Anne Gebhardt

Soil micromorphological evidence of early agriculture in north‐west Europe

Abstract The study of early agricultural soils using micromorphology is outlined. The effects of tillage due to modern agriculture are reviewed and the results from four experiments in ‘prehistoric cultivation’ are presented. These are used in the interpretation of prehistoric agricultural practices, based on a study of soils from various archaeological sites in north‐west Europe. It is suggested that microfabric features, varying according to soil texture, can be diagnostic of tillage. Microfabric type, textural features (e.g. coatings) and structure are, taken together, better indicators of ancient tillage than single features.

Micromorphological study of construction materials and living floors in the medieval motte of Werken (West Flanders, Belgium)

The “Hoge Andjoen,” an early medieval motte (860–960 A.D.) is an artificial hill made up of at least eight man-made “ground raising/leveling” layers. Each layer is associated with a stabilization level and a well-preserved occupation surface with evidence such as living floors, traces of cultivation, and goat/sheep trampling. The presence of this hill generated a local rise in the original groundwater table present in the natural, buried soil of the site. In some parts of the hill, and with little relation to the sedimentary boundaries, this process generated permanent water stagnation with pronounced anaerobic conditions and locally strong gradients of oxidoreduction. These gradients created a series of particular migrations and accumulations of iron, manganese, and phosphorus components. All organic artifacts, such as oak posts, wooden floors, leather, and seeds remained well preserved in the strongly reduced parts of the hill; they are completely decayed in the aerated zones of the hill. The soil moisture regime within the motte further influenced a series of postdepositional migrations/accumulations of clay and organic matter. The micromorphological study of this archaeological site allows verification of hypotheses developed during field surveying. These hypotheses relate mainly to the origin and mode of dumping of the various types of earthy material, the human activities related to the nine successive living floors, and the traces of numerous postdepo-sitional processes observed throughout this archaeological structure.