Palynology, Plant Macrofossils

"Two parallel ethnoarchaeological inquiries were undertaken, one in western Nepal and the other in Vendée (western France), in order to reconstitute the sequence of operations traditionally employed for processing millet (Panicum miliaceum). Our field work underscored not only the common central role played by the mortar/pestle at the dehusking stage but also revealed two major facultative variations which may be employed to increase the efficacy of mortar/pestle pounding. Thermic treatment before pounding may be applied; this can be a simple heating operation or may include the addition of water to the grain during the heating. Technical improvements of the active head of the pestle were sometimes practised in Vendée and are systematically practised in western Nepal.
The effects of these facultative variations were experimentally evaluated in terms of time ad quality of the product. Without either a thermic treatment of the seed before pounding or the use of a reinforced pestle head, the work of dehusking millet is laborious, the loss of seed important and the quality of the product low. Both thermic treatment of grain and the use of metal armed pestle were already known in Roman times. Depending on the position of thermic treatment in the operative sequence, this artificial heating can lengthen the storage capacity of hulled cereals.
Our experimentation brought to light a botanical marker of thermic treatment: pollen enclosed within the husks of grain becomes characteristically crumpled when exposed to artificial heating, whether or not water is added at this stage. By dating the eventual appearence of this thermic marker within the husks of grain from water-logged archaeological sites, it will become possible to expand our knowledge of the history of thermic treatment in the processing of hulled cereals."

We report results of palynological investigation of a core of sediments extracted from the bottom of the Sea of Galilee. The core was sampled at high resolution for both palynological analysis (a sample was taken c. every 40 years) and radiocarbon dating. The article focuses on the Early Bronze and Intermediate Bronze Ages, c. 3600–1950 BC. The results enable reconstruction of the vegetation and thus climate in the lake's fluvial and alluvial catchment, which includes large parts of northern Israel and Lebanon and southwestern Syria. The study sheds light on topics such as changes in olive cultivation through time and regions, processes of urbanization and collapse and settlement expansion and retraction in the arid zones.

During the Jurassic, Sardinia was close to continental Europe. Emerged lands started from a single island forming in time a progressively sinking archipelago. This complex palaeogeographic situation gave origin to a diverse landscape with a variety of habitats. Collection-and literature-based palaeobotanical, palynological and lithofacies studies were carried out on the Genna Selole Formation for palaeoenvironmental interpretations. They evidence a generally warm and humid climate, affected occasionally by drier periods. Several distinct ecosystems can be discerned in this climate, including alluvial fans with braided streams (Laconi-Gadoni lithofacies), paralic swamps and coasts (Nurri-Escalaplano lithofacies), and lagoons and shallow marine environments (Ussassai-Perdasdefogu lithofacies). The non-marine environments were covered by extensive lowland and a reduced coastal and tidally influenced environment. Both the river and the upland/hinterland environments are of limited impact for the reconstruction. The difference between the composition of the palynological and palaeobotanical associations evidence the discrepancies obtained using only one of those proxies. The macroremains reflect the local palaeoenvironments better, although subjected to a transport bias (e.g. missing upland elements and delicate organs), whereas the palynomorphs permit to reconstruct the regional palaeoclimate. Considering that the flora of Sardinia is the southernmost of all Middle Jurassic European floras, this multidisciplinary study increases our understanding of the terrestrial environments during that period of time.

This chapter provides morphological descriptions including remarks on nomenclatural problems for the macrofossil (M) and palynological (P) record from Iceland. The systematic section starts with Bryophyta (mosses), Lycopodiophyta (clubmosses and spikemosses), and Pteridophyta (horsetails and true ferns), followed by Gnetophyta, Ginkgophyta, Pinophyta (conifers), and Magnoliophyta (flowering plants). Families and genera appear in alphabetical order. Incertae sedis are listed at the end of each large taxonomic group. For each taxon described, stratigraphic and geographic occurrences are provided. Remarks regarding systematic affinities to coeval and extant taxa are added as well.

The stronghold and settlement in Przytok has not been the subject of a larger study so far. After research conducted in the 1960s by Edward Dąbrowski, the only real foot print concerning this site was the term published by the discoverer of the site and the author of the research in the Dictionary of Slavic Antiquities.
Both the settlement and the stronghold were discovered between 1956 and 1964. Rescue excavations were carried out on the settlement in June 1967. At that time, two pits containing fragments of vessels made without using a potter’s wheel were found.
In 2008, a series of aerial photographs, mainly of the stronghold clearly legible from the air, were taken. Further research related to the settlement complex in Przytok has not been carried out until 2016. They were part of a project funded by the National Science Center. Magnetic analysis of the stronghold were carried out then, phosphorus content analyzes and small test excavations verifying geophysical research were also carried out. Thanks to the excavations, Edward Dąbrowski’s results concerning primarily the chronology and function of site 1, were verified, as the lack of publication of sources certainly caused considerable difficulties in evaluation of previous results, especially about the existing of the stronghold and settlement. Filling this gap is therefore the primary goal of this publication.
Beside the analysis of archival finds, enriched by the results of specialist research, the book also presents the results of research on the reconstruction of the basic natural environment in the vicinity of the stronghold and settlement, as well as the settlement complex in Przytok against the background of a wider settlement context. An important part of the publication is also the presentation of issues related to new chronological findings, obtained thanks to the comparative analysis of pottery verified by age determinations using the 14C method.
The stronghold and settlement in Przytok are, next to the settlement in Klenica and the settlements in Stożne and Zawada, another archaeologically recognised sites from the early Middle Ages in the area of the middle Odra river valley.
Early medieval settlement in the vicinity of Przytok was not intensive and probably this condition is not the result of insufficient archaeological recognition of this area, because it is an area thoroughly examined by surface survey and identified by a series of aerial photographs regularly taken for about 10 years. Beside the settlement on the site 2 we know also the settlement in Stożne located about 1600 m northwest of the settlement, site 2, from 6th/7th-7th century and in Zawada from the mid 9th-11th/12th century. Both sites were excavated. These two sites were also recognized by surface survey: in Jany, site 9 where 8 fragments of ceramics were found and in Jany, site 4 where 6 fragments of vessels were obtained, whose chronology was determined to the early stages of the early Middle Ages. Due to the lack of detailed research, the chronology of burial mounds located southwest of the stronghold in Przytok (sites 4 and 5 in Przytok) is problematic.
The current shape of the stronghold is similar to an oval with a diameter of about 70 m. In the terrain, as well as in aerial photographs and DTM, an omnidirectional moat is clearly visible, especially visible from the south, west and north. However, the relics of the rampart are difficult to read.
On the opposite side of the river bed, northwest of the stronghold, about 200 m from it, an older settlement was located, which occupies a slightly elevated dune among the wet and partly bogged valley of the Odra and Zimny Potok, which have springs around the settlement complex. The LIDAR image shows the supposed range of the settlement, which was surrounded by slight elevations (earth moulds?). In the 1960s, small excavations were carried out on the site. Two features were discovered then, one of which was the remains of a residential building. Fills of features were heavily saturated with burning.
Juliusz Twardy and Jacek Forysiak presented a detailed description of the location of the stronghold and settlement in Przytok in the geographical and geomorphological aspect. Both the stronghold and the settlement lie within the floodplain terrace of the basins. The relief of the area of the direct hinterland of the sites is not very varied. In the north and east flows the Odra, which at the beginning of the 18th century meandered on the entire width of the valley. Numerous paleomeanders, currently cut off from the main Odra riverbed due to its regulation, are visible in the trace of the former course of the river. The bend of one of these paleomenadres is occupied by a settlement (site 2), which is separated from the stronghold by a valley about 40 m wide, now a wetland with an unnamed stream. To the north of the settlement, a fragment of the paleomeander now occupies the stream of Zimny Potok, whose source is located on the wetland west of the settlement.
The current landscape is the result of a significant transformation of the area by man, especially in the last 150 years (since the start of drainage of the Odra valley). In addition to open areas, mainly meadows, pastures and arable fields, the landscape is diversified by numerous forest communities in the alluvial type and small clumps mainly of oaks.
The area south of the sites changes into a high terrace and a zone of frontal moraine hills, now covered with pine monocultures and occasionally with mixed forests.
Non-invasive geophysical surveys were carried out on both the settlement and the stronghold. In the first case they brought the discovery of magnetic anomalies, which, due to the verrifying excavation trench, can now be quite clearly interpreted as relics of small rampart surrounding the stronghold, made of earth and wood. On the stronghold courtyard few traces were recorded, requiring excavation verification. At the current stage of research, it is difficult to clearly determine their origin.
Research on the remains of the settlement brought the discovery of numerous magnetic anomalies of varying origin. They allow to draw several hypotheses regarding the shape and function of the settlement. However, full understanding of the obtained results requires invasive verification excvations. This will allow for a more accurate recognition of the nature of the features and archaeological layers located on the site. Excavations may also provide answers to a number of more detailed questions, especially regarding the time of construction and functioning of the settlement.
In the stronghold, analyzes were also made of the phosphorus content in the soil. The analysis did not document the increased content of phosphorus in the soil within the outlines of relics of the fortified settlement in Przytok, which could constitute a geochemical trace of intensive settlement and economic activity in the past. The spread of the highest, but also sporadically recorded, values ​​covers areas adjacent to the site from the south. The obtained results of geochemical prospectus may suggest the refugial nature of the object. At the same time, it should be emphasized that, carried out in recent years, surrounded by castle strongholds located at the bottom of the Warta, Luciąża and Warsaw-Berlin valleys, tests of phosphorus content in the ground have resulted in the registration of a generally poor geochemical record in the surroundings of the features.
The elaboration of the results of archival research concerned both movable artefactss, mainly fragments of vessels, wooden items, animal bones and artefacts made of stone material, as well as analysis of the relics of the rampart and the few features that are remains of the structures of the stronghold courtyard and the nearby settlement.
In the case of wooden artefacts, attempts were made to recognize the type of artefacts, the way they were made, the nature of deposition, the specifics of the selection of wood raw material, as well as  environmental conditions and potential directions of logging. The analyzed samples came from  moat and were mostly waste generated during carpentry works related to the construction of wood and earth rampart of the stronghold in Przytok.
Assemblage of the stone artefacts from Przytok is an example of a typical set of everyday items, often obtaines during the research on sites from the early Middle Ages. Regarding the use of raw materials, selection in terms of rock hardness and technical properties is clearly visible. None of the tested products was made of weathered rock, which proves the correct selection of the right raw material from glacial material.
Pottery analysis especially, supported by radiocarbon dating results, allowed the chronological considerations to be verified. Currently, dating of the stronghold functioning can be determined in the second half of the 8th-first half of the 9th century. In contrast, the settlement may be even older. Fragments of pottery discovered there allow to date the settlement to the end of the 7th-8th century.
The analysis and publishing of this publication were possible thanks to the co-financing of research by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, under the Protection of Archaeological Monuments program and the Archaeological Museum of the Middle Odra river Area in Zielona Góra and funds from the City of Zielona Góra. Part of the research results presented in the publication, including geophysical, phosphoric, 14C dating of wooden rampart and excavations carried out on the stronghold in 2016 were completed and financed due to the National Science Center grant FUGA 4 (UMO-2015/16/S/HS3/00274), Early medieval settlement in the middle Odra river basin until the mid-11th century in archaeological studies.

Barnett, C. 2011. The Tilbury Alluvial Sequence and a Submerged Forest of Neolithic Age at 118 Victoria Dock Road, Canning Town, East London. LAMAS 62, 1-15

Archaeological evaluation of a small redevelopment
site in Canning Town revealed a deep, well-stratified
Holocene alluvial sequence (the Tilbury Formation)
to 5.8m depth (-4.75m OD) over Devensian fluvial
sands and gravels. A thin peat (the lower peat) at
c.5.5—5.75m depth (-4.45 to -4.7m OD) contained tree
trunks, some with roots attached. The layer was sampled
and assessed for plant macrofossils, wood and molluscs
and was radiocarbon dated to the early Neolithic
(3940—3700 cal bc), probably relating to the Tilbury
III regression. Floodplain alder carr and surrounding
mixed deciduous woodland were inundated in the
Early Neolithic by Thames flood waters during marine
transgression and have been preserved in situ as a
submerged forest. Human activity in the local forest is
indicated by the presence of wood charcoal and scorched
snails but no archaeological features or artefacts were
found.
The thick overlying sediment sequence contained
two further main bodies of peat dating to the end of
the Early Neolithic (3350—3030 cal bc) and Middle
Bronze Age (1400—1130 cal bc), correlating broadly
with other Tilbury sequences in London and with
a shallower peat sequence at Silvertown, where a
Neolithic trackway was identified. The pollen indicates
the continuation of dense and relatively undisturbed
forest for the Neolithic to Middle Bronze Age wetland
edge landscape. Although long-term settlement of the
area would not have been feasible due to the fluctuation
and instability of these wetlands, it is likely that the
area offered opportunities for economic activities such
as fishing and fowling.
Excellent preservation by waterlogging in this deep
sequence has been demonstrated and archaeological
evidence in the form of organic remains, eg trackways
and fishtraps, may be discovered in the area in the
future.

A thin, white coloured ash/pumice layer on top of the poor macrofossil units at the Selárgil locality yields a rich late Messinian palynoflora that was deposited under a markedly different taphonomic setting than most other late Cainozoic floras discussed in this book. Pollen contained in this volcanic sediment apparently was deposited in a very short time during the actual ash fall, whereas in most other Cainozoic formations in Iceland pollen was deposited in clastic sediments over a longer time interval. The unusual taphonomy of the Selárgil pollen and spores assemblage possibly acted as filter against insect pollinated woody species such as Rhododendron subsect. Pontica and other tree taxa that would otherwise be expected (Juglandaceae, Ulmaceae). Overall, the arboreal flora at Selárgil contains a number of partly warmth-loving relict taxa from older formations (Cathaya, Scyadopitys, Tetracentron) and some newcomers (Quercus, two types of Ericaceae). The occurrence of a new type of Quercus with clear biogeographic affinities to North America points to a functioning land bridge between Iceland and Greenland during the Late Miocene and to climatic conditions in northern North America and Greenland that would have allowed for migration of oaks to Iceland.

The article presents the results of a multi-proxy study investigating an alluvial deposit located in the coastal plain of Genoa (Liguria, Northwest Italy). A very deep core was sampled from 15 to 25 m below ground level to analyse sedimentological properties, pollen assemblages, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils and micro-charcoal. The deposit, spanning from the second half of the 5th Millennium to the end of the 7th Millennium cal. BC, was characterized by an alternation of silty and peaty layers, and proved to be rich in plant remains. Pollen data allowed the confirmation of a gradual increase in Fagus sylvatica to the detriment of Abies alba during the mid-Holocene of the region, and showed the presence of brackish lagoons, as well as the progressively stronger incidence of anthropogenic taxa, indicating the use of the plain for agricultural purposes. The study of non-pollen palynomorphs led to the taxonomic identification of some previously unidentified types, and pointed to the occurrence of marshy environments, which were probably grazed on by domestic herbivores. Macrofossil analysis provided the first record of Triticum new glume wheat type in Liguria. Moreover, the finding of a grain of Triticum dicoccum dated to the second half of the 6th Millennium cal. BC allowed us to pre-date by seven centuries the agriculture in the region. To date, this represents the oldest evidence of human activity in the urban area of Genoa.

Terrestrial fossils from Late Miocene sediments in the Mókollsdalur area are mainly known for their insect fauna. Plant fossils and the sedimentological context suggest that most of the macrofossils deposited at Mókollsdalur originate from trees and shrubs that grew on the slopes around a caldera lake in the highlands. Abundant fossils of aquatic crustaceans, insects, and plants suggest that the lake and adjacent areas were a diverse ecosystem at the time of deposition. Forests covering the slopes were dominated by Fagus with a few evergreen elements in the understorey (Ilex, Rhododendron). In contrast, the palynological record points to the presence of mixed oak forests in areas behind the mountain ridge surrounding the caldera. The poor representation of herbaceous elements in the pollen record may point to a filter effect against pollen influx from surrounding areas into the lake. Slope exposure may have determined the presence of Fagus or Quercus as is also seen today in cool temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Overall, the climate appears to be more diversified than in the older floras with relatively warmer humid conditions windward of the mountains or in sheltered areas close to the lake and cooler more continental conditions leeward of the mountains.

During the Late Bronze Age, the Iron Age and early medieval period (c.  600 BC – AD 1250) settlement at Vik in the Ørland peninsula emerged, flourished, vanished and emerged anew. Local landscape and vegetation development, cross-regional cultural developments and global climatic events were of great significance to the farmer-fisher communities at Vik throughout these periods. 
In this book, results from the 2014-2016 archaeological excavations at Ørland main air base have been refined and developed. The 13 papers deal with landscape, vegetation and environmental aspects related to the excavated settlement, as well as the spatial and social organization of the built environment. Building traditions, disposal practices, the form and representation of everyday objects, subsistence and landscape use are central to the discussions.

This work provides a tool whereby the needle remains of native, southwestern European Pinus spp. can be easily identified from species-specific epidermal features. To construct this tool, the needles of P. uncinata, P. sylvestris, P. nigra, P. pinaster, P. pinea and P. halepensis were gathered across the Northern Hemisphere range of each taxon and compared with non-indigenous trees growing in two South Australian Botanic Gardens. Three needles from each of these species were taken from three adult trees growing at three different localities. Light microscopy was used to observe the key epidermal and stomatal features of the needles. To improve interpretation, additional scanning electron microscopy samples were prepared. Epidermal features, including variation in the diameter of the epistomatal chamber aperture (pore), are described. A taxonomic key based on the size, shape and arrangement of the subsidiary cells of the stomatal complexes was constructed. This key enables the identification of pine needle fragments at the species level (except those belonging to the group P. gr. nigra-uncinata). Despite their overlapping range, pore size was helpful in distinguishing between P. nigra and P. uncinata and between three groups of species. Isolated stomata were also observed. Cluster and discriminant analyses of stomatal variables described in earlier studies were performed. Overlap in guard cell variables hampers species-level identification of isolated stomata. Species discrimination is improved if groups of ecological affinity are considered.

Archaeology’s ability to generate long-term datasets of natural and human landscape change positions the discipline as an inter-disciplinary bridge between
the social and natural sciences. Using a multi-proxy approach combining archaeological data with palaeoenvironmental indicators embedded in coastal
sediments, we outline millennial timescales of lowland landscape evolution in the Society Islands. Geomorphic and cultural histories for four coastal zones
on Mo‘orea are reconstructed based on stratigraphic records, sedimentology, pollen analysis, and radiocarbon determinations from mid- to late Holocene
contexts. Prehuman records of the island’s flora and fauna are described utilizing landsnail, insect, and botanical data, providing a palaeo-backdrop for later
anthropogenic change. Several environmental processes, including sea level change, island subsidence, and anthropogenic alterations, leading to changes in
sedimentary budget have operated on Mo‘orea coastlines from c. 4600 to 200 BP. We document significant transformation of littoral and lowland zones
which obscured earlier human activities and created significant changes in vegetation and other biota. Beginning as early as 440 BP (1416–1490 cal. ad),
a major phase of sedimentary deposition commenced which can only be attributed to anthropogenic effects. At several sites, between 1.8 and 3.0 m of
terrigenous sediments accumulated within a span of two to three centuries due to active slope erosion and deposition on the coastal flats. This phase
correlates with the period of major inland expansion of Polynesian occupation and intensive agriculture on the island, indicated by the presence of
charcoal throughout the sediments, including wood charcoal from several economically important tree species.

The oldest plant fossils currently known from Iceland are ca 15 Ma, their deposition coinciding with the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum. At this time, forests in Iceland were dominated by mixed broadleaved deciduous and coniferous taxa with a few broadleaved evergreen genera such as Rhododendron and Ilex. Lowland forests were dominated by Glyptostrobus. Questions about the colonization history of Iceland or proto-Iceland are of particular interest since not much is known about the availability of effective land bridges allowing for colonization from Europe and/or North America at that time. In addition to geological data, in this chapter we use two lines of biological evidence to speculate about the early colonization of Iceland. First, we will examine the biogeographic patterns of key taxa such as Cryptomeria, Rhododendron ponticum-type, and Fagus friedrichii. Then we look at dispersal modes found in early colonizers of Iceland. Dispersal modes of at least some taxa indicate that Iceland was connected to the adjacent continents at the time of colonization. However, it cannot be determined when exactly this early colonization happened. The taxa recorded in the oldest sedimentary rocks in Iceland may have had different origins, either representing elements that were already present in the region since the Palaeogene or colonizing proto-Iceland from

Fossil plants recovered from the Late Miocene (Messinian) Hreðavatn-Stafholt Formation grew in a landscape dominated by lakes of different sizes that were connected by small rivers and swampland. Well-drained areas bordering these wetlands were covered by mixed broadleaved deciduous and conifer forests dominated by Pinaceae, Rosaceae, and Acer. Relict taxa occurred both in wetlands (aff. Calycanthaceae) and hardwood forests (Cyclocarya, Fagus, Tetracentron). The flora and vegetation of the 7-6 Ma formation witnessed a cool temperate climate and the fairly high diversity of trees and shrubs was largely caused by relict taxa that persisted into the late Late Miocene and in some cases until the Early Pliocene. Although quite few taxa are new records for the Miocene flora of Iceland, one species of Populus resembling a poplar from the Middle Miocene of Siberia and from the Oligocene of Alaska may have first arrived to Iceland between 8 and 7 Ma. A general trend of impoverishment as seen in the Icelandic floras is also seen in floras of Arctic North America and mid-latitude Europe.

Reconstruction of the Holocene palaeoenvironment conditions in Southeastern Latvia is based on multiproxy records from Lake Pilvelis: pollen, plant macrofossil and microfossil analysis; loss-on-ignition (LOI) measurements; 14C dating; humic substances content; humification index; and elemental composition of gyttja organic mass. The data complex obtained in the result of multiproxy studies of sediments in Lake Pilvelis indicates significant changes in the depositional environment during the lake development. Data from Lake Pilvelis show that the start of organic-rich sediments formation before approximately 9750 cal BP, when birchepine forest dominated in the surrounding landscape. Diagrams and data sets show six remarkable comparatively short cooling periods during the Holocene, which are related to changes in temperature and water level and influenced values and variability of remains. The
investigation recognized the 8.4 ka BP and 4.6 ka BP cold events, while other cooling events can be recognised conditionally. During the events of 4.0 ka BP, the water level decreased extremely and the climate was probably drier, indicated by the comparison of records from Lake Pilvelis, Mazais Svetinu Bog and Lake Razna. A comparison of pollen data from Lake Pilvelis with Lake Kurjanovas, Mazais Svetinu Bog and Lake Razna shows some similarities, revealing features of cooler climatic conditions approximately at the time characterised by an increase of Betula and herb pollen.

Recent excavation at the site of Chobareti (1615 m a.s.l., South Caucasus Mountains) reveals an important
Kura-Araxes settlement and eleven burials so far, for which a first multi-proxies approach was conducted
to understand both exploitation of plants and human dietary practices in this mountainous area. Thanks
to the excavation of several pits, in 2011, a well-reasoned sampling for archaeobotanical analysis,
including phytoliths, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal, seeds and other plant macroremains
was undertaken. In parallel, human, animal bones and wheat seeds were recovered in order to
perform stable isotope analysis (d13C, d15N). Results show the strong presence of cereals (especially naked
wheat, as a hexaploid form, and emmer), highlighting the role played by cereal growing in the Kura-
Araxes farming activities. Plant macroremains, but also phytoliths recovered in pits, reflect processing
activities on the site. While animal dung seems to have been used to enhance cereal yields, different
herding practices can be suggested by d15N values. Whereas d13C values and archaeobotanical data agree
for a consumption of C3 plants, with no significant input in wheat for both animals and humans, a homogeneous
mixed diet, with a great contribution of animal protein source (meat, secondary products)
has been observed.

Analysis of a large number of pollen samples from pools and wells has led to a more detailed understanding of the vegetation development in the eastern Netherlands between c. 1100 B.C. and A.D. 1500. During the Neolithic and the Bronze Age settlements were islands within a forest landscape, with natural clearings as the obvious starting points for further exploitation. Especially during the Iron Age the higher grounds became rapidly deforested. A semi-open landscape was formed relatively quickly, as was the case in the northern Dutch sandy areas. The Iron Age and Roman period landscape seems to have been almost as open as it would be during the Middle Ages, something which has also been established for south-east England. Deforestation proceeded at a slower pace in the lower and wetter parts of the landscape, but here too the effects of human presence are already visible during late prehistoy, at least in the proximity of settlements. A sharp increase of heath can be observed, the result of deforestation and soil exhaustion. Sometimes it is grasses that increase rather than heather, as was probably the case on relatively fertile and degradation-resistant soil types. The late prehistoric mosaic landscape was probably still characterised by a high degree of spatial dynamics. On the other hand, many of the medieval and younger essen (open fields) are likely to have been open areas and to have been in continuous use for agriculture from the Iron Age until the present day. These areas had apparently become stable elements in an otherwise dynamic landscape long before the Middle Ages.