| Description |
Wells represent valuable archives of past human activity, including local water management practices, settlement dynamics, and land-use changes, as well as environmental changes, because they preserve stratified sediments that document both anthropogenic inputs and natural depositional processes. This study focuses on the geoarchaeological investigation of the sediment-infill of an Early Medieval well from the Pohansko site (Moravia, Czech Republic), which was discovered in its northeastern suburb in 2023. A multi-proxy approach was applied to the sediment infill, including sedimentological evaluation, soil micromorphology, lipid biomarkers, physical and geochemical analyses, sedaDNA, and paleoenvironmental studies (palynology, archaeobotany, and archaeozoology), supported by radiocarbon dating, to reconstruct its formation history, usage phases, and surrounding environmental conditions. These analyses also allow us to differentiate intentional backfilling from natural sedimentation and assess post-depositional transformations. Notably, the well was dated to the 7th century AD, corresponding to the Early Hillfort period, a phase that remains only fragmentarily understood at this site. This is particularly significant, as our knowledge of the site is predominantly based on the later Middle Hillfort period (9th to 10th centuries AD), when the stronghold became a prominent center of the Great Moravian Empire. As a result, its sedimentary infill holds the potential to provide crucial new insights into the earlier stages of settlement activities, resource management, and daily life. This research contributes to a broader understanding of the role of wells not only as water sources but also as sedimentary archives that reflect interactions between human activity and the environment.
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