Agriculture and Environment at Servia
Charcoal and the woodland environment
Even preliminary analyses confirmed the expectation that deciduous oak Quercus was the commonest charcoal type; and the accompanying taxa are those expected of a mixed oak forest near a river: Pinus (pine), Fraxinus (ash), Acer (maple), and Populus (poplar). Other woody taxa, represented by fruits and seeds include Celtis (nettle tree, hackberry), Prunus mahleb (fragrant cherry), Prunus cerasifera (cherry plum), and Cornus sanguinea. The fruits of Cornus mas (cornelian cherry) were common, as they are everywhere in the deciduous oak woodlands of south-east Europe where this small tree abounds.
There is some indication that big trees survived within the settlement itself, presumably for their shade.