Recognition and characterisation of turves in archaeological occupation deposits by means of macrofossil plant remains

Turves (in the sense of blocks or sheets of plant material and soil cut from the surface of an area of living vegetation) have been used for a variety of purposes in the past. They are frequently encountered in certain kinds of archaeological deposits, especially major earthworks, but only rather rarely studied from a bioarchaeological point of view. This study is primarily concerned with the discrimination of turves, or material derived from them, in occupation deposits through the analysis of plant macrofossils. It combines investigations of deposits thought to contain turves, a survey of assemblages where evidence for turves may be present (but has in some cases been overlooked), with some discussion of theoretical aspects of deposit formation and macrofossil taphonomy.