A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the rampart construction of the medieval ring-fort in Rozprza, Central Poland

During archaeological excavations of a medieval stronghold in Rozprza, a buried thick deposit of deep black (Dark Earth type) soil was discovered. A multianalytical (sedimentological, geochemical and archaeobotanical) study was carried out in order to identify traits the Rozprza Dark Earth. The analyses demonstrated that the soil was formed as an effect of surface accumulation of organic deposits from swampy areas and waste materials with rich admixtures of organic materials. The organic carbon content of the soil of the Rozprza Dark Earth was twice as high, and the total concentration of P was many times higher as compared with the adjacent soil outside the stronghold. Plant macroremains which were recorded within the buried soil and a cultural layer are evidence for human activity, mainly wood gathering and agriculture. In the Early Middle Ages, summer crops could be cultivated there with the use of tilling methods characteristic for root crops or gardens. The accumulation of the Rozprza Dark Earth commenced in the second half of the tenth century AD. In the period between the eleventh and thirteenth century, a ring-fort was established there. The deep black soil is partly covered by the ring-fort's rampart. The rampart was built with the use of re-deposited earlier cultural layers and sand of the subsoil. It was then clad with sod bricks. Such a construction of a medieval rampart has been recorded for the first time in the territory of Poland. A new interpretation of archaeological structures and cultural layers offers a basis for new conclusions concerning the chronology and the development stages of the medieval settlement and ring-fort in Rozprza

Archaeology · Excavation · Geochemistry · Geography · Geomorphology · Natural (archaeology · Paleosol · Period (music · Pottery · Soil water · Subsoil · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Geology · Soil Science

• The environmental history of the oxbow in the Luciąża River valley – Study on the specific microclimate during Allerød and Younger Dryas in central Poland

  Open Access•Olga Antczak-Orlewska, Daniel Okupny et al.•Quaternary International•2023

  Incluir item

• Geoarchaeological studies in the early medieval Santok stronghold (north‐western Poland)

  Open Access•Kinga Zamelska-Monczak, Andrzej Piotrowski et al.•Geoarchaeology•2021

  Incluir item

• Low-energy 14C AMS in Poznań Radiocarbon Laboratory, Poland

  Open Access•Tomasz Goslar, Justyna Czernik et al.•Nuclear Instruments and Methods…•2004

  Incluir item

• Brazos River bar [Texas]; a study in the significance of grain size parameters

  Robert Louis Folk, W Ward et al.•Journal of Sedimentary Research•1957

  Incluir item

• Die slawische Keramik in Mecklenburg

  Ewald Schuldt•Die Slawische Keramik in…•1956

  Incluir item

• Micromorphological study of construction materials and living floors in the medieval motte of Werken (West Flanders, Belgium)

  Open Access•Anne Gebhardt, Catalina Gebhardt et al.•Geoarchaeology•1999

  Incluir item

• The palaeoecological development of the Late Medieval moat - Multiproxy research at Rozprza, Central Poland

  Open Access•Monika Rzodkiewicz, J Sikora et al.•Quaternary International•2018

  Incluir item

• Studying urban stratigraphy

  Y Devos, C Nicosia et al.•Quaternary International•2013

  Incluir item

• Compound-specific δ15N amino acid signals in palaeosols as indicators of early land use

  Open Access•I A Simpson, Roland Bol et al.•Archaeological Prospection•1997

  Incluir item

• Micromorphological study of construction materials and living floors in the medieval motte of Werken (West Flanders, Belgium)

  Open Access•Anne Gebhardt, Catalina Gebhardt et al.•Geoarchaeology•1999

  Incluir item

• A Late Medieval motte‐and‐bailey settlement in a lowland river valley landscape of Central Poland

  Open Access•Piotr Kittel, J Sikora et al.•Geoarchaeology•2018

  Incluir item

• Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy

  A J B Humphreys, Edward C Harris•The South African Archaeological…•1981

  Incluir item

• Application of the Triple-Photomultiplier Liquid Spectrometer Hidex 300 Sl in Radiocarbon Dating

  Open Access•Marek Krąpiec, Adam Walanus•Radiocarbon•2011

  Incluir item

• IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP

  Open Access•Paula J Reimer, Edouard Bard et al.•Radiocarbon•2013

  Incluir item

• Performance Evaluation of the New AMS System at Accium BioSciences

  Open Access•Ugo Zoppi, James Crye et al.•Radiocarbon•2007

  Incluir item

• Bayesian Analysis of Radiocarbon Dates

  Open Access•Christopher B Ramsey•Radiocarbon•2009

  Incluir item

• Slope deposits as an indicator of anthropopressure in the light of research in Central Poland

  Piotr Kittel•Quaternary International•2013

  Incluir item

• Biała Góra

  Open Access•A Pluskowski, Zbigniew Sawicki et al.•Antiquity•2014

  Incluir item