Geochemical data of recovered cores from the Loosbach valley at Pestenacker, a Late Neolithic wetland site, northern Alpine forelands, Germany

In 2018 and 2019, driving cores were carried out to reconstruct the Holocene deposition history of the Loosbach valley at Pestenacker, an UNESCO world heritage site of Late Neolithic wetland occupation. A hand-held Cobra Pro (Atlas Copco) driving core drilling system. The recovered cores were documented and sampled in a 5-10 cm resolution for subsequent laboratory analysis. Bulk samples from RK8, RK10, RK12, RK15 and RK16 cores were used for subsequent geochemical analysis. All samples were air dried, sieved (2 mm sieve) and weighed. Macroscopic charcoal and wood remains were removed and weighed. For calculating the total organic matter (TOC), we measured the content of total carbon (TC) by using a CNS analyser vario EL cube (Elementar) and determined the content of inorganic carbon (TIC) by calcimeter measurements (Scheibler method, Eijkelkamp). Resulting values of organic carbon (TOC) were multiplied by 1.72 in order to obtain contents of organic matter (OM). The siliciclastic content was calculated from the sum of carbonates and organic matter and subtracted this from 100 %. The content of charcoal and wood remains [%] is in relation to the total dry weight of the fine soil. The stratigraphical and geochemical findings were classified into sedimentological units. The detailed descriptions of the stratigraphical data are given in the document “Detailed lithological descriptions of recovered cores from the Loosbach valley at Pestenacker”.