Acta Palaeobot. 41(1): 69–81, 2001 Development of vegetation and settlement near Kopki in the Sandomierz Basin during the last 4000 years KRYSTYNA BAŁAGA1 and HALINA TARAS2 1 Department of Physical Geography and Palaeogeography, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, ul. Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland 2 Department of Archaeology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, pl. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 4, 20-031 Lublin, Poland Received 29 May 2001; accepted for publication 9 July 2001 ABSTRACT. The study is based on pollen analysis and radiocarbon datings of the organogenic deposits filling a palaeomeander in the San river valley near Kopki, and on archaeological material. The pollen diagram shows the vegetational changes during the late Holocene from ca. 3800 years 14C BP till recent times. The phases of increasing settlement recorded in the diagram were connected with the younger periods of the Bronze Age, the period of Roman influence and the early Middle Ages up to the present times. KEY WORDS: pollen analysis, history vegetation, late Holocene, settlement, Sandomierz Basin INTRODUCTION Searching for settlement traces recorded in called the Lower San Valley (Kondracki 1998) the pollen diagrams from the middle part of or the San Valley (Wojtanowicz 1990). Archae- the Sandomierz Basin was very difficult be- ological research covered also parts of the ad- cause of the small thickness of the organogenic jacent regions – the Tarnobrzeg Plain from the deposits near archaeological sites. The profile east, the Gre˛bów Plain and the Kolbuszowa of peat deposits in the Kopki environs came up Plateau from the west (Fig. 1). The extensive to expectations. Almost a four metres thick plateaux of the San river catchment are built profile was collected within the edge zone of of the Miocene Krakowiec clays overlain with the palaeomeander of the San river. It repre- Quaternary deposits. A distinctive feature of sents only the younger part of the Holocene the San river valley is a three-step system of but the results of the correlation of archaeo- terraces (Wojtanowicz 1978). The highest level logical, palynological and radiocarbon records is represented by the Pleistocene terrace (10– turned out to be interesting, also due to the 15 m) built mainly of sands from the Middle lack of such research in this region (comp. Ma- Polish Glacial which are overlain with a dis- makowa 1962). The preliminary results were continuous cover of sands and muds from the presented for the first time in the field sem- Last Glaciation on which dunes occur. The Ho- inar (Bałaga et al. 1997). locene higher terrace cuts in the Pleistocene terrace, built of silty and sandy alluvial soils, CHARACTERISTICS OF THE is a few metres lower (5–10 m); various sys- EXAMINED AREA tems of meanders have developed on its sur- GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY face (Szuman´ ski 1986). The flood terrace is rather narrow and discontinuous, 2–4 m high, The examined site is situated in the middle built mainly of channel sands, and sometimes part of the Sandomierz Basin i.e. in the region covered with sandy alluvial soils. 70 W Z K A UH ES a m S TE o œ L RN æ O D RO B P S Z a N a B T s O A n i O i £ ³ g CZ n L o r E A P a j M U P l M W SANDOMIERZ a i R Z B i ID ep E A n D rz I S L M S I E y a N R e O n T O a ll Z l a TH a T u V D R s t r O i r Grêbów C V e N i v v n Tane Z i e o w E R A Plain r la g tu S r is ó V y Kopki d e Krzeszów l l MIDDLE V a a V l EASTERN r l P e e l a v Kolbuszowa Plateau t y e i a u R a k o ³ h i a n Tro u g h Luba s o r e - C a r p a t czówka i F W F o r e - C Lubaczów - a r p RZESZÓW a t h - Javorov i a n L Plateau o e boundaries of ss provinces D P V l ist y a ula n t boundaries of F o ó e o w a Warszawa mesoregions t h u B i u l g boundaries of l s PRZEMYŒL regions S a n TH Tarnobrzeg Hump UH 0 100 km Urzêdów Height Fig. 1. Location of the examined site with relation to physiogeographical regions of south-eastern Poland SOILS fir-beech or mixed forests can be found on the highest morphological level, i.e. on plateaux. In the studied area alluvial soils, mainly We can found here Fagetum carpaticum, Quer- medium and heavy ones, predominate. Peaty co-Carpinetum and Pino-Quercetum forest and peaty-muck soils occupy very small sur- communities, while Carici elongatae-Alnetum faces. Sandy soils of various types (podzolic, glutinosae occurs in wet depressions and along brown podzolic and acid brown) prevail on the streams. The Pleistocene terrace is occupied Holocene higher terrace (Kursa et al. 1988). mainly by pine or mixed forests without beech Dobrzan´ ski and Malicki (1950) defined them and fir (Vaccinio myrtilli-Pinetum and Pino- as sands and clayey sands. Brown soils de- Quercetum), and by various types of mires and veloped on loamy sands, and pseudopodzolic meadows often overgrowing with osier or soils developed on light loamy sands, occur alder. Only single poplar trees occur on the fre- sporadically. quently flooded Holocene terraces, which are CLIMATE covered with willow thicket and meadow com- munities. In climatic regionalization (Gumin´ ski 1948, Romer 1949, Okołowicz 1973–1978) the Sando- SETTLEMENT HISTORY mierz Basin is divided into two parts: more According to archaeological research, the oceanic west and continental east where the settlement development in Kopki environs was examined site is situated. The mean tempera- discontinuous and not regular during the pre- ture of January is -3.5oC and of July 18oC, the historical and early-historical times. The mean annual precipitation about 670 mm. phases of intensified demographic and econ- RECENT VEGETATION omic development were interrupted by periods of reduced human activities. The oldest settle- The distribution of forest communities in ment near Kopki was connected with the late the Sandomierz Basin is connected with the Palaeolithic (Magdalenian and S´ widerska Cul- terrace relief (Szafer 1972). The remnants of tures) and dated at 14–11 ka BP or somewhat 71 earlier (Schild 1975, Kozłowski & Kozłowski is a local species, a simplified diagram was prepared 1977, Kozłowski 1989, Kaczanowski & Ko- with Alnus excluded from the total pollen sum. The research for the settlement remains from the złowski 1998). prehistorical times and the early Middle Ages was The stabilization of the forest environment made in the environs of Kopki, within a radius of at the beginning of the Holocene caused an es- about 10 km from the site in which the peat profile sential change in the way of life. It turned into was sampled. The surface examination of this area a specialised trapper’s hunting and fishing. was thoroughly made within the programme “Archae- ological Survey of Poland” (AZP)1, including also the Some groups of the people of the Mesolithic excavations though on a limited scale. Komornicka Culture coming from the west (Talar 1973) and, next, those of the Janisła- PROFILE DESCRIPTION wicka Culture (Czopek 1996b) occupied the re- gion in a relatively stable way. The profile is situated at the altitude of 162 m a.s.l., The first agricultural population (of the Lin- within a palaeomeander and near the Pleistocene ter- near Pottery Culture) arrived from the south race edge about 5 m high. at the close of the 6th millennium BC, and 0.00–1.00 mSedge peat, dark brown, moderately started cultivation of the loess soils in the decomposed, with Sphagnum and wood, nig. 2, strf. 0, elas.+, sicc. 2, lim S.0, Th23, Tb21, Rzeszów Foothills (Kadrow 1990). Therefore, Tl+ the examined area, lying northwards of the 1.00–2.17 m Wood-sedge peat, dark brown, strongly loess region, remained probably still being decomposed, nig. 2, strf. 0, elas.++, sicc. 2, 3 2 populated by the Late Mesolithic Janisławicka lim S.0, Th 3, Tl 1 Culture during the next millennium at least. 2.17–3.12 m Wood-sedge peat, dark brown, moderately decomposed, nig. 2, strf. 0, elas.+, sicc. 2, lim The agricultural population of the Funnel- S.0, Th23, Tl21 Beaker Culture settled in this area not before 3.12–3.17 m Silt, grey, nig. 1.5, strf. 0, elas. 0, sicc. 2, lim the first part of the fourth millennium BC. 2.0, Ag 4, Th+ The settlement in the Stone Age and in the 3.17–3.33 m Wood-sedge peat, dark brown, strongly decomposed, nig. 2, strf.++, elas.+, sicc. 2, lim Early Bronze Age was not intensive and S.0, Th33, Tl21 usually irregular. The intensive settlement de- 3.33–3.61 mSedge peat with silt, grey, strongly velopment occurred during the period marked decomposed, nig. 1.5, strf. 0, elas. 0, sicc. 2, 3 by the end of the 13th, which lasted till the be- lim S.0, Th 3, Ag 1 ginning of the 4th century BC and was con- 3.61–3.64 m Sedge peat with silt, dark brown, strongly decomposed, nig. 2, strf. 0, elas. 0, sicc. 2, lim nected with the Tarnobrzeska Group of the Lu- S.0, Th33, Ag 1 rd satian Culture.