Tarraco, la primera capital

Sense cap mena de dubte, Tarraco constituí la porta d'entrada de Roma a la península Ibèrica i va ser una ciutat imprescindible per a la comprensió de l'evolució històrica i ideològica del nostre passat clàssic. Encara avui, l'actual Tarragona esdevé una font de coneixement que constantment proporciona noves dades i interrogants científics. Aquest document aporta una visió de conjunt sobre l'estat actual de la recerca incidint en les noves descobertes i reflectint les oportunitats que les noves tecnologies ofereixen en la configuració d'una nova recerca arqueològica, a cavall del coneixement humanístic i de l'experimentació analítica

Excavaciones Arqueológicas en la catedral de Tarragona (2000-2002)

The Tarragona Cathedral Director Plan is an ambitious scheme for conservation and restoration work to be carried out on this city landmark. Works include the historical and archaeological study of the property, all the more interesting for the cathedral’s position on one of the terraces of the imperial complex of the Consilium Prouinciae Hispaniae Citerioris, where in late antiquity the Visigoth episcopacy was established. This area was recovered during the restoration of the archiepiscopal see in the 12th century, and is the origin of the present ecclesiastical see. This article is a first approach to the architectural evolution of an area of the Cathedral of Tarragona, the north of the cloister, which it has been possible to study with the help of economic investment derived from the agreement between the chapter of Tarragona Cathedral, the city council, the county council, the regional council of Tarragona and the Catalan autonomous government.El Plan Director de la Catedral de Tarragona es una ambiciosa programación de los trabajos de conservación-restauración que se han de llevar a cabo en este monumento de la ciudad. Entre éstos está el estudio histórico y arqueológico del conjunto, más cuando la catedral se asienta sobre una de las terrazas del complejo imperial del Concilium Prouinciae Hispaniae Citerioris, donde en la antigüedad tardía se estableció el episcopio visigótico. Este espacio se recupera tras la restauración efectiva de la sede arzobispal, en el siglo XII, y es el germen de la actual sede eclesiástica. Este artículo es una primera aproximación a la evolución arquitectónica de una zona de la catedral de Tarragona, al norte del claustro, que se ha podido estudiar gracias a la inversión económica derivada del convenio entre el Cabildo de la Catedral de Tarragona, Ayuntamiento, Diputación, Consell Comarcal del Tarragonès y Generalitat de Catalunya

Historia y arqueología de dos ciudades en los siglos VI-VIII d.C. Valentia y Valencia la Vella

An intense constructive activity was developed in certain places and times in Valentia and around between the 6th and 8th centuries. The construction of the monumental episcopal center in the first half of the 6th century changed the urban landscape. The new buildings (cathedral, baptistery, mausoleum and others) continuously and selectively used a large number of Roman elements. The Circus arena was urbanized from the second half of the 6th century until the middle of the 7th. These findings are small excavations. There are a lot of walls but they do not allow to identify any building. Anyway, they attest the continuity in the reuse of Roman materials. This area had less entity than the Episcopal area. In both cases, the supply of the reused material would be from the remains of the old Roman town. Archaeological materials have a significant proportion of Eastern and African imports.Valencia la Vella, a new and very important fortified settlement of 5 hectares, emerged at the end of the 6th century. The site is 16 km away from Valentia on the Turia river. This new city was made ex novo, so it was necessary a great building effort. In addition to the large walled enclosure two public buildings have been located in the lower part and another in the citadel. This site must have been the center of power in Carthaginensis province.Valencia la Vella was abandoned in the late 7th or early 8th centuries. Contemporarily another important power center was created in Pla de Nadal, about 2 km. from Valencia la Vella. Probably the recently disappeared site would be used as a quarry.En Valentia y su entorno se registró una intensa actividad constructiva en determinados lugares y momentos entre los siglos VI y VIII. La construcción del monumental centro episcopal en la primera mitad del s. VI, iniciativa del obispo Justiniano, cambió el paisaje urbano. En sus edificios (catedral, baptisterio, mausoleo y otros) se aprecia el uso continuado, pero selectivo y diferenciado, según cada uno de los conjuntos, de gran cantidad de elementos romanos. A partir de mediados del s. VI la actividad edilicia en Valentia decayó. Lo único a destacar es que se urbanizó la arena del Circo, un amplio espacio de 70 por 350 metros. Estos hallazgos se conocen peor, por ser excavaciones de poca extensión que no permiten identificar ningún edificio entre los muros aparecidos, pero sí que atestiguan un proyecto constructivo unitario, aunque de menor entidad que en la zona episcopal. Los materiales arqueológicos presentan una importante proporción de importaciones orientales y africanas.A finales del s. VI, a 16 km. de Valentia surgió un nuevo asentamiento fortificado de cierta extensión, 5 hectáreas, València la Vella. Su construcción, ex novo, supuso un gran esfuerzo edilicio. Además del gran recinto amurallado se han localizado dos edificios públicos en la parte baja y otro en la ciudadela. Debió ser el centro del poder de la provincia Carthaginensis.El yacimiento se abandonó a finales del s. VII o inicios del VIII. Al mismo tiempo, se creó otro centro monumental, el importante centro de poder de Pla de Nadal, a unos 2 km. de València la Vella. Su elemento más notorio fue el gran palacio de patio central, pero los diversos edificios que van apareciendo a su alrededor, indican que sería un complejo aún por delimitar

Non-invasive Geophysical Surveys in Search of the Roman Temple of Augustus Under the Cathedral of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain): A Case Study

An integrated geophysical survey has been conducted at the Tarragona's Cathedral (Catalonia, NE Spain) with the aim to confirm the potential occurrence of archaeological remains of the Roman Temple dedicated to the Emperor Augustus. Many hypotheses have been proposed about its possible location, the last ones regarding the inner part of the Cathedral, which is one of the most renowned temples of Spain (twelfth century) evolving from Romanesque to Gothic styles. A geophysical project including electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and ground probing radar (GPR) was planned over 1 year considering the administrative and logistic difficulties of such a project inside a cathedral of religious veneration. Finally, both ERT and GPR have been conducted during a week of intensive overnight surveys that provided detailed information on subsurface existing structures. The ERT method has been applied using different techniques and arrays, ranging from standard Wenner-Schlumberger 2D sections to full 3D electrical imaging with the advanced Maximum Yield Grid array. Electrical resistivity data were recorded extensively, making available many thousands of apparent resistivity data to obtain a complete 3D image after a full inversion. In conclusion, some significant buried structures have been revealed providing conclusive information for archaeologists. GPR results provided additional information about shallowest structures. The geophysical results were clear enough to persuade religious authorities and archaeologists to conduct selected excavations in the most promising areas that confirmed the interpretation of geophysical data. In conclusion, the significant buried structures revealed by geophysical methods under the cathedral were confirmed by archaeological digging as the basement of the impressive Roman Temple that headed the Provincial Forum of Tarraco, seat of the Concilium of Hispania Citerior Province

A la recerca del temple d'August a Tarragona: una experiència entre arqueologia i geofísica

La catedral de Tarragona està enclavada en l'espai més elevat de la ciutat. Els romans ocuparen aquest indret a partir de final del segle III aC i el convertiren en el campament militar des d'on iniciaren, a la Península, les lluites contra els cartaginesos, comandats per Anníbal. Tarraco fou punt d'arribada de les tropes que iniciaren la conquesta d'Iberia. En temps de l'emperador August Tarraco fou elevada a la categoria de capital de la Provincia Hispania Citerior i s'hi inicià una sèrie de transformacions urbanístiques d'acord amb el nou rang. És així que l'historiador Tàcit esmenta que l'any 15 dC una representació de tarraconenses van demanar a Tiberi autorització per aixecar un temple de culte al seu antecessor August, que podia haver estat el primer que se li dedicà fora de Roma. Així ens ho indiquen les fonts clàssiques: in omnes provincias exemplum. Finalment, l'epigrafia ens parla de l'existència del Concilium Prouinciae Hispaniae Citerioris, el màxim òrgan provincial. La major part d'estudis arqueològics que s'han desenvolupat fins ara coincideixen a ubicar el temple augustal a l'acròpolis de la ciutat, l'espai actualment ocupat per la catedral medieval de Tarragona

Limits to reproduction and seed size-number trade-offs that shape forest dominance and future recovery

International audienceThe relationships that control seed production in trees are fundamental to understanding the evolution of forest species and their capacity to recover from increasing losses to drought, fire, and harvest. A synthesis of fecundity data from 714 species worldwide allowed us to examine hypotheses that are central to quantifying reproduction, a foundation for assessing fitness in forest trees. Four major findings emerged. First, seed production is not constrained by a strict trade-off between seed size and numbers. Instead, seed numbers vary over ten orders of magnitude, with species that invest in large seeds producing more seeds than expected from the 1:1 trade-off. Second, gymnosperms have lower seed production than angiosperms, potentially due to their extra investments in protective woody cones. Third, nutrient-demanding species, indicated by high foliar phosphorus concentrations, have low seed production. Finally, sensitivity of individual species to soil fertility varies widely, limiting the response of community seed production to fertility gradients. In combination, these findings can inform models of forest response that need to incorporate reproductive potential

Limits to reproduction and seed size-number tradeoffs that shape forest dominance and future recovery

The relationships that control seed production in trees are fundamental to understanding the evolution of forest species and their capacity to recover from increasing losses to drought, fire, and harvest. A synthesis of fecundity data from 714 species worldwide allowed us to examine hypotheses that are central to quantifying reproduction, a foundation for assessing fitness in forest trees. Four major findings emerged. First, seed production is not constrained by a strict trade-off between seed size and numbers. Instead, seed numbers vary over ten orders of magnitude, with species that invest in large seeds producing more seeds than expected from the 1:1 trade-off. Second, gymnosperms have lower seed production than angiosperms, potentially due to their extra investments in protective woody cones. Third, nutrient-demanding species, indicated by high foliar phosphorus concentrations, have low seed production. Finally, sensitivity of individual species to soil fertility varies widely, limiting the response of community seed production to fertility gradients. In combination, these findings can inform models of forest response that need to incorporate reproductive potential

The handbook for standardized field and laboratory measurements in terrestrial climate change experiments and observational studies (ClimEx)

1. Climate change is a world‐wide threat to biodiversity and ecosystem structure, functioning and services. To understand the underlying drivers and mechanisms, and to predict the consequences for nature and people, we urgently need better understanding of the direction and magnitude of climate change impacts across the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum. An increasing number of climate change studies are creating new opportunities for meaningful and high‐quality generalizations and improved process understanding. However, significant challenges exist related to data availability and/or compatibility across studies, compromising opportunities for data re‐use, synthesis and upscaling. Many of these challenges relate to a lack of an established ‘best practice’ for measuring key impacts and responses. This restrains our current understanding of complex processes and mechanisms in terrestrial ecosystems related to climate change. 2. To overcome these challenges, we collected best‐practice methods emerging from major ecological research networks and experiments, as synthesized by 115 experts from across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Our handbook contains guidance on the selection of response variables for different purposes, protocols for standardized measurements of 66 such response variables and advice on data management. Specifically, we recommend a minimum subset of variables that should be collected in all climate change studies to allow data re‐use and synthesis, and give guidance on additional variables critical for different types of synthesis and upscaling. The goal of this community effort is to facilitate awareness of the importance and broader application of standardized methods to promote data re‐use, availability, compatibility and transparency. We envision improved research practices that will increase returns on investments in individual research projects, facilitate second‐order research outputs and create opportunities for collaboration across scientific communities. Ultimately, this should significantly improve the quality and impact of the science, which is required to fulfil society's needs in a changing world