An approach to funerary rituals in the Roman provinces: plant remains from a Gallo-Roman cemetery at Faulquemont (Moselle, France)

Pollen analysis of sediments from three lakes and analysis of plant macroremains including charcoal from archaeological sites in the Mazurian Lake District provide new data for the reconstruction of vegetation changes related to human activity between the 1st and 13th century AD. At that time settlements of the Bogaczewo culture (from the turn of the 1st century AD to the first part of the 5th century AD), the Olsztyn Group (second part of the 5th century AD to the 7th or beginning of the 8th century AD), and the Prussian Galinditae tribes (8th/9th-13th century AD) developed. The most intensive woodland clearing occurred between the 1st and 6th/7th century AD. Presence of Cerealia-type, Secale cereale and Cannabis-type pollen, as well as macroremains of Hordeum vulgare, S. cereale, Triticum spelta, T. cf. monococcum, T. cf. dicoccum, Avena sp. and Panicum miliaceum documented local agriculture. High Betula representation synchronous with microcharcoal occurrence suggests shifting agriculture. After forest regeneration between c. AD 650 and 1100, the area was strongly deforested due to the early medieval occupation by Prussian tribes. The archaeobotanical examination of samples taken in a cemetery and a large settlement of the Roman Iron Age revealed strong differences in the taxonomic composition of the fossil plant remains. An absolute dominance of birch charcoal in the samples from the cemetery indicates its selective use for funeral pyre construction. There is a difference between cereals found in both contexts: numerous grains of Triticum have been found in the cemetery, while in the settlement crops were represented mostly by Secale and Hordeum. Grass tubers, belonging probably to Phleum pratense, are among the particularly interesting plant remains found in the cemetery.

Section: Changes In Woodland Communities In the Context Of Land Use Hmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environmental and cultural contexts of the late Iron Age and medieval settlement in the Mazurian Lake District, NE Poland: combined palaeobotanical and archaeological data

Wacnik

Kupryjanowicz

Mueller-Bieniek

et al. 2014

“…Here, 23 charred short shoots-probably of Calluna (heather)-indicate a ritual fire clearing on the grave mound surface before it was re-used in the LN. But, a use of Arrhenatherum as a gathered plant and intentional deposition of the bulbs during ritual activities cannot be excluded because the starch-rich, swollen stem internodes may have contributed to people's diet (Engelmark 1984;Preiss et al 2005;Viklund 2002). …”

Section: The Possible Origin Of Plant Remains In Megalithic Tombsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crop growing and gathering in the northern German Neolithic: a review supplemented by new results

Kirleis

Klooß

Kroll

et al. 2011

New archaeobotanical results from 15 Neolithic sites in northern Germany are presented in a review of the Neolithic plant economy in northern and northwestern Europe. Available archaeobotanical data from north-western Europe are evaluated and compared with our new results. In the whole region, barley and emmer were the main crops. Regional and diachronic differences are observed in the cultivation of einkorn, spelt and naked wheat. For oil plants and pulses only rare information from macro remains is available, as we mainly deal with charred material. It is noticeable that gathered plants played an important role in the Funnel Beaker economy. Plant choice, especially the relevance of cultivated versus gathered plants is discussed, based on new and existing data. Based on a structural comparison of charred plant assemblages from domestic sites and tombs, we develop a research hypothesis that settlement finds provide insight into production and consumption of food from crops, while tombs mainly yield evidence of plants gathered in the wild or in semi-wild areas in the vicinity of former settlements. Therefore, we suggest a model of different purposes and meanings of plants, depending on whether primarily an economic or a social/ritual sphere is regarded. But, for all evaluations and interpretations, it is essential to consider the taphonomic processes and conditions. Therefore, further research is necessary to verify our hypothesis, which derives from first insights into new material.

“…Other uses may be related to religious rituals: in some Punic tombs, charcoal remains of sloe could represent firewood for human body cremation or ritual offerings (Gómez Bellard et al 1990). In addition, in Roman cemeteries, the use of fresh fruit of sloe, damson and plum as ritual offerings is well known (Preiss et al 2005;Cooremans 2008;Bouby et al 2011;Rottoli and Castiglioni 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First finds of Prunus domestica L. in Italy from the Phoenician and Punic periods (6th–2nd centuries bc)

Ucchesu

Sarigu

Vais

et al. 2017

scanner and analysed by applying image analysis techniques to measure 26 morphometric features. By applying stepwise linear discriminant analysis, a morphometric comparison was made between the archaeological fruitstones of Prunus and the modern ones collected in Sardinia. These analyses allowed identification of 53 archaeological fruitstones as P. spinosa and 11 as P. domestica. Moreover, the archaeological samples of P. spinosa showed morphometric similarities in 92.5% of the cases with the modern P. spinosa samples currently growing near the Phoenician and Punic site. Likewise, the archaeological fruitstones identified as P. domestica showed similarities with the modern variety of P. domestica called Sanguigna di Bosa which is currently cultivated near the village of Bosa. Currently, these findings represent the first evidence of P. domestica in Italy during the Phoenician and Punic periods.