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The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II

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Abstract

Non-woody plant remains are known from burial contexts in North–western Europe, but get overlooked when preservation is suboptimal. While phytolith analysis has demonstrated its value regarding the detection of vegetative grave goods, systematic application of this method to graves in European archaeology is, however, scarce. This paper concerns the examination of the elite Viking-Age equestrian burial at Fregerslev II, where phytolith analysis, combined with pollen analysis, revealed the presence of two types of plant material in the grave. The phytolith analysis of Fregerslev II included the investigation of chaff located close to a horse bridle, the chaff being both detected in the field and during investigation of a block sample by means of stereomicroscopy, and systematic examination of other parts of the grave to interpret this find. Elongate dendritic chaff phytoliths were subjected to systematic morphological and morphometric analysis and subsequent statistical analysis. The application of both methods simultaneously to large numbers of phytoliths is unique. Comparison of the various samples showed that the chaff represents a concentration of oat, which is most likely common oat, with minor admixture of barley, interpreted as horse fodder, while bedding consisting of hay or straw was presented elsewhere on the bottom of the grave. The finds are placed in a wider context and methodological implications of the two identification methods applied to the chaff concentration are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for financial support from the A.P. Møllerske Støttefond (Grant No. 11372), the Augustinus Foundation (Grant No. 16-2213), the Agency for Culture and Palaces, and Skanderborg Municipality, who supported the excavation and analyses. The authors are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers and the editor K. Neumann for their helpful comments that substantially improved the paper, C. Saugbjerg and M. Schwartz for sample collection and A.K. Tjellden for additional information about the phytolith samples, T. Ljungberg for providing the control sample, the archaeological IT-team from Moesgaard Museum for practical support during the collection of the morphometric data, the Graphics Department of Moesgaard Museum for kind help with the illustrations, A. Philips of the University of Amsterdam for the preparation of the phytolith samples, A.M. Rosen for help with the phytolith identifications, S. Eisenschmidt, C. Hedenstierna-Jonson, J. Ljungkivst, M. Schepers, Ö. Akeret, H. Kroll, F. Verbruggen, J.-W. de Kort and members of the archaeobotany and zooarch email lists for literature suggestions, and C.F. Sørensen from the Museums of Easter Funen and P.S. Henriksen and P. Pentz from the National Museum in Denmark for information on the finds from the Ladby ship burial.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeological Science and Conservation, Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Allé 20, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark

    Welmoed A. Out

  2. Variationsstatistik, Kiel University, Hermann-Rodewald-Straße 9, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Mario Hasler

  3. Department of Archaeology and Anthropology (Archaeology of Social Dynamics, 2017 SGR995), Institució Milà i Fontanals, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Portillo

  4. Museum Skanderborg, Jernbanevej 9, 8660, Skanderborg, Denmark

    Merethe S. Bagge

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  1. Welmoed A. Out
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Correspondence to Welmoed A. Out.

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Out, W.A., Hasler, M., Portillo, M. et al. The potential of phytolith analysis to reveal grave goods: the case study of the Viking-age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II. Veget Hist Archaeobot (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-022-00881-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-022-00881-2

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