Researchers have found in an excavation in the Binzquartier in Zurich 14,000 years old stumps. They originate from the first forest which grew after the last ice age in Zurich.
Archaeological sensation in the Binz area: The oldest forest in the world was discovered during construction work in Zurich. It apparently grew shortly after the end of the last ice age – 14,000 years ago.
Three wood samples from the clay in the Binz were dated by using the C14 radiocarbon method at the ETH Zurich. It is sensational: The wood is almost 14,000 years old. Thus these old stumps represent the first documented trees that have immigrated from the Mediterranean to Switzerland after the last glacial period. These findings are unique in the world.
As seen on the next picture, the stumps were protected by a fine-grained clay, which did not let air pass through. The tribes broke and decayed, but the root system with root stump was hermetically sealed in clay and survived completely unscathed today.
Most of these trees are pines (150 strains) and maybe a birch. Most of pine logs have a diameter of more than 30 centimeters.
This discovery is sensational in two senses: 1. The age of the wood and 2. The quantity of wood found. The more material you have, the more reliable are the statements that you can do with it and the greater the chance of finding answers to the many questions that are still open in this part of Europe. Samples from this amazing discovery is available for international experts and will provide the basic data for many interdisciplinary research projects.
Scientists hope to gain information about the origin of this ancient glacial pioneer forest. Moreover, these trees will inform about climate change, forest fires, large earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as about the origin and development of the European forest after the last glacial period, the synchronization of different tree-ring chronologies and the linking of different archives, which in turn allows more precise dating of countless artifacts. – Tages Anzeiger
