Mapping the microscopic traces – soil micromorphology at the Fregerslev II horseman grave
Federica Sulas, Vana Orfanou, Thomas Ljungberg, Søren Munch Kristiansen · 2019
Fregerslev II is the grave of an elite horseman buried together with precious goods and likely his horse. Whilst spectacular in its findings, the highly deteriorated conditions of the grave poses a major challenge to understanding of the burial context and preservation environment of the archaeological materials. By enabling the study of microstratigraphic traces, soil micromorphology has the unique potential to detect contextual indicators of conditions before, during and after burial. Analysis of samples from the grave contexts provides the first records of a pre-burial environment characterised by fine, loamy matrix local, bedded plant microremains and changing redox conditions. The latter would speed up bone diagenesis and deterioration of artefacts. Indicators of these processes are recorded in the fill with traces of organic input resulting from the degradation of bone and other organic materials buried in the grave.