The study of biogenic silica in animal dung deposits from the Moscow Kremlin, Russia

Resumen

Several ancient
settlements from Central Russia contain animal dung deposits as a
part of their cultural layers. This research was focused on animal
dung of different ages sampled in the archeological dig in Taynitsky
Garden, Moscow Kremlin, Russia. The method of research was
microbiomorphic analysis. The distribution of silica microbiomorphs
and the composition of phytolith complexes were analyzed as the most
informative. It is possible to see that indicators of open waters
(diatoms and spicules) were identified only in one sample (the
earliest one dated to the beginning of the 15th century). Phytolith
complexes also changed: the samples from layers dated to the late
15th and the early 16th centuries include a lot of cereal straw
phytoliths. This fact definitely indicates changes in the animals’
diet. Phytoliths from mosses and reeds show that those plants were
used as animal bedding. An abundance of fragments and unformed
silica particles suggests that grasses and herbs were mowed in
summer, when the phytolith formation process had not yet completed.
It is possible to say that at the end of the 15th century animals
consumed water from wells, suggesting that the construction of the
Kremlin wall was finished and the area became isolated from the bank
of the Moscow River. Also, the animals’ diet changed – straw became
dominant instead of hay, possibly linked to a political and
economical situation in the country. Conclusions are in reasonable
agreement with archeological and historical data.