Geomorphological reconstructions of the natural levee landscape in the first millennium AD of the Rhine-Meuse delta, the Netherlands

This dataset contains landscape reconstructions of the Rhine-Meuse delta for the first millennium AD, which is the last millennium before large-scale river embankment. The dataset provides a detailed integrated reconstruction of the landscape of natural levees (alluvial ridges) and residual channel landforms throughout the delta (Pierik et al., 2017). The palaeogeographical geomorphological reconstruction maps in this dataset were compiled for AD 100, 500 and AD 900. Furthermore, for AD 100 and 900 palaeoDEMs were made, storing a reconstruction of past surface elevation. The dataset has been compiled for the PhD thesis of Harm Jan Pierik (Pierik, 2017) within the project ‘The Dark Ages in an interdisciplinary light’ (www.darkagesproject.com; Jansma et al., 2014), funded by NWO (project nr. 360-60-110). The maps are made for analysis at superregional scale (e.g. Pierik et al., 2017). For smaller study areas they provide the context of the past landscape, to which local investigation (e.g. as part of archaeological prospective surveying) might well add further detail.