Segers-Glocke, Christiane [Editor]; Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege [Editor]; Institut für Denkmalpflege [Editor]; Balck, Friedrich [Oth.]: Arbeitshefte zur Denkmalpflege in Niedersachsen: Aspects of mining and smelting in the Upper Harz Mountains (up to the 13th/14th century) - in the early times of a developing European culture and economy (St. Katharinen: Scripta Mercaturae Verl., Heft 22.2000)

94

since the Middle Ages has required large amounts of timber. The analysis of
pollen and charcoal provides an insight into the significant human impact that the
utilization of the timber resources has had on the ecosystems of the region.
Uncharred macroscopic records of plants have been preserved in the vicinity
of smelter sites due to the locally high levels of contamination with heavy metals.
These provide insight into the vegetation patterns at that time and the supply for
the miners and smelters.

Scientific name
English name
Johanneser
Kurhaus
Schnapsweg
Cultivated plants
Avena sativa
oats
+
Hordeum vulgare
barley
+
Secale cereale
reye
+
+
Linum usitatissimum
flax
+
+
Malus domestica
apple
+
Prunus insititia
damson
+
Vitis vinifera
grape
+
Wild fruits
Corylus avellana
hazel
+
+
Rubus idaeus
raspberry
+
+
Sambucus nigra
elder
+
Vaccinium my dill us
bilberry
+
Imported spices
Elletaria cardamom
cardamom
+
Potential wild vegetables
Angelica sylvestris
wild Angelica
+
+
Daucus carota
wild carrot
+
Lapsana communis
nipplewort
+
Rumex acetosa
common sorrel
+
Stellaria media
chickweed
+
+
Urtica dioica
common nettle
+

Fig. 11
The records of plants from smelting sites at Schnapsweg and Johanneser Kurhaus give a
first insight into the diet of the people working there. The food plants will have been
imported from the surrounding region into the Harz Mountains.