In our latest blog, archaeobotanist and current PhD student at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology, Anna den Hollander, explains recent experiments in crop planting and processing taking place over the summer here at Butser.

Our current Agriculture Experiment at Butser Ancient Farm has a dual aim: first, to understand microwear on lithic tools used in the harvest of crops and second, to get experimental evidence for the kind of weed assemblages favoured by different harvesting methods. The project is being carried out here at Butser Ancient farm, where a Late Neolithic/Bronze Age pasture has been recreated growing spring spelt (Triticum spelta sp.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare sp.) – two grains that were once the main staples in Europe but are hardly used today. The seeds were kindly provided to us by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) and Dove’s farm. They were sown on the 15th of April of this year. The field is currently flourishing, and we are looking forward to harvest the crops at the end of July/beginning of August depending on their growth.

The study of lithic microwear, carried out in this experiment by Dr. Ivana Jovanović in collaboration with Prof. Ulrike Sommer (UCL), is a technique primarily used to understand stone tool function, allowing researchers to identify past behaviours through microscopic traces left on lithic material culture. The original microwear study was done at Butser Ancient Farm by Peter Reynolds, Butler’s first director, so 50 years after the founding of Butser it is great to be expanding on this early work. By using handmade replicas of Neolithic/Bronze Age lithic harvesting tools to reap the spelt and barley crops, and studying the traces of the silica in the stems, we hope to create more accurate reference material to identify similar use wear on archaeological lithic blades. Similar studies have been caried out for Near Eastern Neolithic and Epipaleolithic contexts, but Bronze Age microwear remains understudied especially in grasses such as spelt. Analysis will be carried out at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology in collaboration with Dr. Michael Charlton.

Figure 1 & 2: (1, left) Dr. Ivana Jovanović sowing spelt at Butser farm, 15 April 2023 (2, right) Anna den Hollander identifying weeds in the field of barley, 16 June 2023. Photo: Anna den Hollander and Ulrike Sommer.

The study of weeds in association with agricultural practices is one of the cornerstones of archaeobotanical research. Ancient weed assemblages can inform us of growing conditions, harvesting practices, and crop processing post-harvest, to name but a few. This project provides us with a unique opportunity to study weed growth over a longer period of time. Archaeobotanical analysis will be carried out in collaboration with my supervisor Prof. Dorian Q. Fuller and Dr. Chris Stevens at UCL. At the moment, the weed assemblage study is focusing on identifying the natural seedbank at Butser Ancient Farm, with initial analysis showing legacy weeds of woad and oats – sown into the field a couple of years ago – and the rapeseeds from neighbouring fields.

The harvest this year will be our pilot study: an opportunity to improve on our research design and continue the project into the upcoming years. We believe this is an unique project not only to advance the study of lithics and ancient harvesting practices and their effects on weed assemblages, but also to potentially investigate the resilience of ancient farming practices in a changing climate.