Abstract
AbstractThe results from analyses of botanical remains (pollen, wood, charcoal, seeds) from several archaeological features excavated in Kluizen (northern Belgium) are presented. The region was largely uninhabited until the Iron Age and Roman period when a rural settlement was established, resulting in small-scale woodland clearance. The site was subsequently abandoned fromc.AD 270 till the High Middle Ages. The results of the archaeological and archaeobotanical analyses provide information on changes in land use and resulting dynamics of woodland cover and composition betweenc.600 BC and AD 1200, with a spatial and temporal resolution unrivalled in northern Belgium. Especially the long period of woodland regeneration following abandonment of the site around AD 270, covering the Late Roman and Early Medieval period, could be reconstructed in detail. Abandoned fields were first covered with pioneer woodland (Salix,CorylusandBetula), thenQuercus-dominated secondary forest and finally a late-successional forest withFagus sylvatica,Carpinus betulusandIlex aquifolium, an evolution that took over 300 years. The results also indicate that the observed increase ofFagusduring the Early Middle Ages, which was never an important element in the woodland vegetation in northern Belgium before, was related to climatic changes rather than anthropogenic factors.
Highlights
IntroductionA decline in woodland cover during the Early and/or Middle Roman period and subsequent woodland regeneration during the Late Roman and Early Medieval period, called the Dark Ages, has been reported for many areas in northwestern Europe (e.g. Teunissen, 1990; Dumayne & Barber, 1994; Dark, 1996, 2000; Bunnik, 1999; Wimble et al, 2000; Roymans & Gerritsen, 2002; Becker, 2005; Dreßler et al, 2006; Groenewoudt et al, 2007; Kalis et al, 2008; Kaplan et al, 2009; Ball & Jansen, 2018)
The Roman period woodland decline is linked to population and economic growth and the creation of additional arable land and pasture, while the subsequent woodland recovery results from a decline in population and land use following the collapse of the western Roman Empire (Halsall, 2007; Cheyette, 2008)
The few available pollen diagrams that cover the Late Roman and Early Medieval period have a low temporal resolution and show an increase in total arboreal pollen (AP) in only a small part of the diagrams and do not provide much detail on the evolution of individual taxa or on the timespan of these events (Verbruggen et al, 1996; Broothaerts et al, 2014). These sites are all located in alluvial landscapes where the recorded vegetational changes are likely to be influenced by dynamics of the local wetland vegetation, i.e. vegetational changes within the valley as a result of differences in local hydrology, rather than resulting from changes in land use on drier soils that are more suitable for agriculture
Summary
A decline in woodland cover during the Early and/or Middle Roman period and subsequent woodland regeneration during the Late Roman and Early Medieval period, called the Dark Ages, has been reported for many areas in northwestern Europe (e.g. Teunissen, 1990; Dumayne & Barber, 1994; Dark, 1996, 2000; Bunnik, 1999; Wimble et al, 2000; Roymans & Gerritsen, 2002; Becker, 2005; Dreßler et al, 2006; Groenewoudt et al, 2007; Kalis et al, 2008; Kaplan et al, 2009; Ball & Jansen, 2018). The few available pollen diagrams that cover the Late Roman and Early Medieval period have a low temporal resolution and show an increase in total arboreal pollen (AP) in only a small part of the diagrams and do not provide much detail on the evolution of individual taxa or on the timespan of these events (Verbruggen et al, 1996; Broothaerts et al, 2014) These sites are all located in alluvial landscapes where the recorded vegetational changes are likely to be influenced by dynamics of the local wetland vegetation, i.e. vegetational changes within the valley as a result of differences in local hydrology, rather than resulting from changes in land use on drier soils that are more suitable for agriculture
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