Glossary

Apatite A calcium phosphate mineral forming bone and coprolites.

Calcium oxalates Crystalline mineral material found in leaves and roots, and in the human body.

Diagnostic soil horizon System employed by the United States Department of Agriculture to classify soils, using defined characteristics.

Fecal spherulites Calcite (CaCO3) crystals found in

Unweathered dung/dung remains of ruminants that are typically <20 mm in size.

Grain size analysis An estimate of the proportion of particle sizes present in a dispersed soil that has passed through a 2 mm size sieve, normally reported in soils as percent clay (<2 mm), silt (2-63 mm), and very fine to very coarse sand (63-2000 mm); material larger than 2000 mm (2 mm) is termed gravel and stones.

Grubenhiluser  Sunken feature buildings of broadly Saxon

Origin, probably used as sheds with suspended floors.

Image analysis A digital method of analyzing images, for example, from a soil thin section.

Magnetic susceptibility A measure of magnetization of a material when a magnetic field is applied (e. g., using a magnetic susceptibility meter); magnetic susceptibility (w) of volcanic minerals such as the magnetic iron mineral magnetite is very high; a soil’s w is enhanced through natural topsoil formation and by burning.

Manuring The enhancement of soil fertility generally through additions of dung and household waste, in order to increase amounts of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, and sometimes to lower soil acidity.

Microfacies A layer or context with homogeneous visible, microscopic, chemical and physical properties, and fossil and microfossil content; examples are specific domestic floor and stable floor deposits (Figures 7 and 8), and various topsoil and subsoil horizons, and geological strata.

Microprobe An X-ray technique which can map the distribution of elements and make quantitative elemental analyses of materials and soils. textural pedofeatures A specific type of soil

Micromorphological feature where soil has been mobilized, dispersed, and moved (normally by soil water) and forms coatings and infills voids locally or down-profile, for example. waterlogging A process whereby the soil is permanently saturated with water (and oxygen excluded) and organic matter is preserved, and iron is lost by leaching; intermittent waterlogging leads to loss and redeposition of iron and manganese, which for example produces soil mottles.