Pollen diagrams and prehistoric fields: the case of Bronze Age Haarlem, the Netherlands

The excavation of a Bronze Age field surrounded by peat in the vicinity of the Dutch town of Haarlem afforded a good opportunity to study the pollen rain released by such prehistoric fields. Pollen analysis of a core obtained from a peat deposit at a distance of 10m from the field's border revealed only a weak signal of a possible field. The conclusion is that the presence of prehistoric fields is difficult to detect by means of pollen analysis alone.