The Merovingian settlement at Oegstgeest: the vegetation in its vicinity and the plants used by its inhabitants

Abstract

The inhabitants of Merovingian Oegstgeest lived in an environment that was mainly suited to keeping livestock, especially cattle and sheep. Barley, flax, and possibly some hemp may have been cultivated on drier parts of the landscape, but wheat and possibly also rye were imported from elsewhere. Agricultural weeds suggest more southern, loess-covered areas, such as are found in the German Rhineland, Belgium, and northern France, as possible sources. Besides the staple crops true luxury products were detected i.e. fig, raisin, and walnut. It turns out that the inhabitants of Oegstgeest were not just rural people living off their own territory. They were part of a wider network thatnreached far beyond the nearest neighbours.