Late Holocene landscape development around a Roman Iron Age mass grave, Alken Enge, Denmark
Søe, Niels Emil ; Odgaard, Bent Vad ; Nielsen, Anne Birgitte LU
; Olsen, Jesper
and Kristiansen, Søren M.
(2017)
In Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
26(3).
p.277-292
- Abstract
Sediments from the small lake Ilsø situated in the Illerup/Alken Enge Valley were studied in order to investigate past landscape development at the time of a probably ritual human mass burial following battle during the Roman Iron Age (ad 1–400). A pollen record from Ilsø and a number of other records from Jutland were combined using the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm to reconstruct local vegetation changes through the last 2,800 years. These methods were supplemented by studies of catchment-related geochemistry of the Ilsø lake sediments. The results show a marked reforestation event associated with a strong decrease in erosion levels at the very beginning of the first century ad, contemporaneous with the finds of human remains at... (More)
Sediments from the small lake Ilsø situated in the Illerup/Alken Enge Valley were studied in order to investigate past landscape development at the time of a probably ritual human mass burial following battle during the Roman Iron Age (ad 1–400). A pollen record from Ilsø and a number of other records from Jutland were combined using the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm to reconstruct local vegetation changes through the last 2,800 years. These methods were supplemented by studies of catchment-related geochemistry of the Ilsø lake sediments. The results show a marked reforestation event associated with a strong decrease in erosion levels at the very beginning of the first century ad, contemporaneous with the finds of human remains at Alken Enge. Comparison with a pollen record 10 km away and with those from other sites, reveals that this reforestation occurs unusually early and rapidly, and is an unparalleled development in a Danish context. We suggest that the major landscape changes at the beginning of the Roman Iron Age and forest cover for the next few centuries comprise a possible example of ritual control of local land-use.
(Less)
- author
- Søe, Niels Emil
; Odgaard, Bent Vad
; Nielsen, Anne Birgitte
LU
; Olsen, Jesper
and Kristiansen, Søren M.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-05
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Erosion rates, Iron Age, Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm, Palaeolimnology
- in
- Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
- volume
- 26
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 16 pages
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84991628315
- wos:000398929000002
- ISSN
- 0939-6314
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00334-016-0591-x
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 9a94501f-4d4f-47f2-828e-41a992a721a2
- date added to LUP
- 2016-11-09 11:13:20
- date last changed
- 2025-01-12 14:52:44
@article{9a94501f-4d4f-47f2-828e-41a992a721a2,
abstract = {{<p>Sediments from the small lake Ilsø situated in the Illerup/Alken Enge Valley were studied in order to investigate past landscape development at the time of a probably ritual human mass burial following battle during the Roman Iron Age (ad 1–400). A pollen record from Ilsø and a number of other records from Jutland were combined using the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm to reconstruct local vegetation changes through the last 2,800 years. These methods were supplemented by studies of catchment-related geochemistry of the Ilsø lake sediments. The results show a marked reforestation event associated with a strong decrease in erosion levels at the very beginning of the first century ad, contemporaneous with the finds of human remains at Alken Enge. Comparison with a pollen record 10 km away and with those from other sites, reveals that this reforestation occurs unusually early and rapidly, and is an unparalleled development in a Danish context. We suggest that the major landscape changes at the beginning of the Roman Iron Age and forest cover for the next few centuries comprise a possible example of ritual control of local land-use.</p>}},
author = {{Søe, Niels Emil and Odgaard, Bent Vad and Nielsen, Anne Birgitte and Olsen, Jesper and Kristiansen, Søren M.}},
issn = {{0939-6314}},
keywords = {{Erosion rates; Iron Age; Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm; Palaeolimnology}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{277--292}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{Vegetation History and Archaeobotany}},
title = {{Late Holocene landscape development around a Roman Iron Age mass grave, Alken Enge, Denmark}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00334-016-0591-x}},
doi = {{10.1007/s00334-016-0591-x}},
volume = {{26}},
year = {{2017}},
}