Did prehistoric and Roman mining and metallurgy have a significant impact on vegetation?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Did prehistoric and Roman mining and metallurgy have a significant impact on vegetation?

AU - Mighall, T.

AU - Timberlake, S.

AU - Martínez Cortizas, Antonio

AU - Silva-Sánchez, Noemí

AU - Foster, I.D.L.

N1 - Toby Driver kindly provided information about the archaeology of the region. Jenny Johnson and Jamie Bowie drew the figures. Ed Scho- field commented upon on an earlier draft of the manuscript. Permission to core Cors Fochno was provided by Mike Bailey (CCW). This project was funded by The Leverhulme Trust, grant number F/00/732/C and support from Cambria Archaeology. The comments from two reviewers helped to improve the manuscript.

PY - 2017/2

Y1 - 2017/2

N2 - To develop our understanding of the relationship between vegetation change and past mining and metallurgy new approaches and further studies are required to ascertain the significance of the environmental impacts of the metallurgical industry. Using new pollen and geochemical data from Cors Fochno (Borth Bog), Wales, we examine whether prehistoric and Roman mining and metallurgy had a significant impact on the development of vegetation and compare the findings with previous studies across Europe on contamination and vegetation change to develop a conceptual model. The evidence suggests that early mining and metallurgy had a minimal impact on vegetation, especially woodlands, with small-scale, non-permanent phases of woodland clearance. The impact was more severe during Roman times, normally characterised by woodland clearance followed by regeneration. Records do suggest that woodlands underwent compositional changes in tandem with increased atmospheric pollution, possibly in part as a result of demands for wood fuel for mining and metallurgy, but otherwise woodlands show a degree of resilience. The results from Cors Fochno suggest that vegetation changes that occurred during periods of mining and metallurgy, as inferred from changepoint analysis, were insignificant compared to later periods, including Roman times.

AB - To develop our understanding of the relationship between vegetation change and past mining and metallurgy new approaches and further studies are required to ascertain the significance of the environmental impacts of the metallurgical industry. Using new pollen and geochemical data from Cors Fochno (Borth Bog), Wales, we examine whether prehistoric and Roman mining and metallurgy had a significant impact on the development of vegetation and compare the findings with previous studies across Europe on contamination and vegetation change to develop a conceptual model. The evidence suggests that early mining and metallurgy had a minimal impact on vegetation, especially woodlands, with small-scale, non-permanent phases of woodland clearance. The impact was more severe during Roman times, normally characterised by woodland clearance followed by regeneration. Records do suggest that woodlands underwent compositional changes in tandem with increased atmospheric pollution, possibly in part as a result of demands for wood fuel for mining and metallurgy, but otherwise woodlands show a degree of resilience. The results from Cors Fochno suggest that vegetation changes that occurred during periods of mining and metallurgy, as inferred from changepoint analysis, were insignificant compared to later periods, including Roman times.

KW - mining

KW - metallurgy

KW - pollen

KW - changepoint analysis

KW - Bronze Age

KW - Roman

KW - woodlands

U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.12.021

DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.12.021

M3 - Article

VL - 11

SP - 613

EP - 625

JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

SN - 2352-409X

ER -