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Lovětin was a medieval village located in the Bohemian-Moravian Upland (Czech Republic). It existed approximately between the 14th and the 16th century and was comprised of up to 20 farmsteads. Arable farming based on a short-fallow cultivation system was its main means of subsistence. The fields of the village consisted of two main field areas (128 and 77 ha) and six smaller field areas (up to 8 ha). Our study focused on finding out how human activities have impacted the soil environment imprinted in its geochemical characteristics. The design was based on a 100-m grid (in some cases, a 50-m grid) covering the entire field system (plužina) of the village; soil samples were taken from the B horizon at a depth of 15 cm. The analysis was based on XRF spectrometry, returning near total concentrations of the elements. The statistical and GIS analyses were performed on 338 samples, measuring the following elements: Al, Si, K, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Zr, Pb, Th, LE (light elements – combined concentrations for H to Na). The results of the analyses were processed by PCA after ilr transformation. The PCA indicated 16 principal components, of which three were interpreted as direct products of past human activities. The main elements reflecting human activities were Mn, Sr, Th, K, Zn; P contributed also to the interpretations, although it was detected and measured only in 132 cases. Some of the elements were spatially connected to the village in terms of their concentrations, but the PCA did not reveal a strong connection (Ti, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zr). The spatial distribution of the principal components was varied, indicating a diversity in the spatial distribution of agricultural activities or of their intensity, as well as differences in land use management. Management was most intensive in the vicinity of the village built-up area up to a distance of 300–400 m. The village was probably deserted due to inadequate soil management strategies.

Human settlement activities are connected with the accumulation of nutrients in archaeological soils. We address the question of whether the large-scale mapping of the elemental composition of the topsoil in contemporary rangeland can be used for the detection of ancient settlement activities. Using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), we mapped the elemental composition of contemporary soils over an area of 67 ha in and around the Bronze and Iron Age settlement of Tel Burna (identified as probably corresponding with biblical Libnah). Ancient settlement activities substantially increased concentrations of nutrients (P, K, S, Zn and Cu) in the contemporary topsoil owing to the deposition of biomass ashes and organic wastes. Increased concentrations of elements were detected 2500 years after the site was abandoned and we can therefore suppose that changes in the elemental composition of the soil caused by ancient settlement activities are irreversible on a timescale in which human societies operate. Ancient settlement activities increased concentrations of nutrients in contemporary soil to the same level as recent intensive fertiliser application on an adjacent arable field used for vegetable production. Concentrations of nutrients higher than those on the tell summit were recorded only in recent cattle resting areas with intensive deposition of cattle faeces. Changes in the elemental composition of the soil caused by ancient settlement activities consequently result in differential nutrient availability for contemporary vegetation, affecting ecosystem functions for thousands of years. Using pXRF, large-scale mapping of the elemental composition of the topsoil layer at archaeological sites can help to identify the extent and provide basic information on the character of past human activities in the affected landscape units.

Past human activities can be reflected in the elemental composition of contemporary soils. We asked how much historical land-use identified according to historical maps is reflected by the multi-elemental signatures of soils in an originally medieval village abandoned after WWII. Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, we determined the content of 24 elements in soil samples from former arable fields, field boundaries, forests, built-up area, and permanent grasslands. Previous human activities were connected with the accumulation of 13 elements such as the usually thus interpreted P, Ca, Zn, and Cu, but also with elements rarely used in archaeological studies such as Mg, K, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Rb, Zr, and Sr. The content of P, Ca, Cu, Zn, Ni, Fe, V, Cr, and Zr decreased on former fields with the distance from the most enriched built-up area. This can be explained by the most intensive deposition of biomass ashes and manuring of gardens and fields close to the village. With the exception of Pb accumulated sub-recently because of aerial deposition, the lowest content of anthropogenic elements was recorded in continuous forest. The chemical signatures recorded were much stronger than those in previously studied medieval villages in the Czech Republic abandoned in the 15th or 16th centuries. This is because of the long period of the settlement’s existence since medieval times and in addition because of the short time since its abandonment. Although frequently neglected, the multi-elemental composition of soils in deserted settlements can be considered as cultural heritage similarly to the relicts of buildings or still visible field patterns.