Variations in pollen proportions of Plantago lanceolata and P. major/media at a Neolithic lake dwelling,Lake Chalain,France

Detailed pollen analytical investigations at a Neolithic lake dwelling site on Lake Chalain, Jura, France, show very characteristic variation in the Plantago lanceolata and P. major/media pollen curves in the period during which settlements are recorded (3030–2630 cal. B.C.). At first, P. lanceolata is the more important taxon but P. major/media representation gradually rises, to become the more important taxon in the uppermost settlement phase. After considering the present day ecology and phytosociology of the Plantago species in question, i.e. P. lanceolata, P. major and P. media, and the available archaeozoological and archaeological information, it is suggested that the changes in the representation of these two pollen taxa are the result of a change in the farming economy, at ca. 2800 cal. B.C., which involved a substantial rise in the numbers of domesticated grazing animals and more intensive land use.     

Traces of human impact reflected in the pollen diagram from Tarnowiec mire near Jasło (Jasło-Sanok depression), SE Poland

The pollen diagram from Tarnowiec concentrates on human impact on vegetation, and is supported by the archaeological background. The earliest evidence of human activities dated at ca. 6500 B.P. was probably connected with the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture. Further periods of settlement are recorded at ca. 5200 B.P. and at 4800 B.P. The next very distinct period of intensification in human impact at ca. 4200-3800 B.P. was most certainly connected with the presence of the Corded Ware culture. The next period of settlement occurred during the late Bronze Age, in connection with the development of the Lusatian culture from ca. 3200 B.P. but is recorded only faintly in the pollen diagram. The next colonization phase at ca. 2600 B.P. is possibly the result of Scythian invasions. The widest expansion of human impact came during the period of Roman influence. After this, anthropogenic indicators decreased during the Migration period. The youngest part of the pollen diagram reveals an intensification of anthropogenic indicators connected with early Medieval settlement.     

On the Holocene vegetation history of the Argive Plain (Peloponnese,southern Greece)

Palynological investigations have been carried out on a sediment core from ancient Lake Lerna, a former fresh water lagoon in the western part of the Argive plain, Peloponnese, southern Greece. The sequence starts at 6800 B.P. (5700 cal B.C.). The lowest part of the pollen diagram shows a period of open deciduous oak woods, which may have been influenced by human impact already (Zone I). It is followed by a period of dense deciduous oak woods (Zone II), which lasted until the beginning of the Bronze Age ca. 4800 B.P. (3500 cal B.C.). Later, the diagram indicates strong human influence such as woodland clearance, the spread of maquis, phrygana and pine in Zones IIIa-IV. During the Archaic, Geometric and Classical periods after ca. 2700 B.P. (800 cal B.C.) there is evidence of a phase of extensive olive farming (Zone IIIb). In the same zone, after a period of scattered finds, there is an almost continuous Juglans curve. Zone IV is characterised by high pine values. In Zones I-II the evidence of evergreen Mediterranean plants is surprisingly small. In times with no discernible human influence (Zone II), deciduous oaks dominate, with no evidence for a climax vegetation of the Oleo-Ceratonion alliance. Olea europaea is the only species of that alliance traceable by its pollen in the diagram, while Ceratonia pollen is totally absent.     

The later Holocene history of vegetation, land-use and settlements around the Ahlequellmoor in the Solling area, Germany

A pollen diagram from the Ahlequellmoor in the Solling area shows the history of vegetation and settlement over the last 7,800 years. In the early Atlantic period mixed deciduous forest with mainly Tilia together with Ulmus and Quercus grew in the area. In the late Atlantic period Quercus became most abundant. Fagus spread in the Sub-boreal period at about 2700 B.C. Since ca. 900 B.C. the Solling was covered by beech forests with some oak. In prehistoric times woodland grazing is indicated. Only in Medieval times are two settlements in the vicinity of the Ahlequellmoor reflected in the pollen diagram. The earlier one is dated to about A.D. 750–1020, and may be connected with the former Monastery of Hethis, which is thought to have existed close to the fen from A.D. 815 to 822. The second Medieval settlement dates to the 11th–12th century. The large-scale woodland destruction of late Medieval and modern times is not clearly visible. The silvicultural measures of the last 200 years are reflected by increasing values of spruce and grassland taxa.     

A multi-proxy Late-glacial palaeoenvironmental record from Lake Bled, Slovenia

This study investigates the palaeoecological record (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, pollen, plant macrofossils, chironomids and cladocera) at Lake Bled (Slovenia) sedimentary core to better understand the response of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to Late-glacial climatic fluctuations. The multi-proxy record suggests that in the Oldest Dryas, the landscape around Lake Bled was rather open, presumably because of the cold and dry climate, with a trend towards wetter conditions, as suggested by an increase in tree pollen as well as chironomid and cladocera faunas typical for well-oxygenated water. Climatic warming at the beginning of the Late-glacial Interstadial at ca. 14,800 cal yr BP is suggested by an increase in the δ¹⁸O value, the appearance of Betula and Larix pollen and macrofossils, and a warmth-adapted chironomid fauna. With further warming at ca. 13,800 cal yr BP, broad-leaved tree taxa (Quercus, Tilia, Ulmus), Artemisia, and Picea increase, whereas chironomid data (Cricotopus B) suggest lowering of lake levels. After 12,800 cal yr BP (and throughout the Younger Dryas), the climate was colder and drier, as indicated by lower δ¹⁸O values, decline of trees, increase of microscopic charcoal, xerophytes and littoral chironomids. A warmer climate, together with the spread of broad-leaved tree taxa and a deeper, more productive lake, mark the onset of the Late-glacial/Holocene transition. These results suggest that terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems at Lake Bled were very dynamic and sensitive to Late-glacial climatic fluctuations. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users. Guest editors: K. Buczkó, J. Korponai, J. Padisák & S. W. Starratt Palaeolimnological Proxies as Tools of Environmental Reconstruction in Fresh Water     

Neolithic human impact on the landscapes of North-East Hungary inferred from pollen and settlement records

In this article, we discuss the Neolithic and Early Copper Age (ECA) part of two pollen records from the Middle Tisza Floodplain in association with the local archaeological settlement record. We address the hypothesis of Willis and Bennett (2004) that there was little human impact by farmers on the environment of SE Europe until the Bronze Age. Contrary to this hypothesis, our results show that small-scale agriculture and woodland clearance is already attestable in the earliest Neolithic in Eastern Hungary, there are signs of expanding scale of mixed farming in the Middle Neolithic and strong evidence for extensive landscape alterations with enhanced pasturing and mixed farming in the Late Neolithic (LN) and ECA. The main vegetation exploitation techniques in the alluvial plain of Sarló-hát were selective tree felling (mainly Quercus), coppicing (mainly Corylus and Ulmus) and woodland clearance to establish grazing pastures and small-scale crop farming. Comparison with other well-dated pollen diagrams from Eastern Hungary suggested that, in the Early and Middle Neolithic (8000–7000?cal.?b.p.), Corylus and Ulmus coppicing were probably frequent, while pastoral activities and associated woodland clearance is distinguished in the LN (7000–6500?cal.?b.p.). Our data also suggested a shift to moister summer conditions in the alluvium during the ECA, which may have contributed to a trend towards settlement dispersion and increased reliance on animal husbandry in the NE Hungarian Plain.     

Notes on the Scottish Flora

Summary

Pollen analytical investigations are described from a site on the Pass of Drumochter in the central Grampian Highlands. Three pollen assemblage zones were identified in the profile which spans the mid- and late-Postglacial periods. The earliest vegetational record is of birch and hazel woodland, which was in turn succeeded by the establishment of pine forest, possibly around 7000 B.P. Declining arboreal pollen percentages and increased values for open-habitat taxa in the upper reaches of the profile reflect the impact of Neolithic man in the area, with the destruction of the forests, and the spread of dwarf shrub heath and heather moor across formerly wooded hillsides.     

New evidence of possible crop introduction to north-eastern Europe during the Stone Age

Long term (from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age) habitation of the Akali settlement on a clearly defined bog-island in East Estonia is used as an example of transitional development from a prosperous foragers’ habitation centre to a hinterland of established farming cultures, taking place through availability, substitution and consolidation phases of crop farming in the boreal forest zone. The pre-Neolithic finds of Triticum and Cannabis t. pollen at c. 5600 b.c. are interpreted as possible indications of the acquaintance of foragers with farming products, through contacts with central European agrarian tribes during the availability phase. The substitution phase is marked by more or less scattered pollen finds of various cereals and hemp and, at Akali, is connected with Neolithic period 4900–1800 b.c. An increasing importance of crop farming in the economy is characteristic of the consolidation phase, but because natural conditions are unfavourable for arable land-use, a regression of human presence is recorded during the second part of the Neolithic. The settlement was abandoned during the Bronze Age at the time when crop farming become the basis of the economy in Estonia. The re-colonisation of the area, traced to ca. a.d. 1200, took place for political reasons rather than through increasing suitability of the landscape.Editorial responsibility: Felix Bittmann     

Holocene tree‐line fluctuations and climate in central troms,Northern Norway

Based mainly on pollen influx data, an attempt is made at reconstructing Holocene tree‐line fluctuations and palaeotemperatures in central Troms, North Norway. Both past and present‐day (Tauber trap) pollen influx data suggest that influx rates exceeding 250–300 pollen/cm²/year for each of the major arboreal taxa (Betula pubescens and Pinus sylvestris) are only found at sites with corresponding forest types in the immediate surroundings. High influx rates, raised tree‐lines and favourable climatic periods are recorded at 7500–4500 and 3000–2600 B.P. Betula and Pinus woodlands may have reached more than 200 m above their present altitude limits, suggesting a July mean temperature 2°C higher than at present during the Holocene optimum.     

Reconstruction of environment and history of plant use during the late Mesolithic (Ertebølle culture) at the inland settlement of Bökeberg III,southern Sweden

Pollen, plant macrofossils and charcoal were analysed from a lake-sediment sequence, including a refuse layer, from the Late Mesolithic settlement at Bökeberg III, southern Sweden. The chronology was established by means of AMS-dated plant macroremains. The results of the biostratigraphical studies indicate two settlement phases (A and B), at ca. 6650-6400 B.P. (5560-5320 cal. B.C.) and ca. 6150-5800 B.P. (5200-4680 cal. B.C.), respectively. The two settlement phases are associated with periods of low lake-level contemporaneous with the second major period of low lake levels during the Holocene in southern Sweden, and thus with a period of generally drier climate. The pollen analytical data suggest only minor human impact on the local vegetation during the two settlement phases. Three elm declines at ca. (1) 6200 B.P. (5200-5100 cal. B.C.), (2) 5450 B.P. (4340 cal. B.C.), and (3) 5150 B.P. (3980 cal. B.C.) are discussed. Elm decline 3 is synchronous with the classical north-west European elm decline. Elm declines 2 and 3 may be due to outbreaks of elm disease rather than to strong human impact or climate change. The charcoal analyses show that wood of a wide range of species was collected for fuel or other purposes. During phase A, plants used included acorns, hazelnuts and, possibly, Cornus sanguinea, and also Prunus spinosa, Sorbus aucuparia and Rubus idaeus. There is convincing evidence that Cladium mariscus was used for thatching. The second occupation phase, B, is characterised by the use of hazelnuts for food. The possible use of several other identified species is discussed.     

Morphological studies of free-threshing wheat ears from a Neolithic site in southwest Germany, and the history of the naked wheats

Two hundred and seventy carbonized naked wheat ears from the Neolithic pile dwelling at Hornstaad-Hörnle IA/Lake Constance (Germany) were analysed. The characteristics of internodes and glumes show that only tetraploid naked wheat types were cultivated. Following the history of free-threshing wheats it seems conceivable that the tetraploid naked wheats spread from their point of origin in the Middle East (7th/8th millennium B.C.) via a Mediterranean route to southwest Europe, reaching the northern foothills of the Alps about 4000 B.C.     

Reconstruction of Holocene lake-level changes in Lake Kalvsjön, southern Sweden, with a contribution to the local palaeohydrology at the Elm Decline

Past lake-level changes in Lake Kalvsjön are reconstructed and compared with the changes recorded in nearby Lake Bysjön. The two major lowerings of lake level noted in Lake Bysjön are also recorded in Lake Kalvsjön, the older lowering taking place between ca. 9500–9200 B.P. and the younger occurring between ca. 6500–3000 B.P. A distinct decrease in the frequency ofUlmus, corresponding to the classical Elm Decline, is recorded in the pollen diagram from Lake Kalvsjön. The high rapidity of the decline strongly suggests that a pathogenic attack was primarily responsible. However, both human interference and palaeohydrological change may have interacted by disturbing the surrounding forests and increasing the susceptibility of elm to pathogenic attack. In the Lake Kalvsjön area, the disturbance resulting from palaeohydrological change is assumed to have been more influential in pre-disposing the forest to an outbreak of elm disease than any human interference.     

A Preliminary Study on Vegetation and Climate Changes in Dianchi Lake Area in the Last 40000 Years

This paper presents results of pollen analysis on sediments of core Cao 2 from Dianchi Lake. Four pollen zones are defined, namely zone I, which is further divided into four subzones, zone Ⅱ, zone Ⅲ and zone Ⅳ. Zone Ⅰ(ca. 47600–11800 yrs B. P.) is characterized by low land pollen sedimentation rates and constant presence of Abies pollen. In zone Ⅱ (ca. 11800–6900 yrs B. P.) broad-leaved tree pollen increases and Abies pollen gradually disappears. In zone Ⅲ (ca. 6900–3800 yrs B. P.) evergreen broad-leaved-tree pollen and total land pollen influx reach their maximum values while, Tsuga pollen decreases. Zone Ⅳ shows a great decreases in pollen influx of various pollen types and a increase in Monolete psilate spores. In the past 40000 years vegetation in this area trend changes from a dominantion of coniferous tree to an evergreen broad-leaved forest, co-existing or mixing deciduous broadleaved forest and coniferous forest. In the past 3800 years, due to climate changes and / or human activities, the vegetation cover in this area has been greatly reduced. The above vegetation changes indicate a climate change process from cool and humid, to warm and humid and finally to mild and dry.     

The late Pleistocene climates of the Lake Zeribar region (Kurdistan,western Iran) deduced from the ecology and pollen production of nonarboreal vegetation

The concept of an arid pleniglacial in the Middle East depends primarily on the interpretation of pollen diagrams including those of Lake Zeribar in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran. It has been assumed that Lake Zeribar was surrounded by a Chenopodiaceae-Artemisia steppe and that the climate was therefore dry. Both assumptions are questioned. The environment of Pleistocene Lake Zeribar may have been similar to the tragacanthic or alpine zone of the modern Zagros Mountains. The dominance by pollen of Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia is explained by low pollen production of high-altitude vegetation, preferential incorporation of pollen of late-blooming plants into the sediments, and high production and long-distance transport of lowland pollen. In any case, high percentages of Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia pollen do not necessarily indicate low annual precipitation but a highly seasonal climate with cold winters and hot, dry summers. Such a climatic regime was in effect continuous except for a period beginning about 10600 B. P. during which summer rainfall or reduced summer drought occurred. This change in seasonality resulted in the dominance of Poaceae pollen and the initial increase in arboreal pollen. A moisture curve based on the ratio between Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia pollen indicates a pleniglacial climate with wet winters and a late-glacial and early-Holocene climate with periods of intense aridity. The climatic history presented here is compatible with non-palynological evidence of regional late Pleistocene climates and with seasonality changes suggested by climatic modelling based on orbital parameters.Abbreviations C/A Chenopodiaceae-Artemisia ratio     

Biostratigraphy and <Superscript>14</Superscript>C dating of a lake sediment sequence on the north-west Estonian carbonaceous plateau,interpreted in terms of human impact in the surroundings

The sediment stratigraphy of a medium-sized mixotrophic lake (Ruila) situated below the highest shoreline of the Baltic Ice Lake in the West-Estonian Lowland is described. The lake is without natural inlets our outlets. The reconstruction of vegetation and land-use history based on pollen data, combined with available archaeological data and detailed ¹⁴C dating allows us to give a provisional reconstruction of the temporal and spatial pattern of natural and human induced environmental changes in north-west Estonia during the Holocene. Both radiocarbon dates derived from terrestrial macrofossil dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and conventional dating of bulk lake sediment are discussed. The isolation of the lake basin from the Yoldia Sea took place ca. 9700 cal B. C. The Ancylus Lake transgression at ca. 8400 cal B. C. did not reach the basin, but caused a ground water rise, seen in the sediment stratigraphy of the lake. The first signs of human impact on the pollen record appear ca. 5400 cal B. C. (Late Mesolithic). The history of arable farming has been divided into three periods: 1) introduction of crop cultivation and animal husbandry (1500 cal B. C. – A. D. 500); 2) establishment of animal husbandry A. D. 500–1000) and 3) establishment of crop cultivation and intensive cattle breeding (A. D. 1000–today). Due to unfavourable eda-phic conditions the introduction of arable farming was delayed for more than 1000 years compared with elsewhere on the north coast of Esotnia, and intensity of land-use never reached the same proportion as in these areas. Received August 15, 2001 / Accepted August 5, 2002 Correspondence to: Leili Saarse     

New insights into vegetation dynamics and settlement history in Hümmling,north-western Germany,with particular reference to the Neolithic

Palynological investigations on two well-dated peat profiles provide insights into Neolithic vegetation and settlement history from Hümmling in north-western Germany. The site selections allow comparisons between local and regional vegetation changes and are used to estimate the extent of Neolithic influence on the vegetation. The interpretation of the fossil spectra relied on radiocarbon dating, evaluation of pollen indicator taxa, non-pollen palynomorphs and multivariate techniques. During the late Mesolithic the vegetation was dominated by mixed oak forests while openings in forest cover were detected, with a decline in elm reflected in the regional pollen record around 4250 cal. b.c. The presence of humans is shown by settlement indicators that are first recorded at ca. 3800 cal. b.c. Vegetation changes were small between 4300 and 3600 cal. b.c. This suggests that regional vegetation was relatively resilient to small-scale disturbances. Possible indications of grazing were recorded in the spectra of the local pollen profile but there is no clear-cut evidence for Neolithic activity. Between 3520 and 2260 cal. b.c. decreases in forest cover were inferred from both profiles and increases in settlement indicators reflect farming activity. These changes coincide with the emergence in the area of the Funnel Beaker Culture and the subsequent Single Grave Culture. Both profiles suggest that settlement probably ceased between ca. 3230 and 3050 cal. b.c. This lull or cessation in activity was probably regional in character. After 2260 cal. b.c. human impact on the vegetation decreases and woodlands regenerate. The longevity of the regeneration phase—ca. 690 years—was probably connected with the low resilient capability of the vegetation on the poor soils.     

Plant landscape and land use at the Neolithic lake settlement of Dispilió (Macedonia,northern Greece)

The Neolithic settlement of Dispilió (lake Orestiás, northern Greece) is a unique site due to its continual inhabitation from the Middle Neolithic (5400 BC) to the Chalcolithic (3600 BC) and its exceptional location at the shore of Lake Orestiás (also known as Lake Kastoria). The plant landscape shaping of the area has been examined by correlating pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs from both on-site and off-site records. The examined pollen profiles bear concrete evidence of agricultural activities and land use in the area. The local pollen assemblages identified, each of them corresponding either to a different kind or intensity of exploitation of natural resources, display the diachronic evolution of the cultural landscape during more than 2000 years of human activity. The successive phases of intense human impact on vegetation patterns are in good accordance with the periods of major constructing activities described by the archaeological study of the Dispilió settlement. Finally, the differences on palynomorph accumulation pathways of the examined records made possible the distinction between local and “regional” plant landscapes and related human activities.     

Long-term human impact as registered in an upland pollen profile from the southern Black Forest, south-western Germany

A detailed,¹⁴C-dated, pollen profile from Steerenmoos, a raised bog in the uplands of the southern Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is presented. The Late-glacial and early Holocene vegetation history conforms to the known pattern of forest dynamics for that region. At ca. 6100 cal. B.P.,Abies replaced the mixed oak forest, which is in contrast to adjacent regions whereFagus spread beforeAbies. From the Subboreal onwards,Fagus expanded and slowly largely replacedAbies. The mire developed from a fen to a raised bog. The mountain pine (Pinus mugo ssp.rotundata) on the present-day bog surface is a result of medieval burning. Cereal pollen are first recorded in the Neolithic (7600 cal. B.P.) and there is a closed curve forPlantago Lanceolata — a good indicator of human impact — since the Bronze Age (4000 cal. B.P.). On the basis of the cereal pollen record nine human impact phases (HIP) are described. HIP 1 and 2, which are short, date to ca. 7600 and 6700 cal. B.P., respectively, in a mixed oak forest context and are characterized by declines inCorylus, Tilia, Ulmus and bySalix (but no major deforestation) and peaks in charcoal and loss-on-ignition curves. HIP 3 and 4, which are short and weak, date to ca. 6000 and 5300 cal. B.P., respectively, and occur in the context of anAbies alba forest. The Bronze Age and Iron Age HIPs 5-7 are more intense and of longer duration than the Neolithic phases and result in a decline inAbies and an increase inFagus. The early medieval HIP 8, although rather weak, probably finds expression also in an archaeological artefact, namely a dug-out boat from the near-by Schluchsee. Finally, the late Medieval HIP 9 resulted in a major transformation in the landscape. It is argued that the earlier HIPs are not a reflection of distant events in the lowland valleys of the Rhine, Danube or Neckar but reflect more or less local developments.     

Palynology of a 250-m core from Lake Biwa: a 430,000-year record of glacial–interglacial vegetation change in Japan

Lake Biwa is situated in western Honshu, and is the largest and oldest freshwater lake in Japan. During 1982–1983, a long core was drilled to a bottom depth of 1422 m in order to investigate the palaeolimnological record, which contains 911 m of various sedimentary units overlying Palaeozoic–Mesozoic basements. A 249.5-m core of the uppermost bed (T Bed) was palynologically examined at intervals of ca. 2 m. The investigated part of the core covers approximately the last 430,000 years of the mid-Upper Pleistocene and Holocene, and five glacial–interglacial cycles can be recognized. Ten major vegetational zones could be recognized from the bottom to the surface. The zones bearing even numbers, BW-10, 8, 6, 4 and 2, matched glacial periods in which pollen of subarctic taxa (Pinaceae, Betula) and cool–temperate taxa (Fagus, Lepidobalanus) was dominant. In the glacial periods, high pollen values for temperate conifers such as Cryptomeria, Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys indicate interstadial periods. Zones bearing odd numbers, BW-9, 7, 5, 3 and 1, matched interglacial periods with high pollen values for the warm–temperate taxon Cyclobalanopsis, or showed the characteristic appearance of Lagerstroemia, and temperate coniferous taxa (Cryptomeria, Cupressaceae). There were two vegetational types in the interglacial periods. One was the type indicated by BW-9 and 1 zones, when warm–temperate evergreen broad-leaved trees such as Cyclobalanopsis and Castanopsis showed high pollen values, and the warm–temperate deciduous broad-leaved tree Lagerstroemia was lacking. The climate of these interglacial periods seems to have been cold and dry in winter, and warm and wet in summer. The other was the vegetational type recorded in BW-7, 5 and 3 zones, where Lagerstroemia showed low pollen values, and the warm–temperate evergreen broad-leaved trees mentioned above were poorly represented. The climate seems to have been mild and wet in winter, and cool and wet in summer. The dominant pollen values for cool–temperate deciduous broad-leaved taxa such as Fagus and Lepidobalanus are very important indicators of the initiation of both glacial and interglacial periods in western Japan.     

Mid to late Holocene vegetation and land use history in the Weald of south-eastern England: multiple pollen profiles from the Rye area

The High Weald is an unusually well-wooded area in southern England. A high proportion of this woodland is ancient, being formerly exploited as seasonal pasture and coppice. Multiple pollen profiles from the Rye area have been used to elucidate the origins of this cultural landscape. By combining sites with small and large pollen source areas, both local and regional patterns of vegetation change have been determined. The mid-Holocene Tilia-dominated woodlands were subjected to temporary clearance as early as the Neolithic. This woodland was more extensively exploited over a ca. 700 year period from the beginning of the Bronze Age. The main elements of the modern landscape (woodland, pasture and limited cultivation) can be traced back to a more intensive phase of human activity, which commenced in the late Bronze Age. A regional increase in Fagus sylvatica pollen ca. 750 B.C. probably reflects the use of the Wealden woods for pasturage. There is no palynological evidence that the fuel demands of the Roman iron industry resulted in widespread woodland destruction. The early Anglo-Saxon period appears to have been one of land-use continuity, with a second increase in Fagus pollen at ca. A.D. 700 corresponding to historical evidence for the presence of wood-pastures in the Weald.