Opal Phytoliths

An integrated micromorphological and phytolith study of urban soils and sediments from the Gallo‐Roman town Atuatuca Tungrorum, Belgium

“…In one of the locations (eastern part of the section), the oldest dark earth is covered by a 4–5‐cm‐thick layer of burned material (US 16). It is composed of reddened soil aggregates, discontinuous lenses of mainly clustered and articulated, almost all altered, phytoliths, locally situated within a kind of silica gel (Figure c; see Devos et al, ), charcoal (often fragmented in situ), charred cereal grains, burnt and calcined bone, burnt eggshell, blackened phytoliths (Figure e; Vrydaghs et al, ), and minute ash remains. Within the burned material a type of large druses (~50 μm) is observed.…”

“…The phytolith analysis consisted of a five‐step approach: The systematic recording of the distribution patterns of the phytoliths (isolated, clustered, and articulated; for definitions, see Vrydaghs et al, ; Vrydaghs, Devos, & Petö, ). The description of visibility, preservation, and color of the individual phytoliths following Vrydaghs and Devos (). …”

“…The systematic recording of the distribution patterns of the phytoliths (isolated, clustered, and articulated; for definitions, see Vrydaghs et al, ; Vrydaghs, Devos, & Petö, ).…”

“…Especially in contexts where other botanical remains (pollen, plant macro‐remains) are poorly preserved, as is the case in Tongeren, the study of phytoliths in soil thin section is crucial as it provides an additional tool for the identification of plant remains. The integration of the study of phytoliths within a micromorphological study generates a more accurate understanding of their taphonomy and function (i.e., see Devos, Nicosia, Vrydaghs, & Modrie, ; Devos, Wouters, Vrydaghs, et al, ; Vrydaghs, Ball, & Devos, ; Vrydaghs, Devos, & Petö, ; Vrydaghs & Devos, ; Wouters, Devos, Milek, et al, ).…”

The Taphonomy of Plant and Livestock Dung Microfossils: An Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Approach

“…The aim in creation of these comparative datasets is to provide insights into taphonomic issues related to microfossil preservation after heating (burning), and their significance in the archaeological record and to identify diagnostic indicators of these, such as the melting of phytoliths displaying opaque bubbling surfaces widely reported archaeologically and ethnoarchaeologically (e.g. Macphail and Cruise 2001;Matthews 2010Matthews , 2016Gur-Arieh et al 2013Portillo et al 2017;Vrydaghs et al 2017), and the occurrence of darkened or opaque spherulites, displaying from slightly transparent through to completely opaque morphologies (e.g. Brochier 1993Brochier , 2002Polo-Díaz et al 2014Canti and Nicosia 2018).…”