Dark soil on sand dunes as a result of terrain levelling and tillage at the early medieval settlement of Mikulčice, Moravia
Abstract
At the early medieval Great Moravian site of Mikulčice-Valy (8th-10th century AD), a metre-thick set of anthropogenic horizons of dark color mixed with sand from the local dunes were found during rescue archaeological excavations. Archaeologists usually consider similar finds to be cultural layers because they are full of artifacts and ecofacts.
It is the question if such general interpretation is sufficient. In order to reveal the formation processes of this humus-rich horizons in detail, the physico-chemical analyses, micromorphological analysis together with archaeological interpretation were carried out.
Based on micromorphological analysis, it is clear that this is not a cultural layer, but rather a Dark Earth that is physico-chemically influenced by the formation and gradual anthropogenic mixing with sand dunes. The sand in this case was used to level the terrain after the demolition of older early medieval buildings.
As a result of the gradual mixing with organic waste, bones and excrements, black horizons were subsequently formed. But these black horizons are also the result of tillage.
It is thus one of the oldest micromorphologically described tillage in the Czech Republic.