The use of geological and geophysical methods to constrain the genesis of earth mounds at archaeological sites in the Jasło Foothills (south-eastern Poland)

Abstract

We show how geological and geophysical studies conducted in the Jasło Foothills, near Dukla, help constrain the genesis of two mounds, understood as heaped piles of earth, circular in  plan view, located in Łęki Dukielskie (site 27 “Pod Kopcem”) and Dukla (site 7). Eleven hand auger holes yielded sediment samples for grain size analysis by laser (with a Fritsch apparatus). Hand auger holes were also made at sites in Wietrzno-Sośnina (site 29), and in Łęki Dukielskie (site 5). Three of the mounds (Łęki Dukielskie sites 5 and 27 “Pod Kopcem”, Wietrzno-Sośnina site 29) are revealed to be of natural origin, i.e. they are rock “lumps” covered with a thin layer of weathered silty-clay deposits. The fourth of the mounds (Dukla site 7) was found to have an anthropogenic origin; given its dimensions, it can be considered a late Neolithic Corded Ware kurgan. The geological analyses were complemented by GPR measurements, which supported the observations based on augering results.