Dear colleagues,

we would like to know if anybody has found (charred) tubers of lesser celandine - Ranunculus ficaria / Ficaria verna in archaeological samples.

We have found a lot of tubers of Ranunculus ficaria in an Early Neolithic settlement layer beneath a megalithic grave from Denmark (more than 100). Since we were aware of this kind of material we recognized it in low amounts also in samples of other Neolithic sites of northern Germany and Denmark. All our Ranunculus tubers finds are charred material. I add some photos of the charred tubers finds.

We now wonder, if it is a special remain in Neolithic samples and if it was used for consumption.

We know the literature given by the webpage
http://archaeobotany.dept.shef.ac.uk/wiki/index.php/Tubers_-_Introduction

But we would be very happy if anybody could give us more hints on publications concerning archaeological finds of Ranunculus ficaria tubers or even unpublished finds and about possible uses of this plant part.

Thanks you for your efforts!

Kind regards,

Stefanie Klooß, Elske Fischer and Wiebke Kirleis

 

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Dr. Stefanie Klooß

Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte

Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

Email: [log in to unmask]

Tel.: 0049-(0)431 / 880 3374

DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm 1400 "Frühe Monumentalität und Soziale Differenzierung"

http://www.monument.ufg.uni-kiel.de/en/the-projects/differenzierung-von-landwirtschaft-und-umwelt/

 

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Elske Fischer

Labor für Archäobotanik

Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im RP Stuttgart

Fischersteig 9

78343 Gaienhofen-Hemmenhofen

 

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Prof. Dr. Wiebke Kirleis

Professor for Environmental Archaeology

Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel

Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes/

Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology

letters: Olshausenstrasse 40 | D-24098 Kiel | Germany

parcels: Olshausenstrasse 40 | D-24118 Kiel | Germany

office:  Johanna-Mestorf-Strasse 2-6 | D-24118 Kiel | Germany

Phone: 0049 (0)431/880-3173

Fax: 0049 (0)431/880-7300