The presented article contains the results of macroscopic analysis of plant remains (fruit, seeds and wood), deposited on the site of the Tarnobrzeg group of the Lusatian culture in Grabowiec, site 1/50/105-85 AZP, commune Radymno. All the discussed pieces remained in a burnt condition. They represented few residues of Einkorn wheat cereals Triticum monococcum, spelt Triticum spelta and proso millet Panicum miliaceum. In the group of wild herbal species there was recorded the presence of plants related today with arable fields (Bromus secalinus, Thlaspi arvense and Galium spurium) or field and ruderal habitats (Chenopodium album). The most strongly represented were the remains of trees and shrubs. On their basis Carpinus betulus, Fraxinus excelsior, Pinus sylvestris, Acer, Alnus, Betula, Quercus and Ulmus were marked. The composition of the anthracologic spectrum suggests that in the neighbourhood of the site forests in the type of today’s broadleaved forest developed (oak, hornbeam involving maple and lime) and riparian forests (ash and alder).
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.
Plant remains collected on the multicultural archaeological site 2 at Zagórze, originated from features of the Linear Pottery, Lengyel and Malice Cultures dated to the Neolithic, the Lusatian Culture from the III or IV period of the Bronze Age, the Tyniec Culture from the La Tène period, and the Puchov Culture from the Roman period. For several features chronology and/or culture were not recognized. The recovered material included charred and uncharred fruits/seeds, wood charcoal and rare impressions in daub. Uncharred diaspores were considered intrusions from younger layers and were ignored in the interpretation of the results. The results obtained for features from different time were of uneven value. Plant remains found in the Linear Pottery culture features included single grains of barley, emmer wheat, bread wheat, and rye and numerous grains of common millet. Wild herbs (about 17 species) belonged to field and ruderal weeds. Anthracological spectrum was dominated by oak and pine, birch, alder, and hazel were relatively frequent, while hornbeam, fir, beech and maple were represented by single specimens. Possible contamination of the samples by the younger intrusions including bread wheat, rye, and common millet as well as hornbeam and beech was discussed. Plant material recovered from features of the early phase of the Lusatian culture dated to the Bronze Age (Table 5) was of special interest because hitherto only very scanty archaeobotanical data were available for that period in Poland. Among the cereals, common millet grains were the most abundant, single grains belonged to barley, emmer and bread wheat. Millet was often found in large quantities on the Lusatian culture sites dated to the Hallstatt period, the now available data support the view that the spread of millet cultivation began already in the Bronze Age and this species became one of the most important cereals at the transition to the Iron Age. The richest plant material was found in the Puchov culture features dated to the Roman Period. People of this culture cultivated different cereals, among which millet and emmer were the most common, less abundant were barley, rye, bread wheat, oat, and spelt wheat.
The Thracian land was a very attractive place for the ancient Greeks and their economic expansion. At the end of the 5th century BC, the Greek inland emporion, known as Pistiros, was founded on the upper Maritsa River in inner Thrace, today south‑central Bulgaria. More than twenty‑five years of successful international cooperation of archaeology with environmental sciences has revealed the existence of a very important commercial centre with connections in the Thracian and the Aegean regions. The study summarizes the current state of research on the urbanized settlement and the river port. The environmental investigation, including the combined archaeobotanical and chemical analyses of organic residues in ceramics assessed here, as well as geomorphological research, contribute to a better understanding of the socio‑economic development of this unique archaeological site in Thrace.
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