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Abstract:
Quartz mining and glass production at Ullersdorf (OH-12): The site of Ullersdorf (Figs. 87; 89) has been prominently introduced into the literature for two key aspects. First, it may represent one of the earliest rural villages in the upper Erzgebirge dating back to the 13th century based on the toponym and early ceramics. Second, it provides evidence for glass production as a technology highly dependent on constant wood supply for fuel and potash production and therefore often operating in the periphery of settled area. Our reassessment includes a high-resolution onsite pollen profile, sedimentological and micromorphological studies on colluvial layers and anthracological analyses from charcoal kilns. Based on the age-depth model of the pollen sequence (Figs. 92; 94), first isolated settlement indicators appear in layers dating to the Roman Iron age and clearly derive from long-distance transport by wind from the foreland of the Erzgebirge. This observation is in good accordance to another well-dated profile from the nearby Georgenfelder Hochmoor (Fig. 94) and the onset of alluvial sedimentation at Scharfenberg as indicator of increasing land-use intensity. Unequivocal pollen evidence of local clearance, regional settlement activities and constant charcoal influx appear at Ullersdorf from the 15th century onwards and are in accordance with 14C-ages obtained from nearby charcoal kilns (Fig. 91). Moreover, most colluvial and alluvial sediments postdate the 15th century (Fig 96). This conflicts with evidence for glass production during the 14th century based on the ceramic assemblage downslope the glass kilns (Fig. 99). An early date is also supported by a 14C age of 1292–1395 cal AD (Fig. 98) from charred material below a mining heap beside a shaft used for quarrying quartz as raw material for glass. Altogether, the contribution of glass smelting to deforestation and soil erosion seems to be overestimated compared to the effects by the continuous later use for charcoal production.
