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A future for Dark Earth?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Richard I. Macphail ,
Henri Galinié  and
Frans Verhaeghe
Richard I. Macphail
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34, Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY UK
Henri Galinié
Affiliation:
UMR 6575, CNRS, Université de Tours 3, Place Anatole-France, 37000 Tours, France
Frans Verhaeghe
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Art, History and Archaeology, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium
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Abstract

A recent workshop on ‘dark earth’, the homogeneous soil layer that often separates Roman from Early Medieval and Medieval strata in towns, prompted the authors to show how this concept, which developed in England, became altered when employed in mainland Europe. They present new research on what is actually a widespread phenomenon, and warn that uncritical assumptions about such layers made on the ground are losing important information.

Keywords

dark earthterres noirespost-Romanurban archaeologystratigraphy

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Antiquity , Volume 77 , Issue 296 , June 2003 , pp. 349 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2003

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