Stratigraphic pattern of soil remnants, cultural and colluvial deposits in a small dry valley in the Viking settlement Hedeby, Northern Germany

•Soil and deposits in a small dry valley of the Viking settlement Hedeby were analyzed.•Regression explains 38 % of the spatial distribution of the parent material surface.•Traces of strong soil erosion in Hedeby before Viking Age were not found.•The A and B soil horizons were used for the rampart construction during Viking Age.•Erosion traces in the period after collapse of Hedeby were found. This study aimed to identify spatial distribution of soil remnants, colluvial and cultural deposits in a small dry valley of the early medieval Viking settlement Hedeby; reconstruct factors of soil destruction and main phases of deposits formation. Hedeby (54° 29′ 27.77″ N, 9° 33′ 54.42″ E) is located approximately 40 km northwest of Kiel, Northern Germany, at the western shore of the lake Haddebyer Noor. The protected status of the settlement as a UNESCO heritage site predetermined the choice of a minimum-destructive technique of coring. The stratigraphy demonstrated that the main factors of soil destruction were surface erosion, incorporation of the soil horizon A into a cultural layer and extraction of soil material for earthwork formation such as construction of the semi-circular fortification rampart. Buried soil horizons were additionally mixed by active local bioturbation. Three periods of deposit formation were identified. The occurrence of soil erosion due to intensive deforestation in the earliest period of settlement erection was indicated by the deepest colluvial layer M1. During the Viking settlement period formation of the exposed colluvial layer M2 and cultural deposits must have been simultaneous but at different locations. After the Viking Age settlement period, the erosion was activated by agricultural land use in late medieval time. This was clearly seen in the central part of the valley, where cultural deposits were covered by colluvium. This study closes a gap in the long-term archaeological and geoarchaeological study of Hedeby, i.e. it contributes to the discussion of the relationship between human activity and landscape development in this significant settlement. Moreover, it brings new knowledge on the large-scale vision of the landscape transformation performed by Viking Age settlers.