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- Environmental Archaeology, Palynology, Paleoenvironment, Archaeological Science, Geoarchaeology, Archaeobotany, and 17 moreMedieval Archaeology, Medieval Europe, Medieval Poland, History of Estonia, History of Latvia, Hungarian Archaeology, Mongols, Wetland Archaeology, Hunters, Fishers and Gatherers' Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Coastal and Island Archaeology, Crusades, Paleoecology, Landscape Archaeology, Baltic archaeology, and Medieval Hungaryedit
- Areas of Interest: 1) Environmental Archaeology 2) Ecology of conquest and colonization 3) Ecology of frontier lan... moreAreas of Interest:
1) Environmental Archaeology
2) Ecology of conquest and colonization
3) Ecology of frontier landscapes
4) Coastal, intertidal and wetland archaeology
5) Medieval Europe
I am a archaeologist specializing in the application of environmental archaeology as a lens for understanding past ecological and cultural change. Most recently my research has focused on landscape transformations during the late Iron Age and medieval periods in Central and Eastern Europe. Using pollen as part of an interdisciplinary research framework, I have investigated the impact of conquest and colonization in altering indigenous and frontier environments in the Baltic region (Ecology of Crusading Project, directed by Aleks Pluskowski); my research has helped to demonstrate the importance of a diverse range of socio-economic factors (demographic change, agriculture, trade, religion,) in shaping the physical and cultural landscapes of medieval Europe. I am currently developing research on the impact of the Mongol and Ottoman conquests in central Europe (Hungary and Romania). I have a particular interest in the study of wetland archaeology and landscapes, focusing on the resilience and adaptation of communities to highly diverse physical environments.edit
The paper presents the results of an integrated environmental analysis on the fill of an exceptionally well-preserved mid-14th century cesspit from the historic centre of Riga (Latvia, eastern Baltic). Palynological, plant mac-rofossils... more
The paper presents the results of an integrated environmental analysis on the fill of an exceptionally well-preserved mid-14th century cesspit from the historic centre of Riga (Latvia, eastern Baltic). Palynological, plant mac-rofossils and invertebrate analysis yielded important new information about the use of plants by the indigenous community living within the medieval city, including their socioeconomic status. The taphonomy of the botanical and invertebrate data is considered to largely reflect the input of undigested food waste and human faecal material with a subordinate component derived through the input of cereal waste-products. The results show that the diet of the indigenous community was based largely on cereal products, most probably bread and porridge , supplemented by a limited range of locally cultivated and/or collected vegetables and spices. Documentary sources emphasise that bee-keeping was an important element of the local economy of Riga. Elevated levels of lime pollen in the cesspit samples are taken as possible evidence for the consumption of honey, most likely of a local origin. This study also serves to demonstrate the significant quantity of information that can be gleaned from a relatively small volume of material.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In 1241, the full force of the Mongol invasion of central Europe fell upon the Kingdom of Hungary. From the north the Mongols attacked southern Poland, securing their right flank and crossing the western Carpathians to join with armies... more
In 1241, the full force of the Mongol invasion of central Europe fell upon the Kingdom of Hungary. From the north the Mongols attacked southern Poland, securing their right flank and crossing the western Carpathians to join with armies moving through the eastern Carpathians into Transylvania and along the Danube, sweeping across the Hungarian Plains. Documentary sources describe the widespread looting and destruction of villages and the massacre of heir inhabitants, followed by widespread famine and death amongst the peasant population. As much as half of Hungary’s population is argued to have perished as a result of the invasion; settlements are recorded still abandoned and fields uncultivated several years later. Despite the documentary evidence for the ferocity of the attack, significant questions remain over the scale and extent of the ecological impact of the Mongol invasions on the landscapes of Central Europe. Previous studies have tended to rely exclusively on the written sources with little exploitation and integration of the palaeobotanical data. This paper summarises the existing palaeobotanical evidence for the ecological impact of the Mongol invasions, set in the context of archaeological and documentary data, and considers the opportunities and priorities for future research.
The late Iron Age and medieval period in the south-eastern and eastern Baltic is a time of social, economic and political development, dominated by the Crusades of the 13th-15th century. The Crusades resulted in significant changes to the... more
The late Iron Age and medieval period in the south-eastern and eastern Baltic is a time of social, economic and political development, dominated by the Crusades of the 13th-15th century. The Crusades resulted in significant changes to the ownership, administration and organisation of the landscape. Conquest was accompanied by colonization, the development of towns, castles and rural settlements, occurring in tandem with agricultural and economic expansion and the growth of pan-European trading networks. This was preceded in northern Poland by Slavic colonization from the 8th century, the expansion of Poland from the 10th century, and in parts of the eastern Baltic by demographic and economic expansion during late Iron Age. Significant changes in vegetation and land-use across parts of this region have been ascribed to these phases of conquest and colonization, characterised by significant and prolonged declines in woodland accompanied by agricultural intensification. However, this paper explores the indigenous dimensions of these changes, and considers the difficulties in identifying palaeoenvironmental evidence for indigenous responses to conquest and colonization, for example in the form of rural land-use change, or evidence for continuity/survival of indigenous landscapes and land-use practices.