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A l'occasion du colloque "Conference on the Environmental Archaeology of European Cities", organisé par le Brussels Regional Public Service, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université catholique de Louvain et the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Millena Frouin et Gilles Deborde présentent la communication :"Conditions of urbanisation of a palustrine environment at Troyes (France) near the confluence of the Seine River and the Vienne River between the early Roman Empire and the lower Middle Age"For the past 20 years, commercial archaeological excavations in Troyes have allowed to collect information on how the Augustobona Roman city has been built and evolved since then. Augustobona emerged in a wide alluvial plain, where lied wetlands, a braided Seine River and a few confluences (e.g. Vienne River). Every new excavation project carrie d out in Troyes gives an opportunity to (1) understand how the Romans and their successors have overcome their unfriendly environment to build a prosperous city; (2) provide information on the landscape and its evolution throughout the time.Our excavation project called “Hôtel du département” was carried out in 2010. It lies next to a former excavation project named “Place de la Libération”. There, archaeologists were able to describe the landscape evolution from the Lateglacial to the Roman age. Afterwards, environmental information was concealed by the huge medieval and modern funerary contexts that took place. Our project was supposed to set outside of these funeral contexts, thus offering the possibility to study relatively natural sedimentary context.During the excavation, several sections were drawn using standardized terms and samples (bulk one and a 1.20 m long core) collected for different analyses (e.g. sedimentology, palynology). The sedimentary sequences comprise alluvial fine material, organic rich deposits and archaeological horizons. Archaeological data mixed with palaeoenvironnemental ones allow us to (1) describe a continuum between our archaeological phases and those highlightedat the “Place de la Libération” excavation; (2) identify fluvial inundation deposits and the processes developed by the Roman to adapt; (3) describe the evolution of the landscape and depositional environments from the Early Roman Age until the place was fully occupied by tanners. They have then transformed their environment to fit their cost-living activity. To conclude, this study gives a dynamic picture of the evolution of this quarter of Troyes.Quentin Broderie, Cristiano Nicosia et Anne Gebhardt présentent :"A geoarchaeological study of Dark Earths from Metz (Lorraine, France)"Metz (Lorraine, France) is located in the eastern part of the Basin ofParis, upon a hill at the confluence of the rivers Moselle and Seille. The town is an important centre from the Iron Age until today and the capital city of the Austrasian kingdom during the early Middle Ages. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence of the 5th to the 11th centuries are scarce. With the exception of city walls, graveyards, isolated artefacts and very few archaeological features, the town remains invisible. On the contrary, archaeological excavations undertaken since the 1970s have revealed many Dark Earth accumulations, in different geographical and urban contexts.This paper exposes the results of geoarchaeological studies undertaken in six sites. The sites of “Esplanade”, “Pierre-Hardie” and “Ste-Chrétienne” 1 and 2 are located intra muros, upon the hill. The sites of “Ilot Turmel” and “Amphithéâtre” are located outside the city wall, in the Seille valley. The method employed comprise archaeological excavations, spatial analysis, micromorphology, soil physico-chemical analyses (grain size, C/N ratio, CaCO3, organic and inorganic phosphate, etc.), magnetic susceptibility, and metals (Fe, Pb, Cu, Zn).In the six sites, the origin of Dark earth is mainly due to a progressive dumping and accumulation, combined with strong bioturbation. Other processes have been identified, such as the formation of gypsum and vivianite crystals. The nature of the micro-components suggests that Dark Earth is mainly composed by urban waste. In S.te-Chrétienne 2, the high amount of heavy metals, especially lead (from 164 to 1830 mg/kg) shows the importance of ancient air borne pollution.By exploring the complexity of the formation of Dark Earth strata, these results contribute to give an idea of the complexity of the urban organisation of the early Middle Ages town of Metz.Site du colloque