Wood is analysed according to the standard methodology of Schweingruber (1990). The material can be obtained from the sediment by floatation, wet-sieving, dry sieving or directly collected from the excavation context. Usually, extraction is included in the processing of plant macrofossils or insects. Wood is analysed on the base of its anatomical features, with wood fragments being categorized according to the three wood structural sections (transversal, tangential and radial). Wood is identified using a reflected light microscope with magnifications from 50х or 100х to 200х. Sample preparation of waterlogged wood is more time consuming as it requires preparation of slides. The wood piece is cut with new razors blades pulled slowly in a steep angle across the object (Gärtner & Schweingruber 2013, Scheel-Ybert 2018). For good documentation a scanning electron microscope is recommended. Identification is undertaken by comparing the anatomical structures with reference material and literature.
Charred wood is commonly used for C14 dating but also has great potential to answer complex research questions. The results from wood and charcoal analysis give us information on material culture and wood use, palaeoenvironmental change, resources and human impact on the vegetation, woodland management, fruit tree cultivation. Working as a proxy with archaeobotany, soil chemistry, pollen, insects, a wood analysis contributes greatly when studying preshitoric environments, settlements and climate.
