Pollen-wood analysis at the Neapolis harbour site (1st–3rd century AD, southern Italy) and its archaeobotanical implications

Allevato, Emilia; Ermolli, Elda Russo; Boetto, Giulia; Pasquale, Gaetano Di

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.04.010

Cited by 47 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…Even the pollen data obtained in the ancient Roman harbor of Naples (Allevato et al 2009(Allevato et al , 2010 and from analyses of pollen preserved in tiles of ancient Pompeii (Mariotti Lippi & Bellini 2006) only indicate very low amounts of chestnut from the 1st century BC up to the 5th century AD (Figure 4). Indeed, in southern Italy, this corroborates the conclusions by Conedera et al (2004), according to which the chestnut expansion was later than the 5th-6th century AD.…”

Section: ; Sadori and Giardini 2008)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Pasquale

Allevato

Ermolli

et al. 2010

Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all As

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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.

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Section: ; Sadori and Giardini 2008)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Pasquale

Allevato

Ermolli

et al. 2010

Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all As

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“…This goal is very challenging, at times quite impossible to fully achieve, especially when the plants in the natural vegetation are the same plants used in the site, as often is the case in prehistory. But in the last years, the number of investigations tackling this issue by contemporarily considering both macro-and microremains in archaeological contexts are increasing (Jeraj, 2002;Mariotti Lippi et al, 2003, 2008cMercuri et al, , 2007Delhon et al, 2008;Jeraj et al, 2009;Allevato et al, 2010;Breitenlechner et al, 2010;Sadori et al, 2010a,b;Sasaki and Takahara, 2011;Bosi et al, 2011). This "new" archaeobotanical research strategy allows producing multiple types of records, and by crossing these different sources more light is shed on the palaeoethnobotanical significance of some plant remains as well as on palaeovegetational reconstruction.…”

Section: Archaeobotany In Arid Lands Some Methodological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpretative scenarios emerging from plant micro- and macroremains in the Iron Age site of Salut, Sultanate of Oman

Bellini

Condoluci

Giachi³

et al. 2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…The lack of significant variations in Pb abundances throughout the core, with the exception of the top 50 cm, shows that uncontaminated preharbor layers have not been found. The lack of a preharbor unit has been attributed to the dredging of the bottom sediments during the late fourth century/ middle third century BC (9,11,12,18), which is attested to by scars in the underlying Yellow Tuff bedrock.…”

Section: Ce (mentioning

confidence: 99%

A lead isotope perspective on urban development in ancient Naples

Delile

Keenan‐Jones

Blichert‐Toft

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The influence of a sophisticated water distribution system on urban development in Roman times is tested against the impact of Vesuvius volcanic activity, in particular the great eruption of AD 79, on all of the ancient cities of the Bay of Naples (Neapolis). Written accounts on urbanization outside of Rome are scarce and the archaeological record sketchy, especially during the tumultuous fifth and sixth centuries AD when Neapolis became the dominant city in the region. Here we show that isotopic ratios of lead measured on a well-dated sedimentary sequence from Neapolis' harbor covering the first six centuries CE have recorded how the AD 79 eruption was followed by a complete overhaul of Neapolis' water supply network. The Pb isotopic signatures of the sediments further reveal that the previously steady growth of Neapolis' water distribution system ceased during the collapse of the fifth century AD, although vital repairs to this critical infrastructure were still carried out in the aftermath of invasions and volcanic eruptions.AD 79 Somma-Vesuvius eruption | Pb isotopes | harbor geoarchaeology | Neapolis | paleo-pollution U rban centers have always been critically dependent on a stable water supply, and ancient cities relying on masonry aqueducts were particularly vulnerable to the disruption of their water distribution system by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions (1). The archaeological record of the major eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 and its effect on the water supply of Naples, then known as Neapolis, and its neighboring cities illustrates well how efficiently the Roman world was able to mitigate the effects of major disasters on the daily life of its population. Neapolis: Water Supply and VolcanismNeapolis and the surrounding region were supplied with water from the Aqua Augusta or Serino aqueduct, built during the reign of Augustus between 27 BC and AD 10 (2, 3). The Augusta was a regional network supplying eight or nine cities, as well as numerous villas, through multiple branches (Fig. 1A): Nola, possibly Pompeii, Acerrae, Atella, Neapolis, Puteoli, Cumae, Baiae, and Misenum (2, 4). The total length of the aqueduct, including its branches, was ∼140 km. The construction of this monumental hydraulic network helped meet a need to secure the water supply for the strategic region of Campania during a critical period: the establishment of the Principate (2). The aim of the Augusta was to provide water to naval harbors (first Portus Iulius and later Misenum) and the commercial harbor of Puteoli, one of the busiest centers of trade in the Roman Empire (5), as well as to cities, coloniae, and villas of influential individuals. At an unknown time between the fifth century BC and the Middle Ages, the Bolla aqueduct (Fig. 1A) was constructed to bring additional water to Neapolis (3).One of the challenges in maintaining the Augusta and, with it, the integrity of the water supply of the heavily settled area around Neapolis, was counteracting the slow movements of the ground associated with the activity of volcanic sy...

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Pollen-wood analysis at the Neapolis harbour site (1st–3rd century AD, southern Italy) and its archaeobotanical implications

Cited by 47 publications

References 31 publications

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

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

Interpretative scenarios emerging from plant micro- and macroremains in the Iron Age site of Salut, Sultanate of Oman

A lead isotope perspective on urban development in ancient Naples

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