Celtic field research has so far been strongly focused on prospection and mapping. As a result of this there is a serious lack of knowledge of formation and land-use processes of these fields. This article describes a methodological case study in The Netherlands that may be applied to other European Celtic fields in the future. By interdisciplinary use of pedological, palynological and micromorphological research methods the authors were able to discern five development stages in the history of the field, dating from the late Bronze Age to the early Roman Period. There are strong indications that the earthen ridges, very typical for Celtic fields in the sandy landscapes of north-west Europe, were only formed in the later stages of Celtic field agriculture (late Iron Age and early Roman period). They were the result of a determined raising of the surface by large-scale transportation of soil material from the surroundings of the fields. Mainly the ridges were intensively cultivated and manured in the later stages of Celtic field cultivation. In the late Iron Age a remarkable shift in Celtic field agriculture took place from an extensive system with long fallow periods, a low level of manuring and extensive soil tillage to a more intensive system with shorter fallow periods, a more intensive soil tillage and a higher manuring intensity. There are also strong indications that rye (Secale cereale) was the main crop in the final stage of Celtic field agriculture.

The degree of root-soil contact was evaluated from thin sections for maize grown in pots with soil aggregates packed at three bulk densities. Root-soil contact was found to increase with bulk density of the soil. For soils with a porosity of 60, 51 and 44% (v/v), the average fraction of root-soil contact was 60, 72 and 87%, respectively. The frequency distribution of nearest-neighbour distances from points in a void to the nearest point of the soil matrix was measured. This was then used for a statistical test of a null hypothesis of random positioning of roots in voids. Where roots grew in larger pores or voids the degree of root-soil contact was greater than expected for random positioning of roots. Possible mechanisms of the observed preference of roots for proximity to the soil, and higher root-soil contact are discussed.

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