Archaeobotanical results from early medieval Radom, Central Poland, with a special emphasis on the oldest finds of bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum)

Abstract

The article presents one of the most interesting results of an archaeobotanical analysis of material from the early medieval settlement complex in Radom. These results provided data on useful plants and the paleoenvironment of the site. In the case of two species, it was possible to designate specific sites of their origin. The most interesting species mentioned above are Origanum vulgare and Vaccinium uliginosum. The first one could only grow at one site, slightly away from the settlement. Regarding the second species, the closest sites of occurrence of V. uliginosum can presently be found 40 km from the excavated site. This is quite a long distance from the point of view of early medieval man. It is worth emphasising that the finds of bog bilberry are the oldest remains of V. uliginosum that have been discovered at a Polish archaeological site.