Reworking the idea of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) cultivation in Roman times: New data from ancient Campania

Abstract

Charcoal analysis was carried out in two archaeological sites on the north slope of the Somma-Vesuvius volcano, not far from Naples. Both sites were inhabited between the 2nd century AD and AD 472, when a great Vesuvius eruption (so called Pollena eruption) buried them. In both sites, Castanea sativa wood was largely used for architectural structures as well as firewood. Ten 14 C dates, spanning between the 1st and the 5th century AD, testify to a continuative use of this wood throughout the life of the sites. The comparison between archaeobotanical and pollen data from other sites in southern Italy suggests that chestnut woods were close to the sites studied and had a restricted spreading, possibly in a refugium area on Vesuvius' foothills. The match between archaeological charcoals and pollen data suggests that the Romans did not spread chestnut cultivation in the entire Campania region and that chestnut probably became a common timber in Campania starting from the 5th-6th century AD.

Seeds/fruits, pollen and parasite remains as evidence of site function: piazza Garibaldi – Parma (N Italy) in Roman and Mediaeval times

“…The diffusion of its pollen during the Roman Age was observed in several sites of Emilia Romagna (Accorsi et al, 1999), in northern Italy (Paganelli and Miola, 1991), and since the Bronze Age in centralsouthern Italy (Drescher-Schneider et al, 2007;Magri and Sadori, 1999). Though some charcoals were found in the Bronze age site of San Michele di Valestra, in Emilia Romagna (Bellodi et al, 1971), mainly, wood remains occurred everywhere only later (e.g., at Filattiera-Sorano in Tuscany, 1ste2nd century AD e Rottoli and Negri, 1998;Di Pasquale et al, 2010). In Piazza Garibaldi, a chest with wood lathes of chestnut, found in a layer (L618) dated at around the 3rde2nd century BC (Giachi and Lazzeri, in press), is therefore amongst the earlier records of the use of Castanea wood in Italy.…”

Beyond nature: The management of a productive cultural landscape in Las Médulas area (El Bierzo, León, Spain) during pre-Roman and Roman times

“…The occurrence of Castanea has been generally interpreted as a result of its cultivation (Behre 1990), but this is only true in regions where refugia did not exist. On the contrary, in regions where the presence of Castanea refugia has been confirmed, the pollen does not necessarily prove anthropogenic activity Di Pasquale et al 2010), even if chestnut expansion in central Italy is coeval with Bronze Age human land exploitation (Magri & Sadori 1999;Mercuri et al 2002). This seems to be the case of the region under study.…”

The transition of chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) from timber to fruit tree: Cultural and economic inferences in the Italian peninsula

“…Along the Ligurian Alps and the Tyrrhenian mountains, archaeobotanical data seem to draw a similar history, however, starting with a strong difference: on the basis of pollen and anthracological data, this area falls within an extensive upper Tyrrhenian postglacial refuge area for chestnut (Di Pasquale et al, 2010;Krebs et al, 2004). Between the 3rd and 6th century AD, in the Ligurian Alps (Figure 4) chestnut is scarcely attested as fuelwood and one fruit was found (Motella De Carlo, 1996).…”