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

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 archa...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Out, Welmoed A., Hasler, Mario, Portillo, Marta, Bagge, Merethe Schifter
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/304580
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/304580
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Vegetative grave goods
Viking-age equestrian burial
Phytolith morphology and morphometry
Horse fodder
Grave bedding
North-western Europe
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spelling The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev IIOut, Welmoed A.Hasler, MarioPortillo, MartaBagge, Merethe SchifterVegetative grave goodsViking-age equestrian burialPhytolith morphology and morphometryHorse fodderGrave beddingNorth-western EuropeNon-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.We are grateful for financial support from the A.P. Møllerske Støttefond (Grant No. 11372), the Augustinus Foundation (Grant No. 16-2213), the Agency for Culture and Palaces, and Skanderborg Municipality, who supported the excavation and analyses.Springer NatureAugustinus FoundationAgency for Culture and Palaces (Denmark)Skanderborg MunicipalityConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]2023202320222023info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501http://hdl.handle.net/10261/304580reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00334-022-00881-2Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/3045802026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
title The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
spellingShingle The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
Out, Welmoed A.
Vegetative grave goods
Viking-age equestrian burial
Phytolith morphology and morphometry
Horse fodder
Grave bedding
North-western Europe
title_short The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
title_full The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
title_fullStr The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
title_full_unstemmed The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
title_sort The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Out, Welmoed A.
Hasler, Mario
Portillo, Marta
Bagge, Merethe Schifter
author Out, Welmoed A.
author_facet Out, Welmoed A.
Hasler, Mario
Portillo, Marta
Bagge, Merethe Schifter
author_role author
author2 Hasler, Mario
Portillo, Marta
Bagge, Merethe Schifter
author2_role author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Augustinus Foundation
Agency for Culture and Palaces (Denmark)
Skanderborg Municipality
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Vegetative grave goods
Viking-age equestrian burial
Phytolith morphology and morphometry
Horse fodder
Grave bedding
North-western Europe
topic Vegetative grave goods
Viking-age equestrian burial
Phytolith morphology and morphometry
Horse fodder
Grave bedding
North-western Europe
description 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.
publishDate 2022
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2022
2023
2023
2023
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/304580
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/304580
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00334-022-00881-2
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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