NOVEL METHODS AND RESULTS OF LANDSCAPE RESEARCH IN EUROPE, CENTRAL ASIA AND SIBERIA Monograph in 5 Volumes Vol. I Landscapes in the 21th Century: Status Analyses, Basic Processes and Research Concepts

During the Late Middle the countryside of Brabant saw a profound transformation. One of which was the development of plaggen cultivation, an intensive form of farming in which organic material from outlands were used for fertilization of an infield, allowing it to be cultivated for a prolonged period of time. The system of plaggen cultivation led to the forming of convex fields and the man-made soils which have become a characteristic element of the Brabantic landscape. To understand this development and the wider agricultural practice in which is embedded, archaeological research was carried out at an open field complex in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. This included extensive micromorphological analysis of plaggic anthrosols to get a more detailed understanding of the formation process of the man-made plough soils, the origins of the plaggen used and the various forms of tillage. Analysis of the selected examples revealed a gradual degeneration of the outfield as a result of repetitive stripping and showed, apart from the plaggen, the use of additional organic material from different sources, such as household waste, to supplement the available manure. Резюме. Во время позднего Средневековья сельский ландшафт региона Брабанта претерпел глубокую трансформацию. Одной из них было развитие интенсивной формы земледелия, в которой органический материал из пустоши использовался для удобрения приусадебного участка (plaggen cultivation), что позволяло его культивировать в течение длительного периода времени. Эта система культивирования привела к формированию выпуклых полей и искусственных почв, которые стали характерным элементом ландшафта Брабанты. Чтобы понять это развитие и его использование в более широкой сельскохозяйственной практике, проводились археологические исследования на открытом полевом комплексе в городе Вельдховен, Нидерланды. Они включали обширный микроморфологический анализ антрозолов (тип почв: Plaggic Anthrosols) для получения более подробного представления о процессе формирования искусственных обработанных почв и происхождении использованного органического материала при различных формах обработки почвы. Анализ выбранных примеров показал постепенное вырождение поля в результате повторной зачистки и при использовании, кроме материала из пустоши (plaggen cultivation) дополнительного органического материала из разных источников, например бытовых отходов, в дополнение к имеющемуся навозу. КEYWORDS: Plaggic Anthrosol, Middle-Age, Archaeopedology, Soil-Micromorphology, Netherlands Ключевые слова: Плаггический антрозол, средний возраст, археология, почво-микроморфология, Нидерланды INTRODUCTION In the late Middle Ages the rural landscape of present-day North-Brabant (the Netherlands) underwent a profound transformation [1]. Within a seemingly short timespan settlements were relocated, farmhouse construction changed and fields were rearranged, restructured and extended. In addition, farmers adopted an intensive infield-outfield strategy in which sods (plaggen) cut from the marginal (heath)lands were used for fertilization of the infields. The use of plaggen enabled the farmers to complement the scarce amount of manure and increase the available nutrients and was combined with a more intensive form of husbandry. The sods were used as bedding in the byres where they could soak up the manure of the livestock which were kept indoors for longer periods at a time. The mixture of sods, manure and household waste was then applied to the fields.