HORTICULTURE IN A SUBURB OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN ERA WROCŁAW
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-12-03

The history of development of cities is recorded in archaeological stratification. Imagining the unimaginable number of factors that potentially have contributed to the formation of urban strata over periods of hundreds of years, it seems only natural that a multi-aspect methodology is needed to access this archive and discover past land use. Geoarchaeological approaches prove useful in this matter, allowing to uncover often complex formation histories of layers/horizons, in which natural factors and anthropogenic activity go hand-in-hand. The identification of certain episodes (occupation, cultivation, animal management, pedogenesis, etc.), which happened in the past in different areas of cities, reveals the history of urban landscapes in great detail. During archaeological fieldwork a Dark Earth-like horizon was discovered in Wrocław (SW Poland). It was situated on natural alluvial sand and sealed by late 19th century deposits. Other macroscopic properties included unusual thickness of up to 0,60 m, homogeneity, high humus content and dark colour, as well as a surprising scarcity of anthropogenic inclusions. Considering the site’s  location and history, three hypotheses regarding the formation of this unit were examined: pedogenesis in alluvial material, human activity resulting in accumulation of occupation related materials and agricultural/horticultural activities. A combination of detailed archival queries and results of micromorphological, physico-chemical and archaeobotanical analyses, pointed towards the latter possibility. It seems that the horizon was formed intentionally, by application of double- and triple-digging. These labour intensive practices modified the original soil, increasing the thickness of the A-horizon to make it suitable for supporting gardens and orchards. The occurrence of similarly created buried Dark Earths/Rigosols – relics of specific land use, may be one of the characteristics of once-suburban/hinterland areas of European cities.


Author(s): Krupski, Mateusz (Archeolodzy.org Foundation; Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław) - Kabała, Cezary (Institute of Soil Science and Environmental Protection, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences) - Sady, Agata (Archaeology Department, Silesian Museum) - Gliński, Radosław (Institute of Art History, University of Wrocław) - Wojcieszak, Jacek (Sigillum Pracownia Archeologiczna)