Vegetation History and Diversity of Archaeological Contexts at the Roztoky Site from the Anthracological Perspective

Our study compares different groups of anthracological records (archaeo-anthracological; pedoanthracological) for a more complex reconstruction of woodland history in the surroundings of the archaeological site of Roztoky (Czech Republic). The large anthracological dataset is unique by its size at least from a central European perspective. Our research focuses on the period from the Neolithic to the end of the Early Middle Ages. The settlement phase of the Prague-type culture (1450–1300 BP) in Roztoky is unique to the whole area of the Slavic spread. During this period, the settlement covered a large area (20.6 ha) and archaeological research estimated that more than 750 sunken houses had accumulated here. Our anthracological analysis revealed significant differences in the species diversity between various types of archaeological layers from the sunken houses. However, the variability of charcoal records among different spatial zones of the archaeological site was relatively small. Pedoanthracological results clearly documented woodland diversity and different habitat conditions in the vicinity of the archaeological site. The charcoal record from soil profiles indicates fire activity in time periods that were only weakly recorded at the archaeological site (Late Eneolithic and Roman Age). Our pedoanthracological research did not reveal any fire events at the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the absence of soil charcoals probably indicates an open canopy woodland and significant human influence in the vicinity of the large settlement.