Insight into the environment of a pre-Roman Iron Age hillfort at Vladar, Czech Republic, using a multi-proxy approach

The large fortified hilltop site of Vladar, northwest Bohemia, Czech Republic (50°05'N, 13°13'E), has recently been studied intensively by way of environmental archaeology, in which palaeoecological methods have played a crucial role. The latter include the analyses of pollen, green algae, Cladocera, other microfossils, plant macro-remains (including charcoal and wood) and chemical composition, carried out on the wet sediments from an artificial cistern/pond situated in the middle of the large citadel, supplemented by charcoal and wood analysis on material from dry situations. The continuous palaeoecological record consists of well-preserved biological remains and covers the period from ca. 400 B.C. to recent times. The chronology is primarily based on radiocarbon dating, supplemented by archaeological finds. The main focus is on the La Tène period of the Iron Age. During the early to middle La Tène the hillfort had a considerable number of permanent inhabitants and woodland was almost completely replaced by an agricultural landscape. The site became partly abandoned by the end of the 3rd century B.C. and completely abandoned around the birth of Christ, after which it reverted to natural woodland communities.