Multi-element analysis of archaeological soils

Mgr. Martin Janovský

Disertační práce

Abstract:

Human activities from prehistoric to the present time irreversibly affect the chemical properties of soils and often cause the accumulation of various elements in settlements and other areas. Anthropogenic soils are influenced by human activities to such an extent that in the case of deserted settlements and burial grounds, we can speak of archaeological soils. Soil and sediment samples were taken at four deserted settlements, in the Czech Republic and in Israel. Two localities consisted of deserted medieval villages in the Czech Republic with their medieval and modern field system. Research of the deserted medieval village Lovětín has shown that its former field system used fertilizers made from organic residues and wood ash (Mn, Sr, Th, and K). Traditionally used and interpreted phosphorus was present in the locality to a very small extent and with low content. In the case of the deserted village Malonín, which existed until the 1950s, the content of anthropogenic elements like P, Ca, Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe, V, Cr, and Zr on the former fields decreased with distance from the village. Therefore, only the area near the village was intensively cultivated. The deserted villages contained a lower content of anthropogenic elements in their surroundings compared to the other archaeological site, which was the early medieval fortified settlement of Dřevíč. The hillfort was inhabited intensively for a longer period, which resulted in the creation or formation of a specific anthropogenic soil, with a significant enrichment by anthropogenic elements and a specific dark black colour. The last site explored was the ancient Tel Burna, where human waste and building materials accumulated for thousands of years, resulting in the creation of specific soils – Urbic Technosols (anthropogenic soils). Tell sites are therefore an excellent source of nutrients and are used for grazing in Israel. Last but not least, the siege by the Assyrian army (high Cu content in the sediment) and the collapse of the settlement and the subsequent deposition of dust desert particles (gradual change in Ca content through the archaeological profile) were successfully documented on Tel Burna by interpretation of a geochemical record. The results of this work emphasize the importance of studying the ancient human activities which carry high degree of influence over current ecosystems and the emergence of specific soils, which are archaeological soils.

Keywords

prehistoric and medieval archaeology, archaeology of the Levant, deserted medieval villages, field systems, tel or settlement hill

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 20. 7. 2021

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: prof. RNDr. Michal Hejcman, Ph.D. Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta životního prostředí

Doktorský studijní program / obor:
Ekologie / Ekologie