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VIII/1/2017
INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA
NATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
homepage: http://www.iansa.eu
Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry: an Example of a Disturbed
Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė
a*
, Aušra Selskienė
b
, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė
b
, Vidas Pakštas
b
, Ramūnas
Šmigelskas
a
a
Lithuanian Institute of History, Kražių g. 5, 01108 Vilnius, Lithuania
b
Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio av. 3, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
1. Introduction
The geoarchaeological research summarized in this paper
followed the excavation of a heavily-disturbed Bėčionys hilltop
settlement site in south-eastern Lithuania. The archaeological
excavation revealed a distribution of subsurface features
holding few or no artefacts. According to what was left of
them – stains forms, profles, fllings and artefacts (or absence
of them) – all these were registered as sunken features, without
any attempt of further interpretation of possible function
(midden, posthole, hearth,
etc.
). The features with artefacts
were doubtless worthy of documentation, at least regarding the
archaeological value of their infll, whereas objects holding no
artefacts lacked any such reason. The overall task, therefore,
was to determine any culture-related criteria for these features.
Recent studies indicate that an analysis of geochemical
and geophysical properties of sediments can contribute
towards the detection of human occupation beyond the
archaeological remains. This is because anthropogenic
activity, including food preparation, freplaces, middenning
or craft-working, alters the natural sediments in recognizable
ways, forming new soil characteristics that can be traced and
measured through multi-analytical methodologies. To date,
elevated levels of Ca, P, Cu, Fe, Mg, K, Na, Zn,
etc.
, have
been commonly found in archaeological soils and associated
with specifc inputs (Dirix
et al.
2013; Entwistle
et al.
2000;
Hjulstrom, Isaksson 2009; Linderholm 2007; Linderholm,
Lundberg 1994; Marwick 2005; Middleton, Price 1996;
Middleton 2004; Parnell
et al.
2002; Wells 2004; Wilson
et al.
2008). However, the establishment of relationships
between soil properties and past human activities is by no
means straightforward. Ancient soil signatures are site-
Volume VIII ● Issue 1/2017 ● Pages 17–33
*Corresponding author. E-mail: andrasimnas@gmail.com
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Received: 17
th
September 2016
Accepted: 25
th
April 2017
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.24916/iansa.2017.1.2
Key words:
subsurface features
archaeology
soil chemistry
XRF analysis
magnetic susceptibility
early 1
st
millenium AD
ABSTRACT
The aim of the research summarized in this paper was to describe soil properties from diferent contexts
at an excavated hilltop settlement (subsurface features with artefacts, subsurface features holding no
artefacts, and several sets of samples from substratum), to determine possible anthropogenic indicators
at this locality, and to assess what, if any, are the diferences of soil properties taken from the features
with artefacts and those holding no artefacts. For this aim, 43 bulk soil samples were collected and
analyzed for 16 chemical elements, magnetic susceptibility, soil organic matter and inorganic carbon,
and pH values. The results revealed several sets of anthropogenic markers, among which the most
distinguished were P, Mn, Zn and MS anomalies. A correlation between the presence/absence of
artefacts and soil properties has not been detected. Anthropogenic sets were confrmed for almost
all features with artefacts and for the major part of features holding no artefacts; thus the altered soil
geochemical properties for these features can be assumed as an important additional cultural marker
beyond that given by the archaeological remains. A handful of features with artefacts in one of them
failed to be recognized as bearing any human-related signal; taking into account the circumstances,
with reasonable care, they were categorized as disturbances having no archaeological value. No
unambiguous interpretation is suggested for the analyzed subsurface features; rather they were
considered in assessing various scenarios of archaeological context formation.
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
18
specifc and often difcult to interpret due to the combined
efect of natural variations in background geology, soil-
forming processes, complexity of site-use history, and
methodological factors (Haslam, Tibbett 2004; Oonk
et al.
2009a; 2009b; Wilson
et al.
2009; López Varela, Dore 2010
)
.
It may be the reason for geochemical methodology being
neglected in archaeological research projects, especially at
disturbed sites.
The main idea of this paper is to describe the soil
properties from diferent contexts at an excavated hilltop
settlement (infll of subsurface features with artefacts,
infll of subsurface features without artefacts, and several
sets of samples from the substratum) using several
geochemical and geophysical techniques. It was assumed
that a comparison of these deposits must show what are
the possible anthropogenic indicators at this locality, and
whether there are any diferences in the properties of soils
taken from features with artefacts and those without. Under
the circumstances of rescue archaeology, given the time
shortages and economic circumstances, artefacts are often
the only criterion to determine/deny the archaeological
value of an object. This study, therefore, aims to assess if the
presence/absence of artefacts is sufcient reason to justify
this. It was also assumed that the spatial and functional links
of consistent patterns of possible anthropogenic indicators
might indicate the contemporariness of (back-) flling
processes and/or related inputs. In Lithuania, only a few
studies regarding the topic of ancient soil geochemistry for
prospecting aims without subsequent excavations to test the
collected data have been carried out so far, (
e.g.
Stančikaitė
et al.
2009; Bliujienė
et al.
2012), therefore it was important
to assess the advantages and limitations of this technique for
excavated sites.
2. Study area and archaeological site
2.1 Natural setting of the study area
The study was undertaken in a remote rural area adjacent
to the village of Bėčionys, Šalčininkai District, south-
eastern Lithuania (Figure 1). The area is characterized by a
temperate climate with a mean annual temperature of 6.8°C
and an average annual precipitation around 700 mm.
The site surveyed is located in the western part of the
Ashmena Upland (Basalykas 1965; Guobytė 2002). The
landscape of the region was formed during the melting of
lobes of the penultimate (Medininkai) glaciation (Figure 1).
The end moraine formations and carbonated gravel-sandy
glaciofuvial ridges have been mapped in the area. The last
(Late Nemunas) glacier did not reach this region, but for a
long period permafrost conditions prevailed here and the
surface was intensively exposed to mechanical decay and
Figure 1.
Quaternary geological-geomorphological map of the Bėčionys area (originally compiled by J. Pocienė, Lithuanian Geological Survey).
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
19
surface erosion processes. Hills have been deformed with
periglacial ravines and the moraine-dominated landscape
features eroded. One of the results of such erosion has
been exposed in the central part of the area; it is a hill of
a marginal glaciofuvial formation that once formed a part
of a larger massive. Local soils are characterized by eutric
calcaric arenosols with alkaline carbonate-rich coarse sand
and gravel.
The archaeological site on the hill (WGS: N54°13′12.5″;
E25°35′57.5″) is situated at an altitude of 185–187 m,
rising some 4–8 m on the right bank of the Gauja River
(Figure 2). The top of the hill is oblong, orientated E–W, and
40×20 m in size. To the north of the site lies the prolongation
of a promontory, but it is not considered to be part of the
archaeological site. The hill is covered by grassland, and the
plateau and the slopes host about a dozen “potato cellars” or
pits for gravel extraction.
2.2 Cultural background
The site was frst recorded in 1951 and was regarded as a
hilltop settlement of the so-called Brushed Pottery Culture,
which thrived from the late 2
nd
millennium BC to the early
1
st
millennium AD. The positions of settlements on a hilltop
represent the dominant type of habitation site in the East
Baltic region in the frst millennium BC (Grigalavičienė
1995; Vasks 1999; Medvedev 2011). Based on the prevailing
mass of material discovered during the excavations of such
sites over a hundred years (potsherds with brushed surface,
tools of stone, bone and antler, animal bones), a common
tendency persists to label all these hilltops settlements as
early hillforts
, assuming that all of them were more or less
fortifed long-term settlements for extensive families with
a self-orientated subsistence strategy. The economy was
mixed, stock-keeping and swidden agriculture playing major
roles, hunting and fshing being subsidiary activities.
Figure 2.
Situation of the Bėčionys hilltop settlement site and the uncovered area.
Figure 3.
The hand-made pottery with
brushed surface.
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an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
20
Table 1
. Distribution of archaeological material.
ContextsDepth interval
from original
terrain level
(cm)
Dimension
of structures
(cm)
ColourMacro-charcoalHand-made
pottery
(shards, n)
Hand-made
pottery
(g)
Clay daub
(g)
Iron
slag
(g)
Animal
bone
(n)
Wheel- made
pottery
(g)
Anthropogenic horizon
(BakCk)
10–5045143543245775
-
1035
Sunken features (all)
Sunken features (sampled
):
149
71
3212
721
91
68
–
–
1
1
–
–
Soil samples (id) from sampled features
2
40–6362×73
grey+
64268
–––
440–4838–40
grey –––––––
540–4530×30
brown–––––––
643–4739×42
grey+––––––
7
44–5653×73
brown–––––––
8
40–6340×50
grey–3
124
––––
1020–30disturbed no datano data––––––
1440–4743×43
brown–––––––
1640–5658×58
grey+––––––
18
45–70128×168
brown+––––––
20
50–8456×59
grey+––––––
22
40–4847×57
grey+––––––
2830–78
100×153
grey–brown+23
142
––––
30
30–5536×36
grey+111––––
32
30–5452×68
grey+––––––
3425–4770×100
grey–brown +––––––
37
40–6970×90
grey–brown+11
161
––––
4025–4068×116
grey+3
34
––––
4130–5364×73
grey+
24
207––1–
All
60075663336775
1
1035
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an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
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Figure 4.
The distribution of archaeological material: in the anthropogenic layer BakCk (a–d) and features (e).
0 10 m
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an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
22
3. Material and methods
3.1 Field research, material and dating
The excavation was performed by the public institution
Academy of Cultural Heritage in 2012 (Šmigelskas 2013).
A total area of 300 m
2
was uncovered on the hilltop. As a
result, almost the entire “hillfort” plateau was excavated. It
appears that the cultural horizon had been destroyed in some
zones of the area down to the substratum level (Ck). Only
an anthropogenic brown gravel-sandy layer (BakCk) up to
10–20 cm thick was preserved at some spots between the
horizons A(O) and Ck. The thickest (up to 40 cm) debris layer
was in the S part of the uncovered area, and a redistribution
of material cannot be excluded given the sloping top of the
hill with diferences in altitude of 80–90 cm.
The anthropogenic layer contained most of artefacts
(Table 1), predominantly hand-made pottery with brushed
surfaces (Figure 3). Alongside the shards were found
some clay wattle daub and an insignifcant quantity of iron
slag. Only one animal bone was discovered and enabled a
radiocarbon AMS dating to 1960±30 BP (Beta 349390). This
date, along with the typological research, implies that the site
was mainly used at the beginning of the 1
st
millennium AD.
Later, some kind of activities took place on the hilltop in
the 15
th
–16
th
century, because several dozens of wheel-made
pottery shards were also found. The spatial distribution of
the collected material demonstrated no clear patterning; pre-
historic artefacts and those of later times were clustered in
diferent parts of the investigated zone with the pottery of
historic times detected in the north-western part from a depth
of 20 cm up to almost the surface (Figure 4a–d).
On the substratum level, at a depth of approximately
25–40 cm from the original terrain level, 34 pit-shaped
features were found (Figures 4e, 5). These features represent
circular, oval or irregular outlines ranging from 22×22 cm to
130×170 cm in diameter. The upper parts of these features
have obviously been swept away; only their lower parts,
up to 30 cm in thickness, have survived. The half-sections
of these features difer little in colour and texture from the
surrounding geological substratum (Figure 6). The soil fll
of these pits was greyish-brown and dark yellowish-brown
sand, and some of them contained bits of charcoal. Although
the features were adjacent to each other and form several
groups, they had no explicit layout which could be attributed
to specifc building structures or any other architectural
construction.
More than half of these pits contained no artefacts; others
showed very poor artefact content, featuring mainly shards of
hand-made pottery with an average weight of approximately
100 g. Only one of these pits contained shards weighing over
2000 g in total, most of them being from the same vessel
(Figure 3).
3.2 Collection and preparation of the samples
Of the 34, 19 pit-shaped features were bulk-sampled (Figure 7).
These features were half-sectioned and
samples were taken
from the central part of the pit (19 samples) over the entire range
of pit depths indicated in Table 1. Another 24 control samples
were taken from the substratum level in order to determine
the natural geochemical on-site background. Samples were
taken from the substrate soil beside and underneath the pits
(this strategy of samples acquisition, which resulted from an
initial idea to assess phosphorus leaching from the pits, is not
discussed here). All samples were grouped into four groups
according to the sampling context:
Group 1 – features with artefacts (7 samples).
Group 2 – features holding no artefacts (12 samples).
Group 3 – substratum samples taken at 25–40 cm depth
interval (at the level of recorded “ouths” of the
features) (8 samples).
Group 4 – substratum samples taken at 40–80 cm depth
interval underneath the features (16 samples).
Figure 5.
Pit-shaped structures in the north-
eastern part of the uncovered area.
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an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
23
Figure 6
. Examples of cross-sections of some of the pit-shaped features.
All 43 samples were air-dried and sieved using a 2 mm
polypropylene sieve. Samples for XRF and LOI analyses
were dried to a constant mass at 105ºC.
3.3 X-ray fuorescence
For multi-element analysis of soil samples, an X-ray
spectrometer with a wavelength-dispersive detector Axios
mAX (PANalytical, Netherlands, 2010) was used. Soil
samples were prepared according to Buhrke
et al.
(1998)
and Takahashi (2015): milled and 5 g of each sample was
mixed with 1 g Hoechst wax C micropowder. The soil/binder
mixtures were compressed into tablets using a hydraulic press
applying a pressure of 150 kN/cm
2
for 3 min. The accuracy
was determined using external standards N 139 (Czech
Republic), NCS DC60105 (China), and IMZ-267 (Poland).
In total 23 elements were measured, but some of them were
eliminated due to having higher than 10% relative standard
deviations in measurements of two tablets, or because their
amount appeared to be lower than the detection limit. This
paper presents the results from the major elements (Si, Al,
Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Mn, P, Ti) and trace elements (Cu, Rb,
S, Sr, Zn, Zr).
0 50 cm
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an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
24
Figure 7.
Sampling groups and sampling
pattern (above); generalized profle of
stratigraphic locations of the samples
(below).
3.4 Loss on ignition
Loss on ignition (LOI) is a simple and broadly-used method
for estimating the amount of soil organic matter (SOM)
and soil inorganic carbon (SIC). SIC refects the content
of carbonate mineral in the soil. The investigated samples
appeared to be slightly calcareous sandy sediments, so
SOM and SIC were measured according to the method
of Wang
et al.
2013. Dried samples were combusted at
fxed temperatures of 375ºC for 17 hours and of 800ºC for
12 hours. SOM was calculated as the weight loss between
105ºC and 375ºC, and SIC as the weight loss between 375ºC
and 800ºC. In calculating SIC, the conversion constant of
0.273 was applied to convert the mass of CO
2
to the mass
of carbon.
3.5 Soil pH
Soil pH was measured as an indicator of soil preservation
conditions. The measurements were conducted in a 1:5
sediment-to-deionized-water solution (shaken for 1 hour
using a mechanical shaker, stored for 2 hours and fltered)
with a pH meter Orion 3 Star (Thermo Electron Corporation,
USA) calibrated using bufer solutions of pH 4.01, pH 7 and
pH 10.04.
3.6 Mass Magnetic Susceptibility
Low frequency (976 Hz with a feld intensity of 200 A/m)
magnetic susceptibility (MS) was measured for 5–50 g soil
samples in a laboratory using a Multifunction Capabridge
meter MFK1-B. The susceptibility values were normalized
(using PC programme SAFYR6) by the mass of each sample
and expressed as mass susceptibility. The results were
recorded in mass specifc units (10
–9
m
3
kg
–1
).
3.7 Data analysis
As a preliminary data exploration, some basic statistics
were calculated for each variable and each sampling group.
Element concentration values were normalized by z-score
transformation prior to multivariate analysis. Further,
0 5 m
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
25
the samples were regrouped on the basis of statistically-
interrelated variables using hierarchical clustering based on
Euclidean distance. To assess and compare distributions of
variables, box-plots were calculated for each of the resultant
clusters. Further, in order to analyze the data structure, a data
reduction method was employed in which the element values
were subjected to Principal Components Analysis (PCA).
A bivariate plot of the frst two component scores was
overlain by a vector plot containing variable loadings. This
representation combines the information on which variables
diferentiate between sample clusters with information on
the relationship between individual variables. All statistical
analyses were performed using Minitab 17, while spatial
plotting was carried out with ArcMap 10.
4. Results
4.1 In search of anthropogenic indicators: cluster
analysis of variables
To distinguish groups among the 20 variables which could be
useful to archaeologists as possible anthropogenic indicators,
a dendrogram was plotted and four main groups identifed
and classifed into groups representing (Figure 8): 1) clay
– Al, Fe, K, Na, Rb, Ti, (also including Sr); 2) carbonates –
Ca, Mg, SIC, pH; 3) silicaclastic group – Si, Zr; 4) biophilic
elements P, Mn, Zn, magnetic susceptibility, accompanied
by Cu, S and SOM. The latter group was presumed to be
an anthropogenic indicator. To prove this assumption, the
distribution of their values in diferent sampling contexts
was analyzed in more detail.
4.2 In search of anthropogenic indicators: cluster
analysis of diferent sampling contexts
A quick overview of some basic statistics for each initial
sampling group is provided in Table 2. The low consistency
of the results suggests the pattern of element variation varied
substantially inside the sampling groups. To detect similar
sets of samples and determine their characteristic pattern
of properties, hierarchical clustering was performed using
concentrations of 16 elements, SOM, SIC, pH, and MS
values. All samples were grouped according to the content
of these variables and fve clusters (CL.1–5) were selected
based on the cluster dendrogram (Figure 9).
Statistical regrouping did not substantially change the
samples distribution over the initial sampling contexts
and separated, with only a few exceptions, the natural
background samples from the subsurface features; however,
the internal heterogeneity of these groups testifed to the fact
that similar soil properties are not necessarily shared by pits
with artefacts and pits without. Figure 9 demonstrates three
clusters (CL.2, CL.4, CL.5) on the right that include samples
from sampling groups 1 and 2, which represent pit-shaped
features with or without artefacts. On the left, one cluster
(CL.3) comprises 11 samples from sampling groups 3 and 4
(3 and 8 samples, respectively), which represent the geogenic
samples of the locality. CL.1 (18 samples) appeared to be
the least homogeneous in terms of its sampled context and
consists of 5 samples from sampling groups 1 and 2 (1 and
4 samples, respectively), and 13 samples from sampling
groups 3 and 4 (5 and 8 samples, respectively). Judging
from the connection distances of individual samples, soil
properties for samples from diferent contexts in CL.1 often
appeared to be more homogeneous in comparison to samples
from CL.2, 4 or 5.
CL.1 does not show any marked variation in the
concentration of variables as compared to those in other
clusters. In CL.2, the quantities of most variables are
moderately higher except for Ca (4.2 g/kg), Mg (1830 mg/kg)
and Sr (100 mg/kg), whose concentrations in all the data
collection were the lowest (Figure 10). CL.3 had the lowest
concentrations for most of the variables except for Ca. With a
Figure 8.
Cluster analysis for all variables
considered.
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
26
Table 2.
Basic statistics of the soil pH, SOM, SIC, MS and element concentrations determined for four sampling contexts, and median values of element concentrations in Lithuanian topsoil (Reimann
et al.
2003).
SOM and SIC (%), MS (10
–9
m
3
kg
–1
), Al, Ca, Fe, K, Si (g/kg), Cu, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Pb, S, Sr, Ti, Zn, Zr (mg/kg) (by XRF, *HF, **AR); “<” – below detection limit.
SamplesVariables
GroupContextnpHSOMSICMSAlCaCuFeKMgMnNaPRbSSiSrTiZnZr
1
Features
with
artefacts
7
Mean
7,41,460,2568629,1
7,118
14,413,524938745839835486339910694548244
Min
6,80,84
0,13
255
27,23,3
4
13,012,21830
5824484316<2035
38881
79629<50
Max
8,62,500,41154131,515,74616,014,8336319097903
1818
63105408
1381130
96
333
SD
0,60,54
0,11
4281,44,415
1,10,8
6944651062633
1023720117
24
73
RSD8,7
36,942,1625,061,7
817,8
6,2
28
53
18
76
20372
19
12
50
30
2
Features
with no
artefacts
12
Mean8,21,07
0,5953829,516,2
17
13,613,955707436751857456738611692242
237
Min7,1
0,55
0,12
209
20,7
3,6
37,2
11,616653604527350
37
36324
7771323
<50
Max
8,91,431,6694740,643,43521,518,613044150711754152759
100
418175128666355
SD
0,5
0,32
0,462595,2
11,110
4,31,93861336
2102
453
723
26261911469
RSD
6,5
30,278,8
4817,568,55931,913,46945
31
531634
72221
3429
3
Control
samples
from
substratum
(25-40 cm)
8
Mean8,2
0,350,84199
22,0
24,7
12
9,511,5493427455763413645394
101
75315224
Min
7,90,26
0,128818,1
3,5<25,69,3224615844892912440354
82
420<2<50
Max
9,00,561,7551728,651,52616,115,4862742364394115355416
107
107424366
SD
0,4
0,10
0,53136
3,3
15,9
10
3,6
2,22177
906293995
208
263
8133
RSD
4,5
28,7
63,06815,164,4
8238,3
19,244
331111
25
12
5
8
355159
4
Control
samples
from
substratum
(40-80 cm)
16
Mean8,2
0,410,9416725,3
27,8
99,812,662532856506
380
4446384
110
65419164
Min
6,80,240,159319,83,9<26,210,4
2027
1433927249<20
27
35289342<2<50
Max
9,00,59
1,70
33929,854,0
22
15,714,310241439957449369
83
420136
1080
35
280
SD
0,6
0,11
0,52672,915,5
7
2,4
1,1
254685
1700
76
10
1619
13201
957
RSD7,1
26,355,440
11,3
55,67624,68,641
30
26
2022
345
1231
4835
Total content
in Lithuanian topsoil
median37.1
5.22
8*13.1
17.92985349497157463
207**
375682244
33
261
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
27
median concentration of 39.4 g/kg, Ca values were six times
higher than Ca
LT
. CL.3 is also the most distinctive by virtue of
its high pH (8.4) and SIC (1.4%). In contrast, CL.4 had almost
all its variables elevated with the highest concentrations for
Al (34.6 g/kg), Fe (21.4 g/kg), K (15.9 g/kg), Mg (12.8 g/
kg), Na (9131 mg/kg), Sr (132 mg/kg), approximating or
exceeding by two to three times the median concentrations
of the Lithuanian topsoil layer. With a median concentration
of 1527 mg/kg for P, 911 mg/kg for Mn and 64 mg/kg for Zn,
CL.5 had the highest values of all the clusters – exceeding
by two to three times the median concentrations from the
Lithuanian topsoil layer (see Table 2). CL.5 is also highly
Figure 9.
Resultant clusters of related
samples.
Figure 10.
Medians and quartiles of each of the fve clusters. Element concentrations (mg/kg); SOM and SIC (%), MS (10
–9
m
3
kg
–1
).
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
28
distinctive by having the highest MS values (840×10
–9
m
3
kg
–1
).
4.3 Compositional variation for pit-shaped structures:
principal component analysis (PCA)
A PCA was performed to analyse data structure variation for
the samples of sunken features only (sampling groups 1 and 2).
Eigen analysis of the correlation matrix indicated that the frst
four components with eigenvalues >1 accounted for 84% of
the variability, and the frst two accounted for 65% (Table 3).
Any loading of more than ±0.40 was considered to be strongly
loaded, ±0.25–40 moderately loaded and below ±0.25 weakly
loaded in this study.
Table 3 shows that PC1, which accounts for 43% of the
variance in the dataset, is moderately represented by Al,
Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Si, Sr, SIC, Zr. PC2 (22%) is strongly
negatively represented by magnetic susceptibility and the
biophile elements Mn, P and Zn, and moderately represented
by S and SOM.
The distribution of the scores overlaid by plotted loadings
(Figure 11) reveals that PC1 distinguishes CL.4 from CL.1, 2
and 5, with positive component scores for CL.4 and negative
scores for 1, 2 and 5. PC2 diferentiates CL.5 from CL.1 and
2 with high concentration of Mn, P, Zn and MS for CL.2
and reduced enrichment of these variables for CL.1 and CL.
2 with certain exceptions, that is a few CL.2 samples (
eg.
BE-41) appeared to be closer to CL.5.
5. Discussion
5.1 Possible anthropogenic indicators for the Bėčionys
locality
The primary task of this research was to identify the soil
properties modifed by human activity by distinguishing
them from geogenic ones. It has been assumed that if values
for an element do not deviate much across the site, then it
most likely derives from the geological parent material,
but if a variable has high deviations, then human inputs are
more plausible explanation (Salisbury 2016). In Bėčionys,
one group of statistically-related (p<0.001) variables that
had high RSD (relative standard deviation) and featured the
consistent enhancement included Ca, Mg, Sr, SIC, and pH.
The elevation pattern of Ca, Mg and Sr has been shown by
numerous studies to correlate with the archaeological record
and to be derived from bones, shells, and shell sand; these
elements might indicate food preparation sites, wood ash
and cultivated felds fertilized with domestic waste (Holliday
2004; Middleton, Price 1996; Middleton
et al.
2010; Wilson
2008; Salisbury 2016), whereas high pH is related to ash
and freplaces (Entwistle
et al.
1998; Holliday 2004; Dore,
López Varela 2010). In Bėčionys, the concentration of SIC
and alkaline earth metals was mostly high for samples from
the substratum context (CL.3) and thus should be attributed
to the calcareous geology of the site rather than to human
activity. A positive correlation of Ca, Mg, SIC and pH
indicates a large amount of Ca and Mg carbonates and their
efect on a higher soil pH (Russo, Horrack 2000). For the pit-
shaped feature samples, the concentration of Ca and Mg was
lower due to decalcifcation processes, although for some
samples it was still high compared to median concentrations
from the Lithuanian topsoil layer, most likely because of the
presence of carbonated mineral additions.
As indicated in Table 2, phosphorus RSD in the pit
inflls was, on the average, four times higher than that in
the substratum samples, which undoubtedly testifes to the
anthropogenic origin of the variable (Entwistle
et al.
2000).
The relationship of P (p<0.001) with Mn, Zn and magnetic
susceptibility, and the fact that the consistent enhancement of
all of them was determined exclusively for those sediments
taken from subsurface features, provides a basis to consider
the entire group as dependable human-related indicators in
this studied locality. This pattern was accompanied by an
elevation in quantities of Al, Cu, Fe and K. The increase
in these elements sometimes signifcantly overshadowed
the aforementioned “anthropogenic set” and, judging from
the samples context, it represents another group related to
human disturbance (CL.4).
Numerous studies have shown that the enhancement of P,
Zn and Mn can imply organic deposits, refuse, mineralized
faeces, bones,
etc.
(Aston
et al.
1998; Bintlif
et al.
1990;
Davidson
et al.
2007; De Vos, Tarvainen 2006; Holliday,
Gartner 2007; Linderholm, Lundberg 1994; Middleton
et al.
2010; Oonk
et al.
2009a; Ottaway, Matthews 1988;
Parnell
et al.
2002; Salisbury 2016; Wilson
et al.
2008). The
combustion process has been found to have a concentration
Table 3.
Loadings for pit-shaped structures. Loading values of ±0.25–0.4
are in bold, and above ±0.4 in underlined bold.
VariablePC1PC2PC3PC4
Al
0.288
0.032–
0.283
–0.099
Ca
0.310
0.077
0.1500.097
Cu–0.021
–0.0540.244
–
0.629
Fe
0.286
0.056–0.154
–0.230
K
0.284
–0.088–0.220–0.108
Mg
0.323
0.0510.043–0.036
Mn
0.052
–
0.443
–0.011
–0.114
Na
0.312
–0.003
–0.095
0.083
P
0.068
–
0.415
0.069
0.127
Rb0.103–0.013–
0.365
0.476
S0.070–
0.323
–0.0150.143
Si–
0.336
–0.0220.0330.028
Sr
0.301
–0.0650.1140.163
Ti0.0780.131
–
0.436
–
0.377
Zn
–0.026
–
0.442
0.126–0.063
Zr–
0.270
0.070
–0.184
0.117
SOM
–0.096
–
0.287
–
0.405
0.021
SIC
0.316
0.095
0.118
–0.016
MS
0.058
–
0.432
0.016–0.098
pH
0.1960.058
0.429
0.196
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
29
mechanism that suggests a role for bone and black carbonised
particles in the post-depositional uptake and retention of
enhanced elements (Aston
et al.
1998; Middleton 2004;
Davidson
et al.
2007). As osteological material was barely
found despite the preservation-favourable alkaline conditions
in Bėčionys, it can be assumed that the enrichment was
caused mostly by plant-derived organics. In addition to Ca,
Mg, K, Fe and Al, a signifcant amount of P, Mn, and Zn
was found in the ash of biomass (trees and other plants),
usually already in the form of a rather stable crystalline
material (Gabet, Bookter 2011; Vassilev
et al.
2013; Wang,
Dibdiakova 2014). The anthropogenic input of Ca and Mg for
Bėčionys subsurface features might have been obscured by
the geogenic concentration at this locality, but in general an
enhanced P, Mn and Zn (accompanied by a slight enrichment
in K, Fe and Al) may imply a higher amount of ash and other
burnt material (
e.g.
turf or dung) in the pit-shaped features.
This assumption is supported by the macroscopic pieces of
charcoal and elevated SOM. Higher amounts of Al, Fe, K, Ti
and Rb may also testify to the presence of a clay admixture
in the sandy layers. A few pits (BE-04, 05) during the feld
study were considered as possible postholes due to the
absence of artefacts and their corresponding diameter. The
distinguished anomalies of the aforementioned elements
may suggest a cultural practice – the ends of wooden poles
were often charred and/or plastered with clay.
Magnetic susceptibility is a physical property of soil
linked mainly to the content of magnetic iron compounds.
This property may change through the human disturbance
of soils, water logging and microbial activity. An important
quality of MS is its strong tendency to increase due to high
temperatures, thus acting as an indicator of fres, even if the
physical traces of fres are no longer detectable (Clark 1990;
Dearing 1994). Thus, in Bėčionys, the increase in MS might
indicate the increased amount of combustion-afected soil, as
well as particles of degraded pottery, clay daub,
etc.
5.2 The relationship of anthropogenic markers with the
presence or absence of artefacts
The “anthropogenic” pattern of signifcantly enhanced P, Mn,
Zn, MS was determined for six of the 19 sampled subsurface
features (CL.5, including BE-41) and three of them contained
no archaeological artefacts. CL.2 pits (three with artefacts
and two holding no artefacts) were also similar in their
interrelations of soil chemical elements and other properties,
except that the concentration of anthropogenic markers here
was much lower. The other set of possible human-related
signals of Al, K, Fe, Mg, Na and Sr was determined for three
features (CL. 4), all without archaeological evidence. The
patterns of the remaining fve sampled pit-shaped features
from CL.1 showed no signifcant enrichment as compared
to the background on-site values, except for a depletion of
Ca, Mg and SIC, which implies some disturbances of their
natural properties. One of these fve features contained some
artefacts. All this demonstrates that there is no correlation
between the presence/absence of artefacts and soil properties,
and that the diferences in soil properties between separate
pit-shaped features holding artefacts, or between separate
features without artefacts, might be greater than between
these groups.
Human-related geochemical patterns were confrmed
for 6 out of 7 of the features with artefacts, and for 8 out
of 12 holding no artefacts, and therefore the altered soil
geochemical properties for these 8 features can be assumed
as important additional cultural markers beyond the
archaeological remains. On the other hand, the remaining
5 features (with one of them holding artefacts) failed to be
recognized as bearing any human signal. Morphologically
these pits practically did not difer from the others. In the
pits mentioned, the lowest amounts of organic matter, in
comparison to the others (CL.1 – 0.8%, cf. CL.4 – 1%; CL.2
and 5 – 1.5% each), may be considered the cause of them
being overlooked by elemental analysis (Eberl
et al.
2012).
Figure 11.
Biplot of the scores and loadings
for the frst two PCA components for all
variables in the sunken features (underlined
– features with artefacts).
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
30
However, it is difcult to unambiguously evaluate the
efect of OM quantity on the elemental composition as the
OM diferences were not great and OM did not correlate
signifcantly with other variables: for example, various
concentrations of P, Mn and Zn were determined for
identical OM amounts in CL.2 and CL.5. The pits without
marked variations in soil properties may not have even been
purposefully formed, and they are just post-depositional
disturbances of no archaeological value (
e.g.
backflled
animal burrows, hollows for gravel extraction,
etc.
), where
artefacts had found their way accidentally. Recognition of
such pits should be considered as a peculiar advantage of
the method: enabling one to determine archaeologically
worthless features, which would otherwise prove difcult
to separate applying conventional methods. However, if
the presence of artefacts in one of them is not incidental,
the version of diferent object type with specifc pit infll
should be considered, though the analysis procedure used in
this work is inadequate for its development. This also fags
up a warning that so-called conventional anthropogenic
indicators might fail to provide a complete picture of the
activity distribution and diversity not related to organic
content. This fact should be taken into consideration when
trying to establish boundaries or the intensity and diversity of
anthropogenic activities on non-uncovered habitation sites.
Because if subsequent excavations only target areas with
high levels of biophilic variables, the resulting evidence will
allow the unveiling of an incomplete picture of activities.
5.3 Spatial and functional links of anthropogenic
markers in the archaeological context
There are no unambiguous interpretations for many of the
subsurface features. Usually, the function of the features is
assumed on the basis of their shape, equipment, and artefacts,
while bearing in mind that the same feature could have been
used for diferent purposes or their use could have changed
with time (Schifer 1987). In Bėčionys, the appearance of the
features and the artefacts discovered within them provided
little clue as to the nature of the pits and their relation to
human activity. Even after the anthropogenic indicators
have been elucidated, it is difcult to determine not only
what type of objects they represent, but even whether they
refect refuse management, natural backflling, or result from
post-deposition (bioturbation, disturbance,
etc.
) Perhaps it
would be possible to characterize the nature of the objects
in more detail if they were grouped together: by identifying
spatial and functional links with their general archaeological
context.
Pit-shaped features distinguished for their increased P, Mn
and Zn quantities and magnetic susceptibility were spatially
Figure 12.
Spatial distribution of the
resultant clusters in the sunken features
(BE-41 was assigned to CL.5 cf. PCA data).
0 20 cm
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
31
concentrated
(
Figure 12, BE-32, 34, 37, 40, 41), which
suggests that they might have been deposited from related
inputs and/or they might have been flled in about the same
time. The radiometric dating of the single bone found in one
of these features (BE-41) indicated material from the frst
century AD. This feature and the adjacent ones contained
shards dating approximately to the same period. One of
them (unfortunately unsampled for geochemical analysis)
contained shards (weighing 2 kg) from one broken pot. It
looked like the pot had ended up in the pit being at least
partly unbroken, and as such big shards do not usually stay
on the surface for long, it should have been deposited into
the pit either directly from the living (systemic) context or
soon after the site was abandoned.
One of the pits located at a distance (BE-20) with anomalies
characteristic of CL.5 was documented as a later disturbance,
which points one towards considering a completely diferent
scenario – the pits might have been excavated much later,
digging over an already homogenized cultural layer that had
become the pit infll itself. Inasmuch as samples from the
anthropogenic layer (BakCk) were not taken, there remained
no possibility to examine them geochemically. Nevertheless,
it is noteworthy that the density of the prehistoric artefacts
(pottery, daub, slag) in the anthropogenic layer was rather
high; it therefore remains unclear as to why such a great
number of pits held no artefacts, while others contained only
prehistoric pottery (about 43% of its total amount), merely
3% of daub and no fragments of slag. Although the amount
of the latter found in the settlement was not great, the major
part of it in the anthropogenic horizon was concentrated
around the aforementioned pits (Figure 4a). If the pit
sediments were parts of the slipped intermixed cultural layer,
then – on the basis of anthropogenic sets distribution – it
can be suggested that the homogenization of sediments did
not occur over the whole site, but only in certain spatial
segments, perhaps even preserving certain links with the
primary purpose of these zones. This suggestion is supported
by the concentration of features with enhanced P, Mn, Zn
and MS (CL.5). That this pattern overlaps with the slag
distribution is not necessarily accidental; however, without
determining the chemical composition of the slag it would be
too early to assign some or all of the anomalies (for example,
of Mn) directly to iron smelting activities. In general, Zn,
Mn, P, and MS enrichments, as well as bits of charcoal in the
pit-shaped features, imply a higher amount of ash and other
burnt material and can be considered as evidence of fuel
for metallurgy. Several pits with high amounts of Al, Fe,
K and Na were located southward. Two pits were assumed
as former postholes, while a clay daub concentration found
nearby (Figure 4 b) is suggestive of a wooden construction
that had potentially stood there. No continuity in the
arrangement of the other pits was observed. However,
worthy of note is that three CL.1 pits, whose geochemistry
did not difer from that of the subsurface, were detected in
the most disturbed NW part of the excavated area, which
does not contradict the assumption that these features most
likely have no archaeological value.
6. Conclusion
While it is indeed difcult to directly interpret chemical
soil data in terms of ancient human activity, the results
demonstrate that the multi-proxy approach does have the
potential to complement the traditional archaeological
techniques with an extra dimension.
Multivariate statistics revealed several sets of
anthropogenic markers. On the basis of their spatial and
functional links, P, Mn, Zn and MS anomalies were explained
as the burning of fuel (for metallurgical activities?), while the
unusual enhancement of Al, Fe, K, Na and Sr was assumed
to result from an infll that contained more clay (clay daub,
clay-plastered poles). Ca, Mg, accompanied by high pH
and SIC were considered as geogenic variables whose local
enrichments could be explained by the calcareous geology.
There is no correlation between the presence/absence
of artefacts and soil properties, and the diferences of soil
properties between separate pit-shaped features holding
artefacts, or between separate features without artefacts, might
be greater than that between these groups. Anthropogenic
sets were proved for 6 features out of 7 with artefacts, and
for 8 out of 12 features holding no artefacts; the altered soil
geochemical properties of these 8 features can therefore be
assumed as an important additional cultural marker beyond
that given by the archaeological remains. On the other
hand, 5 features – one of which included artefacts – failed
to be recognized as bearing any human-related signal, most
likely due to their low OM content. At least some of these
pits are most probably post-depositional disturbances of no
archaeological value and the recognition of such pits should
be considered as a peculiar advantage of this method that
enables one to determine archaeologically worthless features.
No unambiguous interpretation is suggested for the
subsurface features; rather they have been discussed in
assessing diferent scenarios of archaeological context
formation. The archaeological data (types of artefacts, size
efect) and soil geochemistry (sets of anthropogenic markers),
as well as their spatial and functional links, suggest that the
sediments must have been deposited into the pits either
directly from the living (systemic) context or soon after the
site was abandoned. Even if it had happened much later, and
the pits sediments are parts of an intermixed cultural layer,
then according to the distribution of the sets of anthropogenic
markers, it may be supposed that homogenization of the
anthropogenic sediments did not occur on a scale of the
whole site, but rather covered only certain spatial segments
– possibly preserving certain links with the primary purpose
of these zones.
Acknowledgements
The research was conducted as part of the scientifc project
“Geoarchaeological soil research as a means to investigate
ancient settlement sites” fnanced by the Lithuanian Scientifc
Board (MIP 101/2015).
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Andra Simniškytė-Strimaitienė, Aušra Selskienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Vidas Pakštas, Ramūnas Šmigelskas: Tracing Archaeology through Geochemistry:
an Example of a Disturbed Prehistoric Hilltop Settlement Site in South-Eastern Lithuania
32
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