The river systems and floodplains of the Echaz (left) and the Eger (right) with key areas of fieldwork. Drawing: Lukas Werther"
Reutlingen Archiv 2023 (Sonderschwerpunktprogramm "Auf dem Weg zur Fluvialen Anthroposphäre")

Insights into the archive work

PhD student Marcel Schön offers insights into his work with historical sources on water source conflicts.

Projektleitung

Prof. Dr. Peter Frenzel

Prof. Dr. Peter Frenzel

Principal Investigator

Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Institute of Geology
Burgweg 11
07749 Jena

Telephone: +49 3641 948619
Telefax: + 49 3641 948622

Prof. Dr. Sigrid Katharina Hirbodian

Prof. Dr. Sigrid Katharina Hirbodian

Principal Investigator

Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Wilhelmstraße 36
71074 Tübingen

Telephone: +49 7071 29 78514

Dr. Peter Kühn

Dr. Peter Kühn

Principal Investigator

Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Institute of Geography
Rümelinstraße 19-23
72070 Tübingen

Telephone: +49 7071 29 74896

Prof. Dr. Gerrit Schenk

Prof. Dr. Gerrit Schenk

Principal Investigator

Technical University Darmstadt
History of the Middle Ages
Residenzschloss 1
64283 Darmstadt

Telephone: +49 6151 16 57319

Dr. Ulrike Werban

Dr. Ulrike Werban

Principal Investigator

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Department Monitoring & Exploration Technologies
Permoserstraße 15
04318 Leipzig

Telephone: +49 341 6025 1989

PD Dr. Lukas Werther

PD Dr. Lukas Werther

Committee Member

Römisch-Germanische Kommission (RGK)
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Palmengartenstraße 10-12
60325 Frankfurt am Main

Telephone: +49 69975818 18

Prof. Dr. Christoph Zielhofer

Prof. Dr. Christoph Zielhofer

Principal Investigator

Johannisallee 19a
04103 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97 - 32965
Fax: +49 341 97 - 32799

Our Team

 Iris Ophelia Nießen

Iris Ophelia Nießen

Postdoctoral Researcher

Straße des 17. Juni 2
04107 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97 - 30345

 Snježana Pejdanović

Snježana Pejdanović

Doctoral Researcher

Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Soil Science and Geomorphology
Rümelinstraße 19–23
72070 Tübingen

Telephone: +49 07071 29 74 081

 Marcel Schön

Marcel Schön

Doctoral Researcher

Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Philosophical Faculty
Wilhelmstraße 36
742074 Tübingen

Telephone: +49 07071 2974975

 Ella Quante

Ella Quante

Doctoral Researcher

Max Planck Institute for the Science for Human History
Department of Archaeology
Kahlaische Straße 10
07745 Jena

 Ema Zvara

Ema Zvara

Doctoral Researcher

Physische Geographie
Johannisallee 19a
04103 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97 - 38602

Co-Investigator

Professor Kathryn Fitzsimmons

Professor Kathryn Fitzsimmons

Co-Investigator

University of Tübingen,
Department of Geosciences Professor of Terrestrial Sedimentology
Schnarrenbergstraße 94-96
72076 Tübingen

Telephone: +49 7071 29 74783

Dr. Birgit Schneider

Dr. Birgit Schneider

Co-Investigator

Physische Geographie
Johannisallee 19
04103 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97 - 38578
Fax: +49 341 97 - 32979

Cooperation Partner

Dr. Michael Kienzle

Dr. Michael Kienzle

Cooperation Partner

Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Philosophical Faculty
Prehistory and Medieval Archaeology
Schloss Hohentübingen
72070 Tübingen

The Team

enlarge the image: Team members at the 2024 plenary session, Photo: Victor S. Brigola
Team members at the 2024 plenary session, Photo: Victor S. Brigola