Medieval charcoals from Kokotów site 19 (commune Wieliczka) — some remarks on the sampling method and the interpretation of the anthracological assemblages

• Authors: Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

During the archaeological excavations conducted at Kokotów site 19 (commune Wieliczka), two habitation structures were discovered in the form of shallow pit-houses and dated to the Medieval period. Charcoal fragments, representing the remains of firewood, were collected from the different layers of these features. This collection of charcoal fragments, illustrates the importance of the sampling method for future data interpretation. They also serve to demonstrate the basis of methodology used for distinguishing these charcoal assemblages leading to more accurate results concerning their palaeoenvironmental interpretation. Moreover, the results are commented on in the context of the anthracological methodology developed within a so-called “Montpellier school”. The charcoal assemblages from Kokotów site 19 can be interpreted in terms of past vegetations. During the XII–XIII/XIV centuries, the nearest forest formations were dominated by oak Quercus sp., Scots pine Pinus sylvestris and hornbeam Carpinus betulus, mainly representing oak-hornbeam and mixed pine-oak woods.

Keywords

EN

anthracology; charcoal sampling; interpretation of the charcoal assemblages; Medieval period

• Publisher: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Sprawozdania Archeologiczne
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 66
• Pages: 155–176

Dates

published

2014

Contributors

author

Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo

• W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland