Dataset on the soils of medieval archaeological monuments in the forest-steppe zone of the East European plain

Abstract

One of the natural archives that can save information about the environmental conditions of the past is soils buried under embankments of burial complexes. Due to isolation from external environmental factors soils retain information about the features of the natural environment at the time of its burial. In this work we present a dataset on soils buried under four mounds in the Middle Ages. The soils were buried under mounds in a short time interval – 25–50 years. For comparison, the data on the surface soil located near the barrows are also presented. Obtained dataset includes detailed morphological field description of the soils and their physico-chemical analysis, such as granulometry, elemental analysis, fractions of iron and selected chemical data. Obtained data can be used to identify the dynamics of forest-steppe landscapes in the XIth century. The Medieval Warm Period and the subsequent humidisation of the climate over a short time interval had a significant impact on natural conditions and the migration of the population of the steppes of Eurasia. A comparative analysis of the properties of soils buried under archaeological sites of different ages allows examining in details the changes in the natural environment and its components over time. Moreover, soils are capable of storing a whole range of additional features of non-pedogenic origin that can be used for a more detailed reconstruction of the natural environment. The data on spores, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs of the soil profiles are also presented in this article.