TY  - JOUR
A1  - Trappe, Julian
A1  - Büdel, Christian
A1  - Meister, Julia
A1  - Baumhauer, Roland
T1  - Combining geophysical and geomorphological data to reconstruct the development of relief of a medieval castle site in the Spessart low mountain range, Germany
JF  - Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
N2  - Within the Spessart low mountain range in central Germany, numerous castle ruins of the 13th century ce exist. Their construction and destruction were often determined by the struggle for political and economic supremacy in the region and for control over the Spessart's natural resources. Wahlmich Castle is located in a relatively uncommon strategic and geomorphological position, characterized by a fairly remote position and atypical rough relief. In order to reconstruct the local relief development and possible human impact, a multi-method approach was applied combining two-dimensional geoelectrical measurements, geomorphological mapping and stratigraphic-sedimentological investigations. This provides new insights into the influence of landscape characteristics on choices of castle locations.
The combined geoelectrical, geomorphological and stratigraphic-sedimentological data show that the rough relief is of natural origin and influenced by regional faulting, which triggered sliding and slumping as well as weathering and dissection of the surface deposits. The rough relief and the lithology permitted intensive land use and building activities. However, the location of the castle offered access to and possibly control over important medieval traffic routes and also represented certain ownership claims in the Aschaff River valley.
The economic situation combined with rivalry between different elites led to the castle being built in a geomorphological challenging and strategically less valuable location. Focusing on castles located in rare and challenging geomorphological positions may therefore lead to a better understanding of castle siting in the future.
KW  - faulting
KW  - sedimentology
KW  - percussion core probing
KW  - geophysical prospection
KW  - geomorphological mapping
KW  - geoarchaeology
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-257433
VL  - 47
IS  - 1
ER  -