Pratiques culturales et système agraire gallo-romain. L’exemple de la vallée de l’Hérault et du Biterrois (Hérault)

Abstract

The large data set assembled during recent years by preventive archaeology allows us to put forward this synthesis on cultural practices and farming, during the Roman period, in the territory under the influence of Béziers and Lodève. We concentrate first on the advances made recently by local archaeology, on the rural establishments excavated, their winemaking equipments and their links with pottery workshops (amphorae and dolia). This is followed by details on the surviving remains of vineyards and orchards (plantation pits), combined with the information provided by the archaeobotanical data which help us recognize the diversity of natural habitats and the multiple facets of the agrarian economy. This synthesis concludes by emphasizing the importance of the flourishing wine production between the end of the 1st century B. C. and the beginning of the 3rd century A. D. and highlights the diversity of situations and the exploitation of mixed crops (annuals + fruit trees/ shrubs).

Talkin’ About a Revolution. Changes and Continuities in Fruit Use in Southern France From Neolithic to Roman Times Using Archaeobotanical Data (ca. 5,800 BCE – 500 CE)

“…On the other hand, the southern rural sites are characterized by the importance of grapevine, which is consistent with the exceptional development of viticulture in the region, as shown by the large number of wine-producer sites and wine amphora ateliers (Buffat et al, 2001;Brun, 2010). Furthermore, the traces of vineyards found in Southern France were mostly assigned to the ERo period (Boissinot, 2001;Pomarèdes et al, 2012;Jung et al, 2013). In addition to grapes, the expanding role of fruits in the economy and rural landscape of the Mediterranean region during the ERo can be recognized in the more frequent appearance of Ficus and Olea remains (Figure 9).…”

“…In addition to grapes, the expanding role of fruits in the economy and rural landscape of the Mediterranean region during the ERo can be recognized in the more frequent appearance of Ficus and Olea remains (Figure 9). Orchards are identified for the first time, even if their traces cannot be associated with a specific fruit tree (Jung et al, 2013).…”

“…By then, vineyard traces are also sporadically identified in temperate France (Poux et al, 2011). Viticulture aside, evidence of specialized arboriculture is limited to speculative oil production, which possibly started at the end of the Iron Age but remained clearly secondary (Brun, 2010), and to rare traces of orchards (Jung et al, 2013;Boissinot et al, 2016). However, the increasing number of finds of fruit remains suggests that cultivation of fruit trees was more widespread than the sole archeological traces can indicate.…”

The impact of climate change on the agriculture and the economy of Southern Gaul: New perspectives of agent-based modelling

“…At the beginning of our era the Greek geographer Strabo (Geography, IV, I, 2) described the landscape of this province as like that of Italy because of its crops: vineyards, olive trees and fig trees flourished as far as the Cevennes, before becoming scarce beyond this limit. Archaeological investigations have largely confirmed the importance of viticulture in Languedoc and Provence, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of wine-growing establishments, wine amphorae workshops, winegrowers' tools, and grape seeds [10][11][12][13][14] (Fig 2).…”

“…At the beginning of our era the Greek geographer Strabo ( Geography , IV, I, 2) described the landscape of this province as like that of Italy because of its crops: vineyards, olive trees and fig trees flourished as far as the Cevennes, before becoming scarce beyond this limit. Archaeological investigations have largely confirmed the importance of viticulture in Languedoc and Provence, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of wine-growing establishments, wine amphorae workshops, winegrowers’ tools, and grape seeds [ 10 – 14 ] ( Fig 2 ). After reaching its climax in the 2 nd century CE, it began to decline in Narbonne from the 3 rd century CE but nevertheless continued to spread throughout Gaul [ 13 ], as we recently published a paper on this topic with numerous archaeological data [ 15 ].…”