ИСТИНА

Phytolith analysis, from the first application to study the genesis of Russian chernozems in 1850, has been successfully used in soil science, paleoecology, botany, and archaeology. And although the latter has been actively using the achievements of the method since the 1970s, phytolith analysis still remains unknown to the vast majority of archaeologists in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, phytoliths are an essential source of information different from that provided by the study of pollen. While palynological research gives a general insight into plant growth in the region around settlements, phytoliths (plant cell silica copies) present data on the plant species grown, eaten, and used on the settlement itself. This information is contained in the old living layer, as well as in pits (working places and waste pits), postholes, ditches, etc. Microbiomorphic method of analysis, as a follow up of the phytolith analysis, combines data on phytoliths and other microbiomorphs (ex. plant detritus, diatoms, fungi, etc.) determined in archaeological samples, which further expands the scope of palaeoecological information. Microbiomorphic analysis was applied as a pilot project to the study of the Voorthuizen-Wikselaarseweg archaeological site, dated to Iron Age and Roman times, located in the central part of the Netherlands. 34 samples have been collected and processed according to the standard sample treatment technique (Golyeva, 2008). All samples were found to be suitable for analysis, with a sufficient number of microbiomorphs. The study results clarify the available archaeological information on the site and provide new insight on the anthropogenic impact on the landscape manifesting the existence of several phases and types of anthropogenic use of the territory. The research also demonstrates the applicability of microbiomorhic (phytolith) analysis in the case of sandy archaeological