Smith, D. N., ed. (2005). Fertile ground:. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

paper presenting the results of a questionnaire circulated to a range of workers in the field of environmental archaeology

the paper outlines the major earthworm processes in relation to archaeological sites, as well as exploring some new details of the calcium carbonate granules produced by many species

a gazetteer of results from palaeoentomological studies on sites within the Trent Valley is presented. With the exception of one site, all samples have arisen from discontinuous or ``broken'' temporal sequences and their potential for reconstructing characteristics of the local environment and archaeological interpretation are discussed. The large body of data resulting from this work is summarised in terms of the changing nature of the fluvial hydrosystem of the Trent Valley over the last 11,500 years

the archaeological record of honeybees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, in Britain from the Bronze Age onwards is reviewed, with reference to bee products (wax and honey). The possibility that bees were cultured in the Anglo-Scandinavian period is considered, with reference to abundant records from York. The lack of fossil records for the stinging or paper wasps (Vespidae) is discussed

results from detailed palaeoentomological studies undertaken by M Girling in conjunction with archaeological investigations of the Holocene peat deposits of the Somerset Levels, are presented in diagrammatic form using standardised habitat-related species groups. This enables the vegetational succession, as shown by Coleoptera, to be displayed in a manner more intelligible to the non-specialist, and facilitates comparisons between sites

the paper describes the questions and issues raised by the analysis of textural pedofeatures for the purpose of diagnosing ancient agricultural practices, and presents the results of a case study in which micromorphological analyses were carried out on samples from cultivated buried soils containing pre-Roman plough marks at Santwix, near Carlisle