Dataset on the deposits of the semi-circular rampart around the former Viking settlement Hedeby and its vicinity

Soils and sediments are able to preserve traces of human activity in the form of morphological, geochemical and geophysical properties of materials. Thanks to that the study of these materials may provide valuable information about the formation and functioning of archaeological sites. Materials transported for earthwork construction and their configuration preserve important information on the past landscape development, the anthropogenic transformation of the landscape as well as the process of the fortification formation. The UNESCO heritage site Hedeby was one of the most significant proto-towns in Northern Europe and an important trading center in the Viking Age. The town was surrounded by the semi-circular fortification rampart connected to the Danevirke, the Danish fortification system. Due to its dimensions (maximum height 10 m) and good preservation state, the semi-circular rampart is one of the most prominent features of the area. In this article the data on the physico-chemical analysis of the materials from the cores along a coring transect across the semi-circular rampart are presented. The following properties were determined: pH, weight percentage of gravel, charcoal, artefacts, and bones, loss on ignition, magnetic susceptibility, grain size distribution ≤2 mm, elemental concentrations. The data is valuable for geoarchaeological analysis of the landscape transformation and the earthwork construction at Hedeby including the reconstruction of the process and the techniques used in the Viking Age. Data on the buried soil found underneath the rampart deposits might provide insight into the surface soils characteristics prior to the rampart construction.