I Gamla Uppsala har det förekommit arkeologiska utgrävningar i omgångar i flera år och decennier då platsen är känd för att ha varit bebodd så långt bak i tiden som järnåldern. Den senaste utgrävningen utfördes i samband med bygget av en järnvägstunnel som är en del av Ostkustbanan. Arkeologiska utgrävningar har delvis syftet att ta reda på hur folk har levt på en plats dvs. vilka grödor som odlades, vilka redskap som användes osv. För att få fram information från förhistoriska boplatser använder arkeologerna sig av olika metoder. En av dessa metoder är makrofossilanalys. Makrofossilanalys går ut på att fröer av bland annat sädesslag och ogräs extraheras, kvantifieras och artbestäms. Denna metod har legat till grund för detta projekt i syfte att funktionsbestämma tre hus från en järnåldersboplats i Gamla Uppsala. Metoden visade sig vara väldigt användbar i detta projekt då resultatet i viss utsträckning har kunnat användas för funktionsbestämning men det blev uppenbart att metoden enbart ger antydningar och fungerar bäst i kombination med andra metoder exempelvis fosfatanalys i en kombination med en tolkning av det övriga arkeologiska materialet. / There have been several excavations in Old Uppsala over the years and decades since the area has been inhabited since the Iron Age. The most recent excavation took place in connection with the construction of a railway tunnel, which is a part of the East Link project. The object of an archaeological excavation is to obtain information about the way in which previous civilizations lived in a specific location, what kind of crops were cultivated, what kind of tool were being used, and so forth. In order to obtain information about prehistoric settlements, archaeologists use a variety of different methods. One of these methods is called macrofossil analysis. By using macrofossil analysis, seeds and cereals, in the shape of macrofossils, can be extracted from soil samples. By analysing macrofossils, it is possible to obtain information about buildings and thereby establishing their purposes, for instance residence, barn, and so forth. In this thesis work, macrofossil analysis was used as a way to establish the different functions of three buildings from an Iron Age settlement in Old Uppsala.

<p>In order to explore site formations and reconstruct environmental development in Medieval and Post-Medieval towns, urban occupational strata in Norrköping and Karlstad were studied according to biostratigraphy, sedimentology and pedology. New field procedures including continuous pilot sampling, parallel archaeological and geological stratigraphic interpretation, and on-site analysis of plant macrofossils were developed and applied at archaeological excavations in both towns. Representation of both disciplines in the field during excavations greatly contributed to more complete field interpretations.</p><p>Stratigraphical analyses indicate that geological processes have been active in both towns, and reveal similarities in site formation. The earliest proto-urban phase is represented by the presence of dark earths, formed by the combination of alluvial processes and cattle tramping. Alluvial processes were common in Karlstad due to the flooding of the river delta, and in Norrköping due to the sloping topography. Both situations were enhanced by human activity, which caused drainage problems. A significant change in composition and origin of house foundation fill was also noted. The oldest foundations contained fine-grained material of local origin in contrast to younger foundations, which contained coarser material, sometimes of regional origin. This is interpreted as a professionalisation of the urban building tradition, which in Norrköping occurred during the 16th century and in Karlstad during the 18th century. Site formations of urban strata are regulated by three major factors: deposition, post-depositional soil formation and erosion/truncation, which all may occur both culturally and naturally.</p><p>Plant macrofossil analyses in Norrköping and Karlstad resulted in a fossil record with a total amount of 203 and 169 different types of plant species and taxa respectively. The records indicate that site formation processes seem to have been inhibited during wintertime. The results also confirm the idea of the early Scandinavian towns as rural, also during the Post-Medieval time. The finds of cultural plants in Karlstad indicate 18th century cultivation of Fragaria moscata and 17th century import of Pimento officinalis. In Norrköping remains of beer additives confirm that the tradition of combining Humulus lupulus and Myrica gale disappeared after the 15th century, but also indicate a the use of Filipendula ulmaria as a beer addative. Finds of seeds from Nicotiana rustica suggests that tobacco cultivation occurred in Norrköping 1560-1640, which is some decades earlier than known so far in Sweden.</p>

In order to explore site formations and reconstruct environmental development in Medieval and Post-Medieval towns, urban occupational strata in Norrköping and Karlstad were studied according to biostratigraphy, sedimentology and pedology. New field procedures including continuous pilot sampling, parallel archaeological and geological stratigraphic interpretation, and on-site analysis of plant macrofossils were developed and applied at archaeological excavations in both towns. Representation of both disciplines in the field during excavations greatly contributed to more complete field interpretations. Stratigraphical analyses indicate that geological processes have been active in both towns, and reveal similarities in site formation. The earliest proto-urban phase is represented by the presence of dark earths, formed by the combination of alluvial processes and cattle tramping. Alluvial processes were common in Karlstad due to the flooding of the river delta, and in Norrköping due to the sloping topography. Both situations were enhanced by human activity, which caused drainage problems. A significant change in composition and origin of house foundation fill was also noted. The oldest foundations contained fine-grained material of local origin in contrast to younger foundations, which contained coarser material, sometimes of regional origin. This is interpreted as a professionalisation of the urban building tradition, which in Norrköping occurred during the 16th century and in Karlstad during the 18th century. Site formations of urban strata are regulated by three major factors: deposition, post-depositional soil formation and erosion/truncation, which all may occur both culturally and naturally. Plant macrofossil analyses in Norrköping and Karlstad resulted in a fossil record with a total amount of 203 and 169 different types of plant species and taxa respectively. The records indicate that site formation processes seem to have been inhibited during wintertime. The results also confirm the idea of the early Scandinavian towns as rural, also during the Post-Medieval time. The finds of cultural plants in Karlstad indicate 18th century cultivation of Fragaria moscata and 17th century import of Pimento officinalis. In Norrköping remains of beer additives confirm that the tradition of combining Humulus lupulus and Myrica gale disappeared after the 15th century, but also indicate a the use of Filipendula ulmaria as a beer addative. Finds of seeds from Nicotiana rustica suggests that tobacco cultivation occurred in Norrköping 1560-1640, which is some decades earlier than known so far in Sweden.

Gamla Uppsala is a spectacular area filled with archeological remains dating back to the Iron Age. There have been several excavations in the area, the biggest one carried out between 2012 and 2013 with the construction of a tunnel that is a part of the railroad Ostkustbanan.An important tool in understanding the Iron Age civilization in Gamla Uppsala is to know what houses were used for. This is where a method called macrofossil analysis can be used with great success. By analyzing earth samples from postholes, graves, wells and hearths macrofossils like seeds and slag can be found and used to interpret a house based on the material.This study is going to use samples that were not prioritized during the excavations for the analysis in order to answer what function these houses had.The macrofossil analysis conducted during this study showed a lot of fresh seeds but also charred material that consisted mostly of grain seeds. An interpretation of the houses using the material found within the earth samples was made and the postholes was likely dwelling houses.Hopefully this study can contribute to a further understanding of Gamla Uppsala during the Iron Ages.

The area at and around the Falun copper mine has always been of great interest. To begin with it was the valuable ore that drew people to the area. Now it is the historical, archaeological and environmental aspects that draw researchers from different fields of study to Falun. Peat cores were taken in several peatlands throughout an area extending toward about 2 kilometres to the west, southwest and south of the Falun mine. One core was selected for more extensive studies including plant macrofossil analysis, loss on ignition (LOI) and 14C – analysis. These methods are combined to give a picture of the environmental conditions at different periods in time, using plants and their preferred growth environment as an aid. The untouched environment changing into the well-known mining landscape that prevailed in the hey-day of the mine, with the change being the focal point, is the reason for this study.The cores presented in this thesis generally show lake areas drying up and transforming into peatlands, some peatlands may however have been formed in other ways. The location chosen for further studies is now almost transformed to a forest floor. This study provides a solid foundation for further studies as well as adds more information to existing knowledge. However, more research is needed to fully understand how the environment changed due to the opening of the mine. / Området vid och runt Falu koppargruva har alltid varit av stort intresse. Till en början var det den dyrbara malmen som lockade människor till platsen. Numer är det de historiska, arkeologiska och miljörelaterade aspekterna som lockar forskare från olika forskningsfält hit. Torvkärnor togs från flera torvmarker inom ett område som sträcker sig ungefär 2 kilometer i väst-, sydväst-, och sydlig riktning från Falu gruva. En torvkärna valdes ut för mer omfattande undersökningar, dessa inkluderar växt-makrofossil-analys, LOI och 14C – analys. Dessa metoder kombineras för att få en bild av de rådande miljöförhållandena vid olika tidpunkter, genom att använda växters föredragna växtplats som hjälp. Det är hur den orörda naturen förändrats till det välkända gruvlandskapet som rådde under gruvans storhetstid, med förändringen i centrum, som är anledningen till denna studie.Torvkärnorna som visas i denna rapport visar i stort sett hur sjömiljöer torkat ut och förändrats till våtmarker, vissa våtmarker kan dock ha utvecklats på annat sätt. Den plats som valdes ut för vidare studier har idag nästan helt omvandlats till skogsmark. Denna studie ger en stadig grund för vidare studier och tillför viss information till den redan befintliga. Det behövs dock mer forskning för att fullt ut förstå de miljöförändringar som gruvdriften medförde.

Moore in Südafrika sind wichtige, aber bedrohte Ökosysteme. Etwa 20.200 ha, zwei Drittel der südafrikanischen Moore, befinden sich auf der Maputaland Coastal Plain. Eukalyptusplantagen und gängige Anbaumethoden, die Dränung beinhalten, bedrohen die Existenz der Moore. Ein besseres Verständnis von Prozessen und Eigenschaften der Moore Maputalands ist dringend erforderlich, um effektive Schutzstrategien zu entwickeln. Diese Dissertation untersucht die Moorbildung in Maputaland aus einer bodenkundlichen Perspektive, um Voraussetzungen für effektive Schutzmaßnahmen und Renaturierungsmaßnahmen abzuleiten sowie Ratschläge für nachhaltigere Anbaumethoden auszuarbeiten. Per Großrestanalyse wurden Moor- und Torfbildungsprozesse untersucht. Auf Grundlage von 141 in Feldarbeit untersuchten Bodenprofilen wurden 15 unterschiedliche Moorsubstrate beschrieben und in genetische Substratgruppen sowie botanische Torftypen kategorisiert. Für diese Substrate wurden die folgenden physikalischen und chemischen Bodeneigenschaften bestimmt: Kohlenstoffgehalt, C/N Verhältnis, elektrische Leitfähigkeit, pH-Wert, Trockenrohdichte, Porenverteilung, gesättigte und ungesättigte hydraulische Leitfähigkeit sowie maximaler kapillarer Aufstieg. Zudem wurden die Auswirkungen von Degradierung auf die physischen und chemischen Eigenschaften der Moore untersucht. Hierfür wurden die eben benannten Kenngrößen für Substrate in verschiedenen Degradierungsstufen gemessen. Auf Grundlage der Veränderungen der Bodeneigenschaften werden die Verluste von Ökosystemfunktionen durch Degradierung diskutiert. Anhand der Häufigkeit der Substrattypen in den unterschiedlichen hydrogeomorphologischen Moortypen werden angepasste Empfehlungen für Schutz, Renaturierung und nachhaltigere landwirtschaftliche Nutzung der Moore erarbeitet, basierend auf den ermittelten Substrateigenschaften. Darüber hinaus werden auf Grundlage aktueller Klimaprognosen zukünftige Stresssituationen für die Moore durch den Klimawandel analysiert. / Peatlands in South Africa are important and threatened ecosystems. They are of great socio-ecological significance, as sources of freshwater, fertile land, material for construction, medicinal plants, habitat for specialised plants and animals, and as an attraction for ecotourists. Some 20.200 ha, about two thirds of South Africa’s peatlands, are located at the Maputaland Coastal Plain. Eucalyptus plantations and common cultivation practices which include drainage are threatening the existence of the peatlands. This dissertation investigates peatland formation in Maputaland from a soil-related point of view, in order to identify the requirements for effective conservation and restoration measures, as well as more sustainable cultivation practices. Insights into peat formation processes were obtained through a macrofossil analysis. Based on the field examination of 141 soil profiles, 15 different peatland substrates were described and categorised into genetic substrate groups, and botanical peat types. Mean values for the following physical and chemical properties were determined for each substrate: Carbon content, C/N ratio, electrical conductivity, pH-value, bulk density, pore size distribution, saturated hydraulic conductivity, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and maximum capillary rise. Moreover, the effect of degradation on the physical and chemical properties of South African peatlands was explored. Therefore, the aforementioned properties were measured for substrates at different degrees of degradation. Based on the changes in the soil properties thus established, the loss of ecosystem functions through degradation is discussed. By considering the frequency of occurrence of the substrate types in different hydrogeomorphic peatland types, adapted implications for conservation, restoration and cultivation are derived. In addition, based on the actual projections of climate change, estimations about future stress on the peatlands were derived.