Using a range of chromatographic, spectroscopic, and mass spectrometric analytical techniques, we characterized one of the “edible items” found at the Vesuvius archeological sites and guarded at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) in Naples, Italy. We authenticated the specimen contained in a glass bottle (Mann-S1 sample) as originally olive oil and mapped the deep evolution throughout its 2000 years of storage. Triacylglycerols were completely hydrolyzed, while the resulting (hydroxy) fatty acids had partly condensed into rarely found estolides. A complex pattern of volatile compounds arose mainly from breakdown of oleic acid. With excellent approximation, radiocarbon dating placed the find at the time of the Plinian Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 A.D., indicating that Mann-S1 is probably the oldest residue of olive oil in the world found in bulk amount (nearly 0.7 L).
The objective of this research is to reconstruct the recent Holocene history of Cupressus sempervirens from the Bronze to the Roman Age in Italy. Our work consisted both in a review of published data and in the identification of novel archaeobotanical remains stored in the deposits of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples and of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. The literature permitted to collect information linked to different plant remain typologies of the Italian cypress; 362 botanical remains were counted, of which 292 were from the Vesuvian area and 70 from other archaeological sites of the central and western Mediterranean. Data chronology spans from the second century BC to the AD fifth century for the archaeological area of ancient Campania and from the 14th century BC to the AD fourth century for the sites located in different regions. It is clear that the ‘cypress culture’ is confirmed by the archaeobotanical data found in the Roman world. Romans especially appreciated its timber but cypress was also used for many other purposes. Furthermore, the employment of timber for wells was documented in pre-Roman sites and the presence of fruits/seeds in central Italy confirms its importance also in the Bronze Age.
Anthracological analysis was carried out in the archaeological site of Punta di Zambrone on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria in southern Italy.\ud Archaeological excavation documented at the site settlement deposits dated mainly to Early Bronze Age (EBA, 21st–18th century BC) and the Recent\ud Bronze Age (RBA, 13th to early 12th century BC). In the phase of the EBA village, the high frequency of Olea europaea in the charcoal data suggests\ud the tree may well have been cultivated by favouring the spread of the scant olive trees growing wild. Comparison with existing archaeobotanical data\ud indicates that olive cultivation spread over a large portion of southern Italy from the EBA and the early Middle Bronze Age (MBA, 17th–15th century BC),\ud thus calling into question the hypothesis of its first cultivation related to the interaction between Mycenaean Greece and local cultures in southern Italy.\ud The early domestication event at Punta di Zambrone supports the idea of multiple independent primary events of olive domestication throughout the\ud Mediterranean basin. In the following phase of the fortified settlement dated to the RBA, the frequency of olive charcoal diminished and the expansion of\ud a more or less dense forest dominated by Quercus was judged to be a consequence of human depopulation that characterises the end of MBA and also a\ud different land use of RBA. This forest increase, also recorded by other archaeobotanical proxies in the central and southern Italian peninsula, is found to\ud be related to the diffusion in southern Calabria of the Subapennine culture, spreading from more northerly areas of Italy and bringing different economic\ud systems and agronomic knowledge. These far-reaching changes appear to have brought to a halt the first event of olive cultivation recorded at Punta di\ud Zambrone
This paper presents the results of inter-disciplinary work drawing on archaeobotanical and archaeometric studies to trace the agroforestry landscape and the supply economy at the vicus of Thamusida in north-west Morocco at the border of the Roman Empire. The available data indicate the self-sufficiency of the settlement in both forestry and agricultural products throughout the period investigated from the end of the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century AD. Charcoal data testify to the presence of a Quercus suber forest in the close surroundings of the site and its exploitation for a variety of forestry products such as timber, fuelwood, cork, and probably also leaves and acorns to feed livestock. The overwhelming presence of Q. suber in the archaeological layer investigated clearly indicates that this forest was under human influence prior to Roman occupation and was already partially degraded. Charred seed and fruit remains suggest that the diet of both troops and civilians was mainly based on locally grown products and that all the inhabitants of the site had access to good cereals such as barley, naked wheats and pulses with large seeds such as horse bean and pea; quality fruits, such as olive and grape, were also produced locally for fresh consumption. Organic residue analyses of the contents of ceramic vessels and plastered vats allowed archaeobotanical data to be complemented, thereby shedding light on some of the imports at Thamusida. Despite the remote location of this settlement, imported goods such as oil and wine were transported here in amphorae from different parts of the Empire
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