Chiemgau impact – new article: On the geology of the Chieming-Stöttham archeological excavation

K. Ernstson, C. Sideris, I. Liritzis, A. Neumair

ABSTRACT. – Archaeological excavation at Chieming-Stöttham in the Chiemgau region of Southeast Germany revealed a diamictic (breccia) layer sandwiched between a Neolithic and a Roman occupation layer. This exotic layer bears evidence of its deposition in a catastrophic event that is attributed to the Chiemgau meteorite impact. In the extended crater strewn field produced by the impact, geological excavations have uncovered comparable horizons with an anomalous geological inventory intermixed with archaeological material. Evidences of extreme destruction, temperatures and pressures including impact shock effects suggest that the current views on its being an undisturbed colluvial depositional sequence as postulated by archaeologists and pedologists/geomorphologists is untenable.

The article addresses the geologic inventory of the archeological excavation at Chieming-Stöttham in the year 2007, the impact  features of the intercalated catastrophic layer and the relation to the Chiemgau impact. The article also emphasizes the basically different viewpoints of the geomorphological-pedologic work (escorting the archeological excavation and performed at the behest of Bayerisches Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege by Prof. J. Völkel, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan für Ernährung, Landnutzung und Umwelt der technischen Universität München) on the one hand, and the geologic-mineralogic-petrographical work of the impact researchers on the other hand.