An Integrated Micromorphological and Phytolith Study of Urban Dark Earths from Atuatuca Tungrorum
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2017-10-08

Tongeren (Atuatuca Tongrorum) is the only Roman administrative capital within the borders of present-day Belgium. It developed in the first century AD and became an important civitas. Here, as in many European towns, the transition between the archaeological strata of Roman date and those of the High Medieval Period remains poorly documented. Many excavations in the centre of town have uncovered dark earths dating to Roman as well as early medieval times. These are typically thick, dark coloured, homogeneous deposits covering large surfaces. A large-scale excavation at Vermeulenstraat (phase 4, 2014) is the first occasion where dark earths from this town were sampled for micromorphological study and phytolith analysis in thin section. Three separate dark earths spanning the Early to Late Roman Period were analysed. The results indicate a range of different activities, such as cultivation, house preparation layers, waste dumping, uncovered surfaces and gardening, and their different formation histories illustrate the evolution of the area. While micromorphology has become an established method in the study of urban dark earths, its integration with phytolith studies is rare in this field. Especially in contexts where other botanical remains (pollen, plant macro-remains) are poorly preserved, as is the case in Tongeren, the study of phytoliths in thin section is a valuable tool to identify plant remains in archaeological deposits. Its integration within a micromorphological study improves our understanding of their taphonomy and function.

Barbora Wouters 1, Yannick Devos 2, Luc Vrydaghs 3, Natasja De Winter 4, Patrick Reyge l4

1 Vrije Universiteit Brussels & University of Aberdeen

2 CReA-Patrimoine, Université Libre de Bruxelles

3 Roots, Research Team in Archaeo-and Palaeosciences

4 ARON bvba