image/svg+xml
9
VIII/1/2017
INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA
NATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
homepage: http://www.iansa.eu
The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) –
a Unique Piece of History
Alexandra Bernardová
a*
, Jan Novák
a
, Vendula Vránová
b
a
Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
b
Archaeological Centre in Olomouc, U Hradiska 42/6, 779 00 Olomouc
1. Introduction
The vegetation history and infuence of human impact
is usually reconstructed by pollen, plant macroremains
and anthracological analysis, each method having its own
advantages and/or disadvantages. The research of macrofossils
for documenting the impact of human settlement is usually
limited to fnds of charred macrofossils and thus the results
are infuenced by various factors or processes (taphonomy;
Jacomet, Kreuz 1999). Uncharred plant macrofossils, on the
other hand, due to the low possibilities of their preservation,
are limited to rarely preserved wet sediments near to the
archaeological site. In agricultural prehistory, the presence of
uncharred plant macrofossils is usually restricted to human
wells (
e.g.
Opravil 1983; 1984; Sedláček 2008). Thus every
new wet locality, capable of chronologically recording the
presence of uncharred macrofossils refecting human impact,
becomes very important.
Given the current state of archaeobotanical knowledge,
we decided to focus our attention on a wetland locality
situated in a former oxbow lake near the village Náklo. The
name “Náklo” (or “Nákolí”) is derived from the Czech word
describing “houses on piles”, as the terrain was waterlogged
and muddy. In literature from the end of 19
th
century the
locality was recorded as lying in a muddy area (Wankel
1889). The archaeological site is important not only for the
presence of its pile constructions, but also by the fnd of
bronze vessels from the Halstatt Period (Figure 1).
In this study, we focused on: 1) reconstruction of the
vegetation in the close vicinity of the Náklo locality,
based on plant macrofossils from the local wet sediments;
2) comparison of the record of wooden vegetation using
xylotomy and analysis of macrofossils, and 3) comparison
of our records, with regional archaeobotanical records.
2. Materials and methods
2.1 Study area and present-day vegetation
The village of Náklo is located at the edge of the food plain
of the Morava River, 14 km northwest of Olomouc, at an
altitude of 225 m asl. It lies on an elevated loess terrace in
the region of Litovelské Pomoraví (Figure 2).
The Litovelské Pomoraví is the northern part of the Upper
Moravian Vale. The lowland is characterized by the presence
of quaternary sediments such as loess, gravels and alluvial
Volume VIII ● Issue 1/2017 ● Pages 9–16
*Corresponding author. E-mail: alex.bernardova@gmail.com
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Received: 16
th
November 2016
Accepted: 15
th
May 2017
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2017.1.1
Key words:
plant macroremains
human impact
lowland wetland
Late Bronze Age
xylotomy
ABSTRACT
This paper summarises the results of an investigation from the former oxbow lake near the village
Náklo. The study profle (“Náklo – Under the church”) is situated near an archaeological site which
is important due to the presence of pile constructions and a deposit of bronze vessels from the
Halstatt Period. The study focused on the plant macroremains and xylotomy analysis. Only a few
plant macroremains studies from lowland wetland sites are notable for the documented presence of
archeophytes in central Europe. Our study confrmed long-term human impact and the important
infuence of human activities on the alluvial foodplain vegetation, especially during the Late Bronze
Age and Hallstat Period. Our analysis of wood enabled the presence of alluvial forest with dominance
of
Salix, Populus, Alnus
, and
Ulmus
to be reconstructed.
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2017 ● VIII/1 ● 9–16
Alexandra Bernardová, Jan Novák, Vendula Vránová: The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) – a Unique Piece of History
10
sediments (Czudek 1972). Fluvisols and chernozem were
mapped as the most common soils near Náklo village (AOPK
2005). The lowland area falls into the Thermophyticum
phytogeographical region with a slightly dry and continental,
central European climate. The mean annual precipitation
is 550–600 mm, and mean annual temperature 8.5–9°C
(meteorological site: Olomouc; Quitt 1971).
At present, the lowland region is predominantly
agriculturally managed with forests covering only a small
percentage of the landscape. The current riverine forests
belong to the
Ulmenion
alliance (Chytrý 2013), and the
occurrence of
Salix
and
Alnus
is associated with river banks
and wetlands. Oak-hornbeam forests (
Carpinion
) are typical
of the drier part of the lowland, which hydrologically does
not belong to the Morava river catchment. As potential
natural vegetation, hardwood forests of lowland rivers
(
Ulmenion
) and oak-hornbeam forests (un.
Carpinion
) have
been recreated in the area (Neuhäuselová, 2001).
Litovelské Pomoraví is infuenced by long-term
agricultural management (Čižmářová
et al
. 1996). A lot
of fndings, including chronologically almost the whole of
prehistory, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period, have
Figure 1.
Unique fnd of a deposit of bronze
vessels coming from the sediments, which
could be dated to the Hallstatt Period, found
at the beginning of the 20
th
century.
Figure 2.
Location of the studied area. The circle marks the location of the trench where the sediement was retrieved. Source: https://geoportal.gov.cz.
0 10 km
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2017 ● VIII/1 ● 9–16
Alexandra Bernardová, Jan Novák, Vendula Vránová: The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) – a Unique Piece of History
11
been obtained up to the present (
e.g.
Čižmář, Kohoutek 1999;
Oliva 2003; Peška 2001; Wankl 1889). Among the periods of
greatest population density, we can include, for example, the
period of the Linear Pottery Culture (7550–6850 cal BP),
Late Eneolithic (4850–4450 cal BP), or the Late Bronze Age
(3250–2750 cal BP).
2.2 Methods
A 285 cm long sediment profle was recovered from a
trench near the place known locally as “Under the church”
(N 49°39′20.3″ E 17°08′03.4″) using Kubiena tins
(50×10×10 cm). Wood trunks, twigs and branches were sampled
separately during the recovery of the sediment. Slices were
cut from big trunks. The profle was then sedimentologically
described, and subsampled at regular intervals of 3 cm.
Sediment samples were washed through 0.25 mm sieves.
Macroscopic remnants were picked out and identifed with the
help of a reference collection and determination literature,
e.g.
Anderberg (1994), Berggren (1981) and Cappers
et al
. (2006).
Pollen analyses from the samples were not carried out, as the
sediment was sandy and the pollen concentration of several
tested samples was very low and unrepresentative. A study
from another Moravian locality Únanovka encountered a
similar problem (Petřík
et al
. 2015).
Macrofossil diagrams were created in the Tilia program
(Grimm 2011). The nomenclature follows the determination
key to the Czech fora (Kubát
et al.
2002).
Wood fragments were identifed with the help of a
reference collection and standard identifcation keys (Greguss
1972; Schweingruber 1990) using a light microscope
with 200–500× magnifcation. The wood fragments were
quantifed as the number of analysed fragments.
Plant macrofossils were used for AMS radiocarbon dating
in the Poznań Radiocarbon Laboratory. For the radiocarbon
dating of wood fragments, samples were sent to the CRL –
Radiocarbon Laboratory of the Nuclear Physics Institute,
CAS. The
14
C data were calibrated to calendar ages using the
OxCal 4.2 online application (Ramsey 2009) based on the
IntCal 13 (Reimer
et al
. 2013) calibration curve.
3. Results
3.1 Sediment description
The length of the core was 285 cm. The regular changing of
sandy layers with organic-rich sandy sediments is obvious.
The base layer was built up of a gravel food layer. Gravel
layers were followed by silt layers containing high or low
amounts of an organic part, creating a laminated design. The
upper 157 cm were built up of recent sediments used for
building modern paving made up of stones and bricks. For a
detailed description see Table 1.
3.2 Sediment dating
The studied sediment covered the period from the Late
Bronze Age to High Middle Age (285–157 cm). The upper
part was contaminated by a recent mixture of various origins
that had been used for building the modern brick paving.
At the bottom layer, sherds of Late Bronze Age were found
and the age was also proved by dating (2623±99 cal BP,
depth 279–282 cm). Shards dated to High Middle Age were
present right under the brick paving. Radiocarbon dates are
presented in Table 2.
Table 1.
Sediment description of the soil profle.
0–135Subrecent backfll
135–157Stone paving and sandy sediment
157–185Dark brown clay sediment and gravel layer
185–189
Sandy layer
189–213Dark brown clay sediment and gravel layer with wood fragments
213–251Finely laminated sediment – sandy layers with higher or lower organic content
251–257
Gravel and sandy layer
257–273Dark brown clay sediment and gravel layer
273–285
Gravel and sandy layer
Table 2.
Radiocarbon dates. The
14
C data were calibrated to calendar ages using the OxCal 4.2 online application (Bronk Ramsey 2009) based on the
IntCal 13 (Reimer
et al
. 2013) calibration curve.
Depth (cm)BPLab codecal BC/ADDated materialArchaeological period
201–2041800 ± 50Poz-65457222 ± 74 ADSambucus sp. seedsRoman Period
234–2311770 ± 30Poz-62222267 ± 46 ADSambucus sp. seedsRoman Period
2392538 ± 84CRL 8059648 ± 124 BCwood fragment
Iron Age (Hallstatt)
2552613 ± 84CRL 8058754 ± 270 BCwood fragment
Late Bronze Age
279–2822540 ± 50Poz-65458673 ± 99 BCSambucus sp. seeds
Late Bronze Age
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2017 ● VIII/1 ● 9–16
Alexandra Bernardová, Jan Novák, Vendula Vránová: The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) – a Unique Piece of History
12
3.3 Analysis of macrofossils
According to the character of the analysed sediment the
profle could be divided into fve macrofossil zones (N1–N5;
Figures 3 and 4).
Late Bronze Age, zone N1 (285–251 cm) is built up of
two types of sediment. The gravel terrace at the bottom of
the profle is characterised by high frequencies of
Sambucus
nigra, S. ebulus, Alnus glutinosa, Chenopodium
sp.
, Typha
sp.
, Urtica dioica, Humulus lupulus, Polygonum
aviculare
agg
., Persicaria maculosa, P. hydropiper,
and
Rubus
sp.
seeds.
Only a few wetland or alder carr species (
Carex
sp.
, Scirpus
sylvaticus
and
Myosoton aquaticum
)
were sporadically
documented in this layer. The following brown clay layer,
with a higher presence of organic material, is distinguished
by higher frequencies of wetland (
Schoenoplectus lacustris,
Typha
sp.
, Ranunculus scelaratus,
cf.
Mentha, Carex
sp.
,
Scirpus sylvaticus, Filipendula ulmaria,
and
Solanum
dulcamara
) and aquatic species (
Potamogeton
cf.
perfoliatus,
and
Batrachium
sp
.
). The clay layer also contained many
seeds of plants characteristic of meadows, felds, and ruderal
habitats (
e.g.
Hypericum perforatum, Prunella vulgaris,
Campanula
sp.
, Ajuga reptans, Verbena ofcinalis, Carduus
sp.
, Papaver somniferum, Crepis
cf.
biennis, Crepis
cf.
tectorum, Polygonum aviculare
agg.,
Fallopia convolvulus,
and
Chenopodium
sp.). In contrast to the gravel sediments,
this layer also documented the abundant presence of species
characteristic of alder carr and alluvial habitats (
Alnus
glutinosa
,
Sambucus nigra, S. ebulus, Rubus ideaus and
Rubus
sp.
, Urtica dioica, Myosoton aquaticum
and
Humulus
lupulus
). A high number of twigs, branches and tree trunks
were recorded at the depth 257–251 cm (
Abies alba, Carpinus
betulus, Betula
sp.
, Prunus
cf.
spinosa
and
Tilia
sp.).
Zone N2 (251–212 cm, Halstatt/Roman period) is built up
of laminated sandy sediments. The content of macrofossils
is relatively poor. However,
Alnus glutinosa,
Sambucus
nigra, Typha
sp.
, Filipendula ulmaria, Carex sp., Lycopus
europaeus
and
Scirpus sylvaticus
seeds are still frequent.
Some macroremains of trees (
Acer campestre, Cornus
sanguinea, Betula
sp.
and
Salix
sp.) were also recorded here.
Zone N3 (212–185 cm, Roman period) is distinguished
from the previous layer by the higher presence of clay
sediments and higher quantity of plant macroremains. There
are scarce occurrences of cereals –
Triticum spelta
(spikelet
fork), weeds and ruderals (
Bupleurum rotundifolium,
Chenopodium
sp.
and
Thlaspi arvense
). The presence of
water bodies (periodical or permanent) are documented
by the stable presence of sedgefies larvae protective
cases. Zone N3 also documented some peaks of charcoal
Figure 3.
Macrofossil diagram. Trees and shrubs, wet stands and water and alder carr species are plotted in absolute values.
Figure 4.
Macrofossil diagram. Species of crops, weeds and ruderals are plotted in absolute values.
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2017 ● VIII/1 ● 9–16
Alexandra Bernardová, Jan Novák, Vendula Vránová: The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) – a Unique Piece of History
13
fragments. Besides the abundant presence of
Alnus glutinosa
and
Sambucus
sp.
seeds, several other trees and shrubs were
recorded in this layer (
Quercus
sp.
, Tilia
sp.
, Ulmus
sp.
,
Carpinus betulus, Cornus sanguinea, Betula sp., Abies alba
and
Picea abies
), which points to the gradual formation of
riparian forest with water bodies.
Zone N4 (185–157 cm, Early-High Middle Ages)
recorded the common presence of alder carr species (
Alnus
glutinosa, Sambucus nigra, Scirpus sylvaticus, Rubus ideaus,
Lycopus europaeus
and
Urtica dioica
), but also the higher
occurrence of shrubs (
Cornus sanguinea, Corylus avellana,
cf.
Juniperus
and
Prunus
cf.
spinosa
), ruderals and weeds
(
Hyoscyamus niger, Chenopodium
sp.
, Polygonum aviculare
agg.
, Potentilla anserina, Falopia convolvulus, Scleranthus
annuus, Verbena ofcinalis, Setaria
sp.
, Stellaria media
and
Papaver somniferum
). A peak of charcoal fragments is
documented. The presence of aquatic plants (
Batrachium
sp
.
),
Daphnia
resting eggs
, Ostracoda
shells and sedge fy
protective cases documented the presence of water bodies
(at least periodical).
High Medieval zone N5 (157–150 cm) was sharply
delimited by the abrupt change of sediment character. Only
macrofossils of ruderals, such as
Stellaria media, Polgonum
aviculare
agg.
and
Chenopodium
sp., were present.
3.4 Analysis of wood
Xylotomy samples from the Náklo profle recorded the
presence of alluvial vegetation, which is connected with river
oxbow development in the Bronze Age and Roman Period
(Figure 5). A high number of twigs, branches and tree trunks
were determined from the layer 257–251 cm (zone N1). This
layer was characterised by a dominance of
Populus/Salix
(63%)
,
high abundance of
Alnus
(21%) and
Ulmus
(10%).
The presence of Pomoideae,
Prunus
cf.
padus
and
Acer
was
only sporadic (2%).
The layer N2 (Late Bronze Age/Hallstat) was characterised
by the presence of
Populus, Ulmus
and Pomoideae trunks,
and layer N3 (Roman Period) contained an analogous
composition of tree trunks (
Populus, Salix
and
Ulmus
).
4. Discussion
4.1 Historical context
Floodplain or alluvial sites were readily suitable for
human activities. According to Quitta (1969) foodplains
were more open and thus easier to walk over than the oak
hornbeam forests. However, similarly-studied localities with
prehistoric settlements are very scarce in central Europe.
In the CZAD – Archaeobotanical database of the Czech
Republic (Pokorná
et al.
2011), there are several records of
archaeological sites in the Litovelské Pomoraví region where
archaeobotanical research has been undertaken. There is the
Neolithic settlement in Mohelnice (Opravil 1979a; 1979b),
the Eneolithic site Moravičany (Kühn 1981), La Tène site
Řepčín (Kalábek, Kočár 2006), and analogous wetland sites
with preserved macrofossils – Early Medieval Mikulčice
(Opravil 1972; 1983; 2000; Latková, Hajnalová 2014) – or
sediments from the well in Dražkovice dated to the Roman
Period (Sedláček
et al
. 2008). An important wet locality is
the pre-Roman Age hill-fort Vladař (Pokorný
et al.
2006).
In the context of central Europe, there are very important
lake dwellings in the circumalpine region. The history
of their excavation is more than 150 years old and a lot
archaeobotanical work has been done so far, especially in
Germany and Switzerland (
e.g.
Brombacher 1997; Hosch,
Jacomet 2001; Liese-Kleiber 1997; Menotti 2004). Several
studies of alluvial sediments also come from other countries,
such as Slovenia (
e.g.
Tolar 2010) or Bulgaria (Popova 2013).
4.2 Plant macrofossils records
The study profle is distinguished by alternate layers of
clay, and sand or gravel, sediment. The abundance of plant
macrofossils was much higher in the clay layers, connected
with the quieter sedimentation in the oxbow lake. The
gravel or sand sedimentation probably documented more
rapid food sedimentation. Our profle documented four
periods with quiet sedimentation and four with sandy or
gravel sedimentation during the period from Late Bronze
Age to High Medieval. The macrofossil analysis recorded
the presence of alder carr species in all the zones except
the last one (N5). The transport of seeds during a quiet
sedimentation period was probably reduced and the species
composition recorded that of vegetation near an oxbow lake
(Brown 1997).
Weeds and ruderals, considered as evidence of human
presence, were most abundant in the Late Bronze Age zone
N1 (3250–2750 cal BP). Clay layers also documented many
species characteristic of meadow, ruderal or segetal (grain-
feld) vegetation. The presence of these species should relate
to the archaeological site, which was near the wetland.
Similar records of nearby human settlement have been
Figure 5.
Species of wood (twigs, branches) found in accumulation layer
251–257 cm.
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2017 ● VIII/1 ● 9–16
Alexandra Bernardová, Jan Novák, Vendula Vránová: The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) – a Unique Piece of History
14
documented in alluvial sediments in Mohelnice dated to the
Neolithic, the Eneolithic locality Moravičany, or the La Tène
site Řepčín where anthropogenic indicators were present in
considerable amounts (Opravil 1979a; 1979b; Kühn 1981;
Kalábek, Kočár 2006). The long-term systematic research
of the River Morava cut-of at the Early Medieval site in
Mikulčice has also documented assemblages of crops and
other cultivated plants, as well as wild plant communities
(Opravil 1972; 1983; 2000; Latková, Hajnalová 2014).
The rarity of crops and abundance of local species
probably indicates non-intensive cultivation supplemented
by foraging (Mofet
et al
. 1989). From the presence of weedy
species, we can infer a pastoral economy in the vicinity of
the site (Murphy 1997).
Seeds of
Sambucus
sp. and
Rubus
sp. were abundant
throughout the whole profle. This can be explained by the
occurrence of these species in the alder carr, but also taken
as proof of human settlement or activities in the area. In
the literature,
Sambucus
and
Rubus
is usually presented
as species proving forest clearance (
e.g.
Tóth
et al
. 2009);
however, these plants are also documented as being widely
used (collected) since the Mesolithic (Divišová, Šída 2015).
Moreover, the seeds of both species have hard and lignifed
outer layers, which helps their preservation in the sediment.
Similarly, we could assume a high presence of
Urtica dioica
seeds, which, on the one hand, is a typical representative of
alder carr species. On the other hand, a recent study from
Denmark has suggested nettles as an important Bronze
Age plant exploited for textile production in their natural
habitat (Bergfjord
et al
. 2012).
Chenopodium
album
agg.
(or
Chenopodium
sp.) is a widely-distributed ruderal
species very often reported from archaeobotanical samples,
usually followed by
Polygonum
species (
P. lapathifolium,
P. persicaria, P. hydropiper
). Considering their frequent
occurrence in cultural contexts it is possible that some parts
of these plants (leaves, roots, seeds) were used as some form
of food complement (
e.g.
Popova 2013); however, proving
edibility is difcult so their dietary importance is usually
neglected (Colledge, Conolly 2014).
Zones N2 and N3 cover the Iron Age (2750 to 1600 cal
BP). During this time, the erosion of fne material from the
unprotected surface and the accumulation of colluvial and
fuvial sediments took place (Mackel 2003). The
Alnus
decline
is obvious in zone N2, which could be connected either
with human activity or with the natural cycle of alder carr
(Pokorný
et al.
2000). Even though no direct archaeological
evidence of human presence was found during the excavation
of the sediment, seeds of weeds and crops –
Chenopodium
sp.,
Polygonum persicaria,
Fallopia convolvulus, Papaver
somniferum
or
Triticum spelta
point to nearby arable land.
Out of all the 42 species found in the profle, eight of
them are considered archaeophytes – species introduced
accidentally before the year 1492, most probably with
agriculture:
Bupleurum rotundifolium; Chenopodium
album; Crepis cf. tectorum; Fallopia convonvulus; Papaver
somniferum; Sambucus ebulus; Thlaspi arvense; and
Verbena ofcinalis
(Pyšek
et al
. 2012).
Chenopodium album,
Fallopia convonvulus and Thlaspi arvense
are found within
samples since the Neolithic in central Europe. Seeds of
poppy (
Papaver somniferum
) have been found only scarcely
in prehistoric samples so far, with the oldest fnds dated
to the Eneolithic and Late Bronze Age. After the onset of
the Bronze Age and Iron Age, these seeds became more
frequent (Kočár, Dreslerová 2010).
According to the macrofossil database CZAD (Pokorná
et al.
2011), there are several fnds of species whose presence
in such old layers are unique, for example,
Auethusa
cynapium
and
Verbena ofcinalis
are reported from the
Middle Ages only.
The presence of humans is also indicated by the increasing
number of charcoal fragments (Ohlson, Tryterud 2000). The
above-mentioned La Tène site Řepčín (Kalábek, Kočár
2006) is located about 10 km far away.
In zone N4, which covers the Middle Ages, anthropogenic
impact is documented by the high presence of charcoal
pieces and anthropogenic indicators typical for trampled
places (
Scleranthus annuus, Polygonum aviculare
agg.
and
Stellaria media
). Human activities in the area are very
probable in this period (Opravil 1983).
4.3 Reconstruction of the woodland vegetation
Xylotomy analysis recorded a dominance of foodplain
trees (
Salix/Populus, Alnus
) and the presence of
Ulmus
and
Pomoidea
. Such a species spectrum is characteristic of
foodplain vegetation (
Salicion albae
) situated along river
banks and wetlands in the vicinity of oxbow lakes (Chytrý
et al
. 2013). This vegetation type was probably relatively
scarce and restricted to just a small percentage of habitats in
the landscape. This assumption has been confrmed by many
xylotomy and anthracological analyses from the Litovelské
Pomoraví region (
e.g.
Opravil 1983; Novák
et al
. 2017;
Kočár, Kočárová, in press).
The woodland vegetation of the Litovelské Pomoraví
region has been characterized as a stable continuity of
species-rich deciduous forest with a dominance of
Quercus
,
a very common presence of
Fraxinus
and
Ulmus
, and a
less-common presence of
Corylus, Acer
and
Pomoideae
during its whole agricultural prehistory (Novák
et al
. 2017).
The presence of
Carpinus
is commonly recorded since the
Bronze Age. The occurrence of
Fagus
and
Abies
has also
been recorded since the Bronze Age, but their abundance
was low throughout our study period.
Alnus
and
Populus/
Salix
charcoal was commonly recorded throughout the
agricultural prehistory, but their abundance was commonly
lower. The higher percentage abundance of
Alnus
and
Populus/Salix
charcoal pieces has been documented from
archaeological sites within the vicinity of rivers or wetlands
(Novák
et al
. 2017). An analogous species spectrum with
dominance of
Quercus, Fraxinus, Ulmus
and
Tilia
woodland
from localities in the vicinity of the Morava River has also
been recorded during the Early and High Middle Ages
(Opravil, 1983).
A comparison of anthracological results with our
xylotomy records suggests that our record from the Náklo
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2017 ● VIII/1 ● 9–16
Alexandra Bernardová, Jan Novák, Vendula Vránová: The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) – a Unique Piece of History
15
profle is closely local. We suggest that the presence of the
willow-poplar-alder vegetation was restricted to the vicinity
of oxbow wetlands, river banks and riverbeds.
If we compare the results of xylotomy and plant
macroremains analysis, we can see the dominance of
Alnus
.
This result could be afected by the large production and
good preservation of
Alnus
seeds. The macrofossil analysis
also documented the presence of
Sambucus, Carpinus, Tilia,
Ulmus, Quercus, Acer, Betula, Cornus sanguinea, Salix,
Prunus, Corylus, Abies, Picea
and
Juniperus.
Most of these
trees usually grow outside wetland areas and their seeds
were probably transported to the oxbow lake sediment from
the surrounding landscape vegetation. The oxbow lake was
connected with the Cholinka stream and the presence of the
trees recorded was probably commonly spread throughout
its catchment. The gravel layers in the study profle draw
attention to the occurrence of foods probably connected
with the Morava River. We cannot exclude the possibility
that some of the seeds originated from the wider area of the
Morava River catchment (Petřík
et al
. 2015).
The Middle and Upper Holocene pollen records from
the central Moravia region (Novák
et al
. 2017) have been
characterized by an abundant presence of
Pinus
,
Picea
,
Tilia
,
Alnus,
common spread of
Betula
,
Corylus, Abies,
Salix,
and only some scarce records of
Quercus
,
Fraxinus
,
Ulmus
,
Acer
,
Fagus
,
Carpinus
and shrubs. Many studies
have documented how pollen assemblages can be infuenced
by pollen productivity, pollen dispersal, pollen taphonomy
and the spatial structure of source plants around the pollen
site (
e.g.
Nielsen, Odgaard 2005; Sugita 2007); the pollen
spectra from any natural archive contains both a local and
regional component. Appropriate pollen localities in the
central Moravia region have been described as very small
wetlands (Novák
et al
. 2017). These small pollen sites
are surrounded by a closed canopy and the signal from
local vegetation in their vicinity would therefore prevail
(
e.g.
Sugita 2007). Although the pollen and our xylotomy
analyses were performed from analogous types of habitats
(usually former oxbow lakes), we can see many diferences
in woodland composition. Many of these diferences are
probably connected with the distinct history of the local
vegetation. However, the high pollen signal of
Pinus
and
Picea
is probably caused by the high pollen production and
easy pollen dispersal (
e.g.
Pohl 1937; Andersen 1974).
5. Conclusion
The profle is situated at the edge of the village of Náklo and
was recovered close to its development area as exemplifed
by the fragments of pottery found in the profle dated to the
Bronze Age -Hallstatt Period and High Middle Ages. The
area of Náklo was infuenced by the Morava River, whose
infuence remained in the form of a cut-of meander which
was called “the horseshoe”. In our study, we have proved the
impact of humans in the Late Bronze Age, Hallstatt Period
and Roman Empire, and in the High Middle Ages, which
correspond with the archaeological fndings. The studied
profle not only refects human settlement, but the natural
environment itself directly in the alluvial foodplain.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our colleagues during the feldwork
(Tereza Šálková, Martin Pták, Tomáš Bešta, Milan Aldorf
and Zdeněk Vaněček) and to Jiří Bumerl for producing
the map. Our research was supported by grant GAČR
13-11193S from the Czech Science Foundation and project
PAPAVER – Centre for human and plant studies in Europe
and Northern Africa in the postglacial period, reg. No.
cz.1.07/2.3.00/20.0289.
References
ANDERBERG, A. L
. 1994:
Atlas of Seeds and Small Fruits of Northwest-
European Plant Species with Morphological Descriptions
. Swedish
Museum of Natural History, Stockholm.
ANDERSEN, S.T.
1974: Wind Conditions and Pollen Deposition in a
Mixed Deciduous Forest.
Grana
14, 57–63.
AOPK 2005:
Soil Maps of the Czech Republic 1:50 000
. Praha: Agentura
ochrany přírody a krajiny, Czech Geological Survey.
BERGGREN, G.
1981:
Atlas of Seeds and Small Fruits of Northwest-
European Plant Species with Morphological Descriptions
. Swedish
Museum of Natural History, Stockholm.
BERGFJORD, C., MANNERING, U., FREI, K. M., GLEBA, M.,
SCHARFF, A. B., SKALS, I., HEINEMEIER, J., NOSCH, L. M.,
HOLST, B.
2012: Nettle as a distinct Bronze Age textile plant.
Scientifc
Reports
2, article code 664.
BROMBACHER, C.
1997: Archaeobotanical investigations of Late
Neolithic lakeshore settlements (Lake Biel, Switzerland).
Vegetation
History Archaeobotany
6, 167–186.
BROWN, A
.G. 1997:
Alluvial Geoarchaeology: Floodplain Archaeology
and Environmental Change
. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
CAPPERS, R. T. J., BEKKER, R. M., JANSET, J. E. A. 2006:
Digital
Seed Atlas of the Netherlands
. Groningen, Institute of Archaeology and
the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Groningen.
CHYTRÝ, M. 2013:
Vegetation of the Czech Republic 4. Forest and scrub
vegetation
. Academia, Praha.
ČIŽMÁŘ, Z., KOHOUTEK, J. 1999: Přerov – Horní náměstí. Výstavba
dvou obytných domů. MS. Excavation report No. 29/99. Deposited:
ÚAPP Brno, Czech Republic.
ČIŽMÁŘOVÁ J., ONDRUŠ V., SALAŠ M.
et al.
1996:
Pravěk Moravy.
Moravské zemské museum, Brno.
COLLEDGE, S., CONOLLY, J.
2014: Wild plant use in European Neolithic
subsistence economies: a formal assessment of preservation bias in
archaeobotanical assemblages and the implications for understanding
changes in plant diet breadth.
Quaternary Science Reviews
101, 193–206.
CZUDEK, T. 1972: Geomorfologické členění ČSSR.
Studia Geographica
23.
DIVIŠOVÁ, M., ŠÍDA, P. 2015: Plant use in the Mesolithic period.
Archaeobotanical data from the Czech Republic in a European context
– a review.
Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica – Natural Sciences in
Archaeology
VI/1/2015, 95–106.
GREGUSS, P. 1972:
Xylotomie of the Living Conifers
. Akademiai Kiado,
Budapest.
GRIMM, E., C. 2011:
Tilia 1.7.16 Software
. Illinois State Museum,
Research and Collection Cente, Springfeld.
HOSCH, S., JACOMET, S.
2001: New aspects of archaeobotanical
research in central European Neolithic lake dwelling sites.
Environmental
Archaeology
6, 59–71.
JACOMET, S., KREUZ, A. 1999:
Archäobotanik. Aufgaben, Methoden und
Ergebnisse vegetations- und agrargeschichtlicher Forschung.
Ulmer, Stuttgart.
image/svg+xml
IANSA 2017 ● VIII/1 ● 9–16
Alexandra Bernardová, Jan Novák, Vendula Vránová: The Prehistoric Wetland Site of Náklo (Moravia, Czech Republic) – a Unique Piece of History
16
KALÁBEK, M., KOČÁR, P. 2007: Laténský objekt s nálezy obilí z
lokality Olomouc-Řepčín 1. Pramen k poznání zemědělství v mladší době
železné. In: Bém, M., Peška, J. (Eds.):
Ročenka
2006, Archeologické
centrum Olomouc, Olomouc, 94–125.
KOČÁR, P., DRESLEROVÁ, D. 2010: Archeobotanické nálezy
pěstovaných rostlin v pravěku České republiky (Archaeobotanical fnds
of cultivated plants in the prehistory of the Czech Republic).
Památky
archeologické 101
, 203–242.
KOČÁR, P., KOČÁROVÁ R. In press: Přírodní prostředí a ekonomika raně
středověkého sídliště v Přerově. In: Procházka, R. (Ed.):
Přerov, Horní
náměstí č.p. 8, 9 a 21. Raně středověké osídlení do poloviny 11. století.
Spisy Archeologického ústavu AV ČR Brno Institute of Archaeology of
the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno.
KÜHN, F. 1981: Rozbory nálezů polních plodin.
Přehled výzkumů
1979,
75–79.
KUBÁT, K., HROUDA, L., CHRTEK, J. jr., KAPLAN, Z.,
KIRSCHNER, J., ŠTĚPÁNEK, J. (Eds.) 2002:
Klíč ke květeně České
republiky
. Academia, Praha.
LÁTKOVÁ, M., HAJNALOVÁ, M. 2014: Plant macro-remains from the
palaeochannel sediments in Mikulčice, trench B 2012. In: Poláček, L.
(Ed.):
Mikulčice river archaeology. New interdisciplinary research into
bridge No. 1.
Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the
Czech Republic, Brno, 93–112.
LIESE-KLEIBER, H. 1993: Settlement and landscape history at the
Federsee, south-west Germany, as refected in pollen diagrams.
Vegetation
History and Archaeobotany
2/1, 37–46.
MÄCKEL, R., SCHNEIDER, R. AND SEIDEL, J. 2003: Anthropogenic
impact on the landscape of Southern Badenia (Germany) during
the Holocene—documented by colluvial and alluvial sediments.
Archaeometry
45/3, 487–501.
MENOTTI, F. 2004:
Living on the lake in prehistoric Europe: 150 years of
lake-dwelling research.
London, Routledge.
MOFFETT, L., ROBINSON, M., STRAKER, V. 1989: Cereals Fruit
and Nuts: Charred Plant Remains from Neolithic Sites in England and
Wales and the Neolithic Economy. In: Milles, A., Williams, D., Gardner,
N. (Eds.):
The Beginnings of Agriculture.
British Archaeological Report
(International Series) 496, Oxford, 243–261.
MURPHY, P. 1997: Fenland management project: Plant macrofossils.
Chappells feld, Deeping St. James, Lincolnshire.
Ancient monument
laboratory report
1/97.
NEUHÄUSLOVÁ Z., BLAŽKOVÁ D., GRULICH V., HUSOVÁ
M., CHYTRÝ M., JENÍK J., JIRÁSEK J., KOLBEK J., KROPÁČ
Z., LOŽEK V., MORAVEC J., PRACH K., RYBNÍČEK K.,
RYBNÍČKOVÁ E., SÁDLO J. 1998:
Mapa potenciální přirozené
vegetace České republiky.
Textová část. Academia, Praha.
NIELSEN, A. B., ODGAARD, B. V.
2005: Reconstructing land cover
from pollen assemblages from small lakes in Denmark.
Review of
Palaeobotany and Palynology
133/1–2, 1–21.
NOVÁK, J., ABRAHAM, V., KOČÁR, P., PETR, L., KOČÁROVÁ, R.,
NOVÁKOVÁ, K., HOUFKOVÁ, P., JANKOVSKÁ, V., VANĚČEK
,
Z. 2017: The Middle and Upper Holocene woodland history in central
Moravia (Czech Republic) reveals biases of pollen and anthracological
analysis.
The Holocene
27/3, 349 – 360.
OHLSON, M., TRYTERUD, E.
2000: Interpretation of the charcoal
record in forest soils: forest fres and their production and deposition of
macroscopic charcoal.
The Holocene
10/4, 519–525.
OLIVA, M. 2003:
Pohřebiště kromaňonců v Mladečských jeskyních
.
Archeologické centrum Olomouc, Olomouc 2003.
OPRAVIL, E. 1972: Rostliny z velkomoravského hradiště v Mikulčicích.
Studie AÚ ČSAV Brno I/2
. Praha.
OPRAVIL, E.
1979a: Rostlinné zbytky z Mohelnice 1.
Časopis Slezského
muzea
A28, 1–13.
OPRAVIL, E
. 1979b: Rostlinné zbytky z Mohelnice 2.
Časopis Slezského
muzea
A28, 97–109
.
OPRAVIL, E
. 1983:
Údolní niva v době hradištní. (ČSSR – povodí Moravy
a Poodří).
Academia, Praha.
OPRAVIL, E.
1984: Poznámky k rekonstrukci přírodního prostředí
v neolitu ČSSR.
Sborník prací Filozofcké fakulty brněnske univerzity
E
29, 167–178.
OPRAVIL, E.
2000: Zur Umwelt des Burgwalls von Mikulčice und zur
pfanzlichen Ernährung seiner Bewohner. In: Poláček, L. (Ed.):
Studien
zum Burgwall von Mikulčice
IV. Institute of Archaeology of the Academy
of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, 9–169.
PEŠKA, J. 2001: Archeologické lokality a nálezy na katastru obce Náklo a
Mezice.
Střední Morava
13, 78–108.
PETŘÍK, J., PETR, L., ŠABATOVÁ, K., DOLÁKOVÁ, N.,
LUKŠÍKOVÁ, H., DOHNALOVÁ, A., CHADIMOVÁ, L., BLAŠKO,
D., MILO, P
. 2015: Refections of Prehistoric and Medieval human
activities in foodplain deposits of the Únanovka Stream, South Moravia,
Czech Republic.
Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie
59/3, 393–412.
POHL,
F. 1937: Die pollenerzeugung der Windblütler.
Beihefte zum
Botanischen Centralblatt
56A, 365–470.
POKORNÁ, A., DRESLEROVÁ, D., KŘIVÁNKOVÁ, D. 2011:
Archaeobotanical Database of the Czech Republic, an Interim Report.
Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica – Natural Sciences in Archaeology
II/1/2011, 49–53.
POKORNÝ, P., KLIMEŠOVÁ, J., KLIMEŠ, L. 2000: Late holocene
history and vegetation dynamics of a foodplain alder carr: A case study
from eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Folia Geobotanica
35/1, 43–58.
POKORNÝ, P., BOENKE, N., CHYTRÁČEK, M., NOVÁKOVÁ,
K., SÁDLO, J., VESELÝ, J., KUNEŠ, P., JANKOVSKÁ, V. 2006:
Insight into the environment of a pre-Roman Iron Age hillfort at Vladař,
Czech Republic, using a multi-proxy approach.
Vegetation History and
Archaeobotany,
15/4, 419–433.
POPOVA, T. 2013: Palaeobotanic analysis in the region of the town of
Septemvri-Pistiros and its neighbourhood. In: Bouzek, J., Domaradzka,
L., Archibald, Z. H. (Eds.):
Pistiros V: Excavations and Studies
. Prague,
255–263.
PYŠEK, P., CHYTRÝ, M., PERGL, J., SÁDLO, J., WILD, J. 2012:
Catalogue of alien plants of the Czech Republic (2
nd
edition): checklist
update, taxonomic diversity and invasion patterns.
Preslia
84, 155–255.
QUITT, E. 1971:
Klimatické oblasti Československa
. Academia, Praha.
QUITTA, H. 1969: Zur Deutung bandkeramischer Siedlingsfunden aus
Auen und grundwassernahen Standorten. In: Otto, K. H., Herrman, J.
(Eds.):
Siedlung, Burg und Stadt
. Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften
zu Berlin, Schriften der Sektion für Vor- und Frühgeschichte 25, Berlin,
42–55.
RAMSEY, C.B. 2009: Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates.
Radiocarbon
51/1, 337–360.
REIMER, P. J.,
et al.
2013: IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age
calibration curves 0–50,000 years cal BP.
Radiocarbon
55/4, 1869–1887.
SCHWEINGRUBER, F.H. 1978:
Microscopic Wood Anatomy
. Swiss
Federal Institute of Forestry Research, Birmensdorf.
SEDLÁČEK, R., BENEŠ, J., ČEJKOVÁ, A., KOLÁŘ, T.,
KOMÁRKOVÁ, V., KYNCL, T., NOVÁK, J., NOVÁKOVÁ, K.,
SVĚTLÍK, I. 2008: The well from Dražkovice by Pardubice: complex
archaeological and archaeobotanical analysis. In: Beneš, J., Pokorný, P.
(Eds.):
Bioarcheologie v České republice – Bioarchaeology in the Czech
Republic
. České Budějovice, Praha, 285–330.
SUGITA, S.
2007: Theory of quantitative reconstruction of vegetation I:
pollen from large sites REVEALS regional vegetation composition.
The
Holocene
17/2, 229–241.
TOLAR, T., JACOMET, S., VELUŠČEK, A., CUFAR, K. 2010: Recovery
techniques for waterlogged archaeological sediments: A comparison
of diferent treatment methods for samples from Neolithic lake shore
settlements.
Vegetation History Archaeobotany
19/1, 53–68.
TÓTH, A. J., DARÓCZI-SZABÓ, L., KOVÁCS, Z. E., GÁL, E.,
BARTOSIEWICZ, L. 2010: In the Light of the Crescent Moon:
Reconstructing Environment and Diet from an Ottoman-Period Deposit
in Sixteenth to Seventeenth Century Hungary. In: Van Derwarker, A. M.,
Peres, T. M. (Eds.):
Integrating Zooarchaeology and Paleoethnobotany:
A Consideration of Issues, Methods, and Cases.
Springer New York, New
York, 245–280.
WANKEL, J. 1889: Náklo a Příkazy na Moravě.
Časopis vlasteneckého
spolku musejního v Olomouci
6, 49–58.