PHYTOLITH ANALYSIS OF JEFFERSON-ERA SEDIMENT FROM THE ORNAMENTAL LANDSCAPE AND CHARCOAL IDENTIFICATION AND AMS RADIOCARBON DATING OF A PREHISTORIC FEATURE AT POPLAR FOREST PLANTATION, BEDFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA

Ten phytolith samples were examined from a Jefferson-era layer in an area believed to be associated with a clump of ornamental trees and bushes planted in 1812 at the northeast corner of the octagonal house located at Poplar Forest plantation in Forest, Virginia. An oval flower bed planted with dwarf roses was established nearby. Four additional phytolith samples were taken from features directly associated with the ornamental tree clump and flower bed. For this study, phytolith analysis was used to identify plants that prefer shaded environments, signaling that the plants were growing inside the clump of trees, or plants that prefer unshaded environments, suggesting that they were growing outside the clump of trees, as well as evidence for specific types of ornamental plantings. Charcoal from a feature associated with a prehistoric occupation of the site was submitted for identification and AMS radiocarbon dating.