Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Hidden Gallo-Roman agrarian landscapes from the ‘Biterrois’ (southern France): combined evidence from archaeobotany and archaeology
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Pollen data and other archaeobotanical remains from the middle ages in wallonia (southern Belgium): A review
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Sur les traces de nos ancêtres préhistoriques
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Analyses palynologiques de Harmignies (Néolithique récent, Hainaut)
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Analyses palynologiques tests de Hermalle-sous-Argenteau « Le Potay » et « Au Buisson » (Protohistorique, Liège)
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Analyses palynologiques à l’Abbaye de Clairefontaine Les « Cuisines » (Moyen-Âge, Luxembourg)
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Rapport d’étude carpologique et palynologique de l’abbaye cistercienne de Clairefontaine Les latrines (XVIIIe siècle)
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Cave palynology as a tool for vegetation and climate change reconstructions during the Middle Paleolithic: Myth or reality?
- Pollen analysis has been, and still is, one of the most widely used techniques in Quaternary sciences, especially to reconstruct vegetation history and climate variability. Fossil deposits of accumulating plants, such as peat sediments, were very early investigated as they are particularly suitable for the reception, storage and conservation of palynomorphs. Thanks to successive methodological innovations, palynological analyses then gradually developed by multiplying studies of diverse more mineral sedimentary materials (lake, stream and/or marine sediments, loess deposits, travertine, etc.). These new efficient techniques also led to an interest in archaeological sediments, allowing palaeoenvironmental reconstructions where no adequate Quaternary continental sedimentary records are available. Soon after the mid-20th century, caves and rock-shelters became then the favored studied places in karstic areas to approach the environment of prehistoric humans. However, the pollen record in caves is a complex phenomenon in which multiple geological, biological and atmospheric factors are involved and could lead to some distortions and discontinuities in the pollen assemblages. When not perceived, these pitfalls have sometimes generated some over or misinterpretations. After a keen interest, cave sediment sequences were thus considered as unattractive, presenting lot of alterations, difficult to correlate and with a low palaeoenvironmental potential. The validity and scope of the interpretation of palynological data from this type of deposits are still highly controversial and debatable. In Belgium, a systematic program of detailed stratigraphic recordings from caves associated with various palaeoenvironmental analyses has recently been undertaken in close collaboration with researchers from different disciplines. The objective was to better understand the sedimentary dynamics of these fillings and to test their potential as recorders of Quaternary climatic variations. In that context, new pollen data from two Belgian caves have been acquired and open new prospects for research work in this type of environments. In this paper, we present the state of the art of cave palynology, including the different parameters defining pollen taphonomy, the potentials and the limits of pollen analysis on Quaternary cave deposits. Through the examples of the caves Walou and Scladina, we show that good palynological results can be obtained in these contexts. These records are compared and evaluated in the light of multidisciplinary palaeoecological information from these two prehistoric settlements. When precautions are taken and a close link with geology and archaeology is maintained, local environment of the prehistoric populations, but also major trends in vegetation evolution and climate change during the Middle Paleolithic, can be accurately documented by pollen records from cave sequences.
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WALOU CAVE (TROOZ): AN EXCEPTIONAL SEQUENCE FROM THE BELGIAN PALAEOLITHIC
- Located some 10 km at the south-east of Liège the Walou cave entrance faces the north-west, 25 m above the Magne, a tributary of the Vesdre river. Excavations were conducted at the site from 1985 to 1990 and then from 1996 to 2004, revealing numerous successive prehistoric occupations. Its extensive stratigraphic sequence is the best documented for a Belgian Upper Pleistocene karst site. Thanks to a multidisciplinary approach the chronostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the occupations is well understood. Out of the 45 layers of the sequence 25 yielded archaeological material. There are traces of the Neolithic (Layer A2) and the Mesolithic (Layers A4 and A5) at the top. The cave also revealed several Upper Palaeolithic occupations: Federmesser (Layer B1), Gravettian (Layer B5) and Aurignacian (Layer CI-1). The lower half of the sequence, which encompasses the Last Interglacial and the Weichselian Early Glacial, includes 9 Mousterian occupations; 6 reworked layers also yielded some artefacts from that culture. A Neandertal tooth was found in Layer CI-8, which contains the richest Mousterian occupation of the site. All lithic material was made from flint probably sourced in secondary position near the cave. Only the Gravettian and Aurignacian occupations yielded other man-made materials: antler spearheads and animal and mineral non-utilitarian artefacts from the Aurignacian. Numerous faunal remains were also found; among them: cave bear, cave hyena, horse, fox, bison/aurochs, woolly rhinoceros, deer, mammoth, chamois, hare, small rodents and a few birds. The study of the fish remains revealed that fishing took place at the site, as much during the Middle Palaeolithic as during the Upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic.
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The settlement of the Cistercian abbey of Villers-la-Ville in the Thyle valley (Dyle tributary) during the 12th century: Archaeobotanical approaches.
- The Cistercian abbey of Villers-la-Ville, situated between Brussels, Charleroi and Namur in Belgium, was founded in the 12th century and abandoned after the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. The construction, architecture and distribution of buildings, courtyard and gardens of the abbey are recognized as very remarkable and exceptional. The site has also been classified as historical monument and remarkable site in 1972. The ruins of the abbey of Villers-la-Ville has been excavated for a long time. Since the end of the 19th century, it has been punctually excavated by some architects and religious. However, all of these results have never been published. It is only from 1985 that, thanks to the work of the Governance of Buildings to the consolidation of the ruins of the abbey, ongoing and regular excavations are undertaken. Indeed, since then, the History Center of Architecture and Building assumes an archaeological mission to support this project and since 1988 the Archaeological Service of Wallonia has excavated many parts of the site. While most of these excavations concern the architecture of buildings, for their restoration and rehabilitation, none of them, up to now, was interested in the period before and during the settlement: Why did the monks choose this site? How was the natural environment when they arrived? And how the abbey’ settlement affect this environment? To answer this question, several archaeobotanical analyses (pollen, fruit and seeds, wood and wood charcoal) have been undertaken for the first time in two different sectors of the abbey. The samples come from mechanical deep coring which have recently been done at the Gate of Brussels, the main gatehouse situated at the western part of the abbey, and at the former major mill situated more at the south.
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Villers-le-Bouillet : occupations antiques et du Haut Moyen Âge « a Lohincou »
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Intergrating micromorphology and archaeobotany to unravel the function of archaeological structure. The example of the Petite Rue des Bouchers (Brussels, Belgium)
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Il était une fois Clairefontaine: Le quotidien des nonnes d'une abbaye cistercienne au 18ème siècle
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A reconstruction of middle Holocene alluvial hardwood forests (Lower Scheldt River, northern Belgium) and their exploitation during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition period (Swifterbant Culture, ca. 4500 – 4000 BC).
- The analysis of a large number of charcoal fragments from fire places from a wetland camp site of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition period (Swifterbant culture) now permits a detailed reconstruction of a middle Holocene riverine forest along the Lower Scheldt River (northern Belgium) and its exploitation between ca. 4,500 and 4,000 BC. The identified taxa point towards an alluvial hardwood forest (Querco-Ulmetum minoris Issler 1924) on the sand dune on which the camp site was situated, surrounded by alder carr. The results are compared with palynological and macrobotanical analyses from the same site and from contemporary sites within the area; the complementarity of these different types of data is discussed. The combination of all these datasets results in a detailed reconstruction of the environment and of its exploitation by the Swifterbant culture. The results also show that the Swifterbant people not only depended on these sand ridges for dry settlement locations, but also for firewood collection, gathering of edible plants and most probably for the collection of leaf fodder to feed livestock during winter time.
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Towards a better knowledge and protection of biodiversity in Africa using Web 2.0 technologies
- For more than 10 years, thanks to funding provided by the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD), the Belgian Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) team of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), has been helping its partner countries in the South develop their national CHM networks. In 2003, the European Union adopted the PTK (Portal Toolkit): a Content Management System that allows to develop national CHM websites in Europe. The PTK is released under the Mozilla Public License. It is a free and open source software, that allows multi user-generated content. It includes collaborative tools managed through the Web, such as discussion forums, consultations and surveys. With the PTK, users can: • Mobilize networks of experts through a user-friendly content management system • Raise public awareness by uploading short films, photos and presentations • Communicate biodiversity by state-of-the-art mapping services using YAHOO backgrounds and Google Earth exports • Prepare for biodiversity reporting by using public content contribution, user discussion forum, public consultation tools, survey tools and syndication • Collaborate in technical and scientific projects with modern web standards • Connect biodiversity databases. Belgium has been using the PTK for its national CHM website (http://www.biodiv.be/) for 10 years. More than 30 countries in Africa use the PTK for their national websites (such as Benin, Madagascar, Morocco, etc.), see full list here (http://www.biodiv.be/cooperation/chm_coop/chm-partnering/part_country). The national website URLs are as follows: country code + .chm-cbd.net. For instance, for Niger, the URL is http://ne.chm-cbd.net. The Belgian CHM hosts the national CHM websites of its partner countries on its server and offers training courses for the development and maintenance of these websites. Distance learning manuals on the use of the PTK have been developed by the Belgian CHM team for the last 4 years. The manuals are developed both in English and French. They are available on a training website: http://training.biodiv.be/formationptk. This website is used for distance learning for our partners and for any other interested party but also for blended learning. Two weeks before a face-to-face training in a partner country, all future trainees are invited to: • surf their national CHM website; • read a basic manual that introduces the PTK and the CHM; • create a user account on the training website.
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What is inside this pit? Micro- and macrofaunal investigations at Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Ovçular Tepesi (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan )
- The site of Ovçular Tepesi is located in the southern Caucasus (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic). Two main archaeological phases were recognised at the settlement, namely Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. More than 1160 litres of soil samples from pits and circular stone structures belonging to the different occupation layers were processed by flotation and analysed. This paper focuses on the zoological finds from these samples, in particular the remains of fish, large mammals and micromammals, in order to determine the function of the pits and structures. Moreover, the material gives an insight into the animal economy, hunting and fishing practices of the inhabitants, as well as the local environment. Thus far, it could not be established whether the differences detected in the species composition between the phases are related to chronology alone or if other factors, such as sample sizes and type of deposits, also played a role. Fish bones were very frequent at the site with cyprinids dominating. Among the large mammals, domestic animals were the most frequent while hunted species were rare. Sheep and goat herding seems to have been the principal subsistence strategy at this site. The small mammal community is composed of synanthropic taxa and, as a consequence, the species diversity was very low (six taxa). House mouse was the most abundant in each feature on the site.
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Keihard bedreigd erfgoed – de kassei : de geschiedenis van onze steden met de voeten getreden
- SAMENVATTING. Het verlies aan kassei-patrimonium in België en Nederland is schrijnend zowel in historische stadscen- tra en op plattelandswegen als op erven of binnenpleinen van private gebouwen. Bij de herinrichting van autoluwe stadsker- nen wordt een vernieuwde belangstelling opgemerkt voor het gebruik van kasseien, maar hier worden eerder importstenen gebruikt, actueel voornamelijk van Aziatische oorsprong. De essentiële kwaliteiten van kasseien zijn de lage impact op het milieu als natuurproduct tijdens de hele levensduur en hun inbreng in de opwaardering van het stedelijk gebouwde patrimo- nium. Historische Belgische straatstenen zijn erg divers van samenstelling en eigenschappen, en bezitten een unieke en onver- vangbare geodiversiteitswaarde. Vervanging door gestandaardiseerde importsteen draagt zo bij tot de banalisering van de openbare ruimtes. Er is nood aan praktische handleidingen voor het materiaalgebruik en de uitvoeringswijze van kasseibestra- tingen in onze historische centra. Dit wordt duidelijk aangetoond door de huidige en in deze publicatie beschreven situatie van de stadscentra van Brussel, Ciney, Leuven en Gent in België én door de gevalstudie van het Marktplein van Geertruidenberg, één van de oudste natuurstenen bestratingen van Nederland, die tot op de dag van vandaag dreigt te verdwijnen en uitgevoerd te worden in andere materialen. Uit het geheel wordt een algemene nood bemerkt aan sensibilisering bij de burger alsook de overheden van het feit dat authenticiteit een prijs heeft en tegengesteld is aan vlakheid en soms ook aan gebruiksgemak. ABSTRACT. The loss of cobblestone pavements in historical city centres, on traditional roads in the countryside, on farmyards and inner courts of private buildings deprives the built heritage in Belgium and the Netherlands of its hori- zontal dimension. Although there is a renewed interest in cobblestones for the renovation of city centres, most often, imported stones are used, especially of Asian origin. The principal qualities of cobblestones as a natural product are their low environmental impact during their entire life cycle and their positive contribution to the overall quality of the built heritage. Historic Belgian cobblestones have very diverse compositions and characteristics, and they possess unique and irreplaceable geodiversity values. Replacement by standardized imported stone contributes to the trivialization of public places. There is a need for practical guidelines to describe the materials to be used and to specify how to use the material for traditional cobblestone pavements. The urgency is demonstrated in this paper by case studies from the city centres of Brussels, Ciney, Louvain and Ghent in Belgium and of the market place of Geertruidenberg. The latter is one of the oldest natural stone pavements of the Netherlands, which is threatened to be lost and to be replaced by other materials. In particular, there is a need to raise public awareness and to raise awareness of the authorities stressing the fact that authen- ticity has a certain price and that this may be contradictory to commonplace and to user demand.
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Diestiaan ijzerzandsteen: de erfgoedsteen van het Hageland
- SAMENVATTING. Een donkerbruine, ijzerhoudende zandsteen tekent het landschap en de karakteristieke archi- tectuur van het Hageland, het oostelijk deel van de provincie Vlaams-Brabant. Deze regio wordt gekenmerkt door een heuvelachtig landschap, waar in Romeinse tijden op de zuidelijk gerichte flanken al wijn werd verbouwd. Op de talrijke heuveltoppen, stille getuigen van versteende zandbanken in de Laat-Miocene zee die het landschap in lang vervlogen tijden overspoelde, komen donkerbruine lagen van ijzerzandsteen voor. Al sinds de vroege Middeleeuwen werd deze steen voor lokaal gebruik ontgonnen, waaruit later de voor de streek typische ‘Demergotiek’ ontstond. De ijzerzandsteen is zeer heterogeen en gevoelig voor verwering. Over het algemeen betreft het een bouwmateriaal met een lage druksterkte, zeker in vergelijking met Gobertange, Lede- of Doornikse steen. De hedendaagse restauratie van deze karakteristieke architectuur wordt geconfronteerd met diverse problemen: natuursteenherstelling is omwille van de donkere kleur minder evident en vaak niet duurzaam, beschikbare reserves zijn zeer beperkt en er zijn geen actieve steengroeves. Een maximale conservering van het authentieke materiaal, geheel in overeenkomst met het Charter van Venetië overigens, dient daarom vaak vooropgesteld. Materiaaltechnisch onderzoek van ijzerzandsteen, gelicht uit gesteentelagen in vijf sites, was noodzakelijk om de wisselende kenmerken van deze natuursteen beter te interpreteren vanuit zijn geologische diversiteit, teneinde de inzetbaarheid als bouwmateriaal te kunnen evalueren. Bovendien werd bestudeerd in hoeverre een mogelijke steen- verstevigende behandeling door middel van ethylsilicaat (TEOS) van ijzerzandsteen tot een verbetering van zijn duur- zaamheid zou kunnen leiden. ABSTRACT. Diest ferruginous sandstone, heritage stone of the Hageland. A dark-brown ferruginous sandstone characterizes the landscape and the typical architecture of the Hageland, the eastern part of the Belgian province Flemish Brabant. The landscape of this region is recognised by an alternation of hills. The southern flanks of these hills are well-suited for cultivating wine, something the Romans already learned some two thousand years ago. On these numerous hill tops, the silent witnesses of petrified shoals from the Diestian sea which overran the landscape long ago, dark-brown layers of ferruginous sandstone occur. Already in the Middle Ages, this stone has been quarried for local use which gradually led to the development of a specific architecture, also known as Demer Gothic. This ferruginous sandstone is however very heterogeneous and sensitive to weathering. In general, it is considered a rather weak building material, especially in comparison with other typical local building materials such as Gobertange, Lede or Tournais stones. However, the restoration of this characteristic architecture is nowadays confronted with various problems: the use of repair mortars is because of the dark color less evident and often not durable, available reserves are restricted and there are actually no active quarries. A maximal conservation of the authentic material, fully in agreement with the Charter of Venice, is hence often required as a premise. Material-technical research of fer- ruginous sandstone, retrieved from sedimentary beds from five locations, was deemed necessary to describe the vary- ing characteristics of this stone within its geological context in order to evaluate the possibility to use the material for restoration purposes. In addition, the effect of a consolidation treatment of the ferruginous sandstone with ethylsilicate (TEOS) to ameliorate its durability was examined.
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Natuursteengebruik als urbanisatie-indicator stadskern Leuven
- SAMENVATTING. Natuursteen is een duurzaam element in de bouwgeschiedenis en als zodanig een goede indicator voor bouwjaar, stijl en mogelijke renovatie. Natuursteengebruik wordt doorgaans geanalyseerd vanuit typologie, scha- depathologie, marktpenetratie of geografische verspreiding. Hieruit kunnen trends worden gehaald over aanwending en waardering. Informatie over de globale impact van natuursteengebruik in het straatbeeld, daarin inbegrepen de ver- naculaire woningbouw, ontbreekt. Om hieraan tegemoet te komen werd een systematische inventarisatie uitgevoerd van het natuursteengebruik in gevels van gebouwen gelegen binnen een historische stadskern. De Leuvense binnen- stad leende zich uitstekend voor dit onderzoek omdat er vrijwel continu is gebouwd gedurende de 19de en 20ste eeuw, zonder uitgesproken dominante stijlen of materialen. Kwalitatieve kenmerken zoals natuursteengebruik, bouwjaar en –stijl werden ingevoerd in een GIS bestand zodat de evolutie van het materiaalgebruik kan worden gekoppeld aan de voortschrijdende verstedelijking. Dit laat tevens toe pijnpunten inzake conservering of verwaarlozing vast te stellen. SUMMARY. Natural stone use as an indicator for urbanisation of the historical city centre of Leuven (Louvain). The use of natural stone for building follows trends depending on changes in availability and appreciation, but is generally analysed in selected historical buildings for specific issues such as typology, market penetration, geographi- cal distribution or decay. Belgian historical cities are showcases of natural stones, even if these are not dominating the cityscape. Because of its durability, natural stone is a conservative construction element reflecting the building history, hence can be used as a proxy for age, style and renovation. In order to assess the architectural impact of natural stone use on the street view, a systematic inventory of natural stone occurrence, including the vernacular, has been made for the historical city centre of Leuven. This city centre has been built up throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, without a clear dominance of styles or materials. Qualitative properties, such as stone identification, its constructive or deco- rative use, age and style of the building were coupled with a GIS database of the buildings of the city of Leuven. This allows to link natural stone use to the progressive urbanisation and to highlight cases of neglect or in need of more suited conservation strategies.
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5de Vlaams-Nederlandse Natuursteendag 15-16.5.2014, Brussel Betekenisvol gebruik van natuursteen - Excursie natuursteengroeven langs de Maas 16.5.2014 Gidsboek
