Multivariate analysis reveals spatial variability of soil geochemical signals in the area of a medieval manorial farm
Abstrakt
This study presents the results of a multi-element and multivariate geochemical analysis of a deserted medieval settlement and its agricultural landscape, including a monastic (Cistercian) manorial farm, situated in the Czech Republic. We used LiDAR survey and historic maps to detect relict landscape features and identify past changes in land use-patterns.
Comparing archaeological evidence and soil chemistry, we found that geochemical signals derived from samples collected in the courtyard of the farm and in the surrounding area and processed by PCA on log-transformed and isometrically log-transformed data - responded to different agricultural activities, which could be linked to the farm and - more broadly - to current and past land-uses. The results generally illuminate the environmental impact of monastic settlement in a marginal landscape, with regard to different economic activities, and the study also demonstrates that this type of analysis allows tracing anthropogenic and natural phenomena over a wider area, beyond the limits of the more narrowly defined archaeological site.