Landscape Transformed

Ivana Šitnerová, Jaromír Beneš, Ivana Trpáková, Jiří Bumerl, Veronika Komárková, Tereza Majerovičová, Lenka Hrabáková, Kristina Janečková

Landscape Transformed

Číslo: 1/2020
Periodikum: Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica
DOI: 10.24916/iansa.2020.1.7

Klíčová slova: field system radiocarbon AMS modern soil dating 210Pb and 137Cs archaeobotany anthracology old wood effect landscape transformation

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Anotace: The historical field system of Valštejn represents one of the most extensive historical landscape

complexes in the Czech Republic. Archaeological excavation of a former agricultural terrace (now
a meadow) revealed the elaborate construction of a wall and stone foundation under the former
arable field. This construction probably served for drainage and for soil protection. Archaeobotanical
sampling facilitated the use of the charred plant material for radiocarbon dating of the soil profile,
supported by the measurement of radionuclides 210Pb and 137Cs activity in order to estimate the age and
stratigraphic integrity of the soil. An interesting record was obtained by archaeobotanical analyses of
the lowermost layer, where wood charcoal and needles of fir (Abies alba) were identified and dated
by AMS 14C. A discrepancy between the younger needle and much older charcoal could indicate an
example of the old wood effect in archaeological chronology. The study has brought comprehensive
results using environmental archaeology methods and sheds light on one of the stages of historical
landscape transformation of the Early Modern Ages in central Europe.