Helena Alexanderson

Archaeological investigations have revealed cultural layers with remnants of houses and streets below up to four metres of sand at the southern end of the Falsterbo peninsula in southernmost Sweden. The cultural layers have been dated to the 15th – 16th centuries, based on finds of, for example, coins and ceramics, and interpreted to represent the medieval town Falsterbo. It has been assumed that the houses in this once central part of town, close to the church, were abandoned due to strong sand drift that eventually buried most of the structures.

Here we will present results of luminescence dating, portable luminescence analysis and other geological analyses of the sand below, between and above the cultural layers. The lowermost sand is interpreted as beach sand, while all other sand beds – separating and covering the different phases of houses – are interpreted as aeolian sand. Preliminary results suggest a hiatus between the deposition of the beach sand and the first aeolian sand, followed by relatively rapid sand accumulation after final abandonment.