Surface soil survey in an archaeological context: the Kazanlak Geoscience Project

Abstract

Quantitative soil data and erosion modelling can provide valuable Abstract insights into the preservation of archaeological materials and the environmental factors influencing patterns of premodern habitation. Existing soil datasets available to archaeology projects are frequently qualitative, however, or provide poor spatial resolution. This chapter describes the Kazanlak Geoscience Project (KGP), which aimed to address this lack of adequate data by conducting a systematic landscape-scale soil survey across the Kazanlak Valley as part of the 2011 Tundzha Regional Archaeology Project (TRAP) field season. The sub-project collected 155 soil samples across 215 sq km and tested for soil texture, coarse fraction, organic matter, carbonates, and geochemistry. This information was combined with topographical and land cover datasets to produce quantitative RUSLE and USPED soil erosion and deposition models. The results predicted erosion rates of between 0–388 t ha-1 yr-1 (median 2.74 t ha-1 yr-1), while spatially precise KGP datasets provided a quantitative basis for future analyses relating soil properties and erosion to archaeological site selection and taphonomy.