Understanding late medieval farming practices: an interdisciplinary study on byre remains from the historical centre of Brussels (Belgium)

Abstract

During the preventive archaeological excavation in the cellar of the site of petite Rue des Bouchers in the historical centre of Brussels (Belgium), the waterlogged remains of a thirteenth century AD sunken byre (potstal) were discovered. The exceptional preservation instigated a multiproxy approach, including micro-archaeology, micromorphology, phytolith and endoparasite egg analysis on thin sections, palynology and the study of plant macroremains on the fill of the structure. Beyond permitting to detail the content and the multiple origins of the fill (including excremental waste and urines, fodder and bedding material, plaggen and/or soil sods, household and construction waste), this study also provides detailed insights into the foddering customs, hygienic conditions within the stable, and the health status of the animals kept. On a more general scale this study documented late medieval farming practices in Brussels, more specifically the need to collect substantial amounts of manure to add as fertilizer onto the cultivated poor sandy soils.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-025-02248-w.

Keywords: Archaeobotany; Manure; Medieval; Micromorphology; Palaeoparasitology; Stable.

Fig. 1

The studied site. a location of the site of Petite Rue des Bouchers (BR229). The site is indicated in blue, the cellars are indicated in orange; b detail of the cellar with indication of the excavated trenches and the location of the profiles were the fill of the sunken byre was observed; c photo of profile P2B.1; d drawing of profile P2B.1 (the micromorphological samples are indicated in blue); e photo of profile P2C.5; f drawing of profile P2C.5 (the micromorphological samples are indicated in blue); g photo of the bulk lifting of SU 23

Fig. 2

Scans of the thin sections (PPL) of the studied sequence with the location of the different Soil Microfabric Types (SMT) observed

Fig. 3

Main micromorphological characteristics of SMT1

Fig. 4

Main micromorphological characteristics of SMT2

Fig. 5

Main micromorphological characteristics of SMT3

Fig. 6

Minimal Number of Patterns (MNPa) and the corresponding Minimal Number of Phytoliths (MNPh) for each SMT based on the scanning of 40 fields. The upper histograms document the relative frequencies while the lower ones present their absolute values

Fig. 7

A microphotograph of densely packed phytoliths observed for SMT 1. While observed under XPL, latter material presents the isotropism typical for phytoliths (not presented here), under PPL, compaction of the material does not allow to discriminate any general outline; B microphotograph of an omnivorous coprolite (possibly human) observed in TS SU 62–63-36, SMT1/SMT1.1, PPL; C microphotograph of Rondel in an articulated system observed in SMT 1. Their Inner Periclinal Surface (IPS) is masked by amorphous organic matter while their Outer Periclinal Surface (OPS) is almost perfectly visible. As the IPS is the surface that faces towards the interior of the plant tissue (ICPT (Neuman et al.) 2019b), this observation indicates that the Rondel are oriented as they are when in anatomical position. As the OPS is almost perfectly visible, it also suggest a differential decomposition of the organic tissues (epidermal versus mesophyll), PPL

Fig. 8

Scans of thin sections (a TS SU 21–62; b TS SU 62–63-36; c TS SU 36–50; d coprolite TS SU 23) with mapped endoparasite eggs

Fig. 9

a Micropicture of an Ascaris lumbricoides or A. suum egg, parasitizing humans or pigs (PPL). The undulated shell, typical for these species, is partially shed due to taphonomicaly processes; b Micropicture of a Trichuris sp. egg with its typical lemon shape (PPL); c Micropicture of a capillaria sp. egg, identified by its lemon shape and distinct reticulated surface. The pole on the left side (red arrow) is visible, the right one is masked by the organic matrix (PPL); d Micropicture of a Taeniidae egg of a potential Taenia sp. (the secant cut resulting in a reduced diameter) or an Ecchinococcus sp. showing the characteristic radial striation of the shell (PPL); e & f Potential eggs of Parascaris equorum with a thick, finely punctuated shell. Taphonomic processes may have resulted in size reduction of the eggs, an observation requiring further investigation (PPL). (a TS SU 62–63-36; b—d TS SU 36–50; e–f TS SU 23)

Fig. 10

Proportions of the carpological remains in SU 50 (% of the total counted remains). For more details see Table 5

Fig. 11

Proportions of the pollen and spores identified in the 3 samples from SU 23 (% of the total pollen sum, NPPs excluded). Samples “a” were processed following the first method (ultrasonic sieving), whereas sample “b” was treated with the second method (dense media separation). For more details see appendix 1

Fig. 12

Cerealia pollen types identified in percentage proportions. From each sample 50 Cerealia pollen grains were taken