Untangling the Taphonomy of Charred Plant Remains in Ritual Contexts: Late Antique and Medieval Churches and Graves from Croatia

Reed, Kelly; Ghica, Victor; Smuk, Ana; Dugonjić, Anita; Mihaljević, Marija; Filipović, Slavica; Balen, Jacqueline

doi:10.1080/00934690.2021.2022274

Cited by 1 publication

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“…A second important aspect is the collection of control sediment samples outside the grave. Similarly, Reed et al (2022) have argued for the collection also of control samples for macroremains analysis. A third important methodological aspect is the calculation of the phytolith concentration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Körber-Grohne 1985;Rösch 2005; no Viking-Age finds are known to the authors of the present paper), while exceptional preservation sometimes shows the presence of processed plant food, such as breads made of a variety of cereals, pulses and flax (Linum usitatissimum), as found at Viking-Age Birka (Hansson 1996). On rare occasions, it is concluded that the majority of the plant remains attested in graves are not associated with the burial context itself or that the association is doubtful (Hansson and Bergström 2002;Kühn 2010;Šálková et al 2016;Lempiäinen-Avci et al 2017;Reed et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II

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et al. 2022

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Non-woody plant remains are known from burial contexts in North-western Europe, but get overlooked when preservation is suboptimal. While phytolith analysis has demonstrated its value regarding the detection of vegetative grave goods, systematic application of this method to graves in European archaeology is, however, scarce. This paper concerns the examination of the elite Viking-Age equestrian burial at Fregerslev II, where phytolith analysis, combined with pollen analysis, revealed the presence of two types of plant material in the grave. The phytolith analysis of Fregerslev II included the investigation of chaff located close to a horse bridle, the chaff being both detected in the field and during investigation of a block sample by means of stereomicroscopy, and systematic examination of other parts of the grave to interpret this find. Elongate dendritic chaff phytoliths were subjected to systematic morphological and morphometric analysis and subsequent statistical analysis. The application of both methods simultaneously to large numbers of phytoliths is unique. Comparison of the various samples showed that the chaff represents a concentration of oat, which is most likely common oat, with minor admixture of barley, interpreted as horse fodder, while bedding consisting of hay or straw was presented elsewhere on the bottom of the grave. The finds are placed in a wider context and methodological implications of the two identification methods applied to the chaff concentration are discussed. KeywordsVegetative grave goods • Viking-age equestrian burial • Phytolith morphology and morphometry • Horse fodder • Grave bedding • North-western Europe * Welmoed A.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%