Here, the Cd/Ca and Pb/Ca ratios in the two benthic foraminifera species Elphidium excavatum and Ammonia tepida are presented in order to assess the impact of enhanced anthropogenic heavy metal input in historical times on these foraminifera. The foraminifera shells were picked from sediment core GeoB 4801-1, that was collected from the Helgoland mud area, German Bight, southern North Sea, during RV Meteor cruise M40/0. The obtained elemental records span the last ~300 years (for the stratigraphy of this core see Boxberg et al. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-019-00592-0). Element compositions were obtained by ICP-MS at the MARUM, Bremen.