Landscape Archaeology Conference in Bamberg
Two abstracts have been accepted for the 2026 Landscape Archaeology Conference (18–21 March, Bamberg, Germany)
The first paper, “Natural and anthropogenic drivers of heathland expansion in Postglacial Northern Europe,” by Mette Løvschal, Anne Birgitte Nielsen and Michelle Farrell, examines the long-term dynamics of Calluna heathlands. Using pollen data from the LANDCLIM II dataset, the study investigates how natural conditions and human activities such as grazing and fire shaped the timing, expansion, and persistence of heathlands across postglacial Northern Europe, highlighting the varied trajectories of human-landscape interaction over more than 5,000 years.
The second paper, “A Forested Form of Life: southeast Norway in 2350–500 BCE,” by Anette Sand-Eriksen, Michelle Farrell and Mette Løvschal, focuses on Bronze Age forests in southeast Norway. Combining vegetation reconstructions with archaeological data, it explores how communities lived within and actively sustained forested environments, challenging traditional narratives that emphasise deforestation and agricultural expansion.