Site studies

In this chapter, we draw together and integrate the studies relating to the Nebelivka megasite at the site level. Three sources of palaeo-environmental evidence – pollen analysis, soil micro-morphology and molluscan analysis – are used to build up a picture of the landscape on and around Nebelivka before, during and after the occupation of the megasite. The pollen, charcoal and non-pollen palynomorphs from the Nebelivka P1 core provide crucial insights into the unexpectedly low level of human impact on the landscape, which has had such profound effects on our approach to the understanding of the megasite. In a fundamental part of this chapter, Duncan Hale presents the only complete geophysical plan of a Trypillia megasite to date, enabling Brian Buchanan’s analysis of movement in and through the site by Visual Graph Analysis and a series of nested analyses of the social space comprising the megasite – the Quarters, Neighbourhoods and houses. Stuart Johnston summarises the results of the experimental programme of house construction, house-burning and excavation of the burnt house. A lengthy section by Bisserka Gaydarska summarises the results of the Ukrainian-British excavations at Nebelivka. Andrew Millard presents the Bayesian analysis of the over 80 AMS radiocarbon dates for the megasite, while Natalia Shevchenko reports on her analyses of the building materials from the Megastructure.