PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT AT LATTON LANDS 137 
hazel-type (Corylus avellana-type) with some oak 
(Quercus), and ash (Fraxinus), and_ sporadic 
occurrences of other taxa including birch (Betula), 
pine (Pinus), and lime (Tilia). 
The assemblage of herbaceous pollen suggests 
that several plant communities are represented. 
Cereal-type pollen was recorded at low levels 
through most of the pollen profile with arable 
weeds including corn spurrey-type, (Spergula-type), 
Chenopodiaceae, knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare) 
and redshank (Persicaria maculosa) recorded (Behre 
1981). The majority of the herbaceous taxa, for 
example grasses, ribwort plantain (Plantago 
lanceolata), buttercup-type and Ranunculus-type, 
suggest that the settlement and immediate environs 
supported a grassland or ruderal-type community. 
Occasional grains of hemp/hop-type (Cannabis/ 
Humulus-type) pollen were recorded at 0.995 m, 
1.0725 m and 1.1325 m. Hemp and hop pollen are 
extremely difficult to distinguish from one another 
and no firm identification was made. Hops, 
although now cultivated, are a native plant growing 
in hedgerows, scrub and fen-carr, whereas hemp is 
thought to have been introduced and cultivated for 
fibres. 
The frequency of aquatic taxa, in particular 
common reed (Phragmites australis), increases above 
0.98 m at the transition between contexts 481 and 
480 and suggest that the waterhole was starting to 
silt up and possibly fall into disuse. 
Discussion 
The origin of the pollen is of direct relevance in the 
interpretation of pollen diagrams and in general the 
smaller the size of the basin the more local the 
pollen recorded in the sediments (Jacobson and 
Bradshaw 1981). Conversely, the larger the 
catchment basin the more regional the picture of 
vegetational change it gives. The diameter of the 
waterhole at Latton Lands is relatively small and 
_ therefore likely to provide a more local record of the 
vegetation than a larger natural waterbody or mire. 
_ The pollen data at any site are composed of two 
_ components, 
| 
one originating from _ regional 
vegetation, the other more locally; the proportions 
of these components vary with the size of the basin. 
_ It is usually assumed that tree and shrub pollen is 
_ derived from more regional vegetation, whilst 
| herbaceous 
plants represent local plant 
communities, although there are exceptions to 
both. The direction of prevailing winds would 
influence the source of the regional component of 
the pollen rain. In addition to problems associated 
with the interpretation of the pollen source of a 
natural catchment basin there are additional ones 
that relate to an archaeological feature such as the 
waterhole at Latton Lands. Pollen identified from 
such deposits can include material that has been 
thrown into the feature and also pollen from 
imported plants or parts of plants that are therefore 
not representative of the local vegetation (Faegri et 
al. 1989). 
The results of palynological analysis of the fills 
of the waterhole (421) confirm that the landscape 
had been cleared of trees (LUAU 2001). Before the 
palynological assessment it was thought that the 
settlement enclosure was possibly delimited by 
trees on the two sides, where no ditches were 
identified, but the analysis suggests that this is 
unlikely. The low values of tree pollen indicate that 
few if any trees were growing close to the site. The 
only significant values of tree pollen are of alder 
and hazel-type pollen with low values of oak and 
sporadic occurrences of other taxa, for example 
lime and elm. Hazel-type, alder, oak and birch are 
all prolific pollen producers (Andersen 1970). 
By contrast, at the nearby site of Latton 
‘Roman Pond’ pollen analysis of organic sediments 
suggested that woodland was still relatively 
important in the late Bronze Age (Scaife 1999, 510- 
12). Pollen analysis by Scaife (ibid.) of an organic 
deposit in a shallow depression in the basal 
Devensian gravels demonstrated the presence of 
oak, lime and hazel woodland on the drier soils 
with some evidence of carr-woodland on the wetter 
areas some way from the site. The short pollen 
profile (0.20m) from Latton ‘Roman Pond’ 
demonstrated evidence of the Tila decline in the 
late Bronze Age, a date of 1258-1020 cal BC 
(2943+63BR NZA-8579, R24151/9) from 
waterlogged seeds at the base of these deposits 
dating it to the Late Bronze Age (Robinson 1999, 
499 and Scaife 1999, 512). Further woodland 
clearance is noted towards the top of the Latton 
‘Roman Pond’ sequence. Analysis of the silty clay 
fills of the Latton Lands waterhole (421), however, 
suggests that woodland had already been cleared 
from the environs of the settlement in the Bronze 
Age. Robinson (1999, 499) considers that fen peat 
began to develop at Latton ‘Roman Pond’ in tree 
throw holes after clearance as the water table rose. 
Pollen analysis from the lower fills of waterhole 
(421) suggests that the landscape was probably 
being used for both pastoral and arable farming. 
Low but consistent values of cereal pollen suggest 
cereal crops close to the waterhole. Cereal-type 
