A review of the applications of soil science to archaeological fieldwork and a preliminary study of the soils of the Mazi Plain, northwest Attica, Greece

Applying geoarchaeological techniques to archaeological fieldwork can yield bountiful information regarding the history of human settlement in an area. Specifically, soil science as applied to archaeological fieldwork can reveal details of the effects of human activity on the land. This paper examines various applications of soil science to archaeological fieldwork, including soil micromorphologic analysis, stratigraphy, paleosols, soil geochemistry, and dating techniques. However, these applications are not without limitations, some of which are also presented. I undertook an examination of the soils of the Mazi Plain (located in northwestern Attica, Greece) in conjunction with the 2015 field season of the Mazi Archaeological Project. Using both satellite imagery analysis and field survey, I located areas throughout the Plain featuring exposed soils (e.g. along road cuts and stream beds) and created full field descriptions for seven soil profiles. Aside from one profile located in the Kaza Pass, all of the soils within the Mazi Plain are red in color and feature well-sorted beds of gravel. This gravel is primarily composed of limestone weathered from the surrounding mountains and deposited by the streams running into the Plain, composing the parent material for the soils on the Plain. These soils are not easily classifiable within the traditional soil taxonomy, bearing features both of a terra rossa and of a Vertisol. Terrae rossae are red soils formed from aeolian dust mixing with dissolved limestone, whereas Vertisols are defined by the presence of shrink-swell clays. However, both of these soils have been shown to be fertile agricultural soils, which corroborates the theory that the Mazi Plain was an active center for agriculture throughout antiquity