Indagini archeopalinologiche e microantracologiche nell’insediamento medievale nell’area della Villa del Casale di Piazza Armerina (Enna), con dati pre- e post-medievali

The study presents the data obtained by palynological and microantrachological analyses of samples taken from the Medieval settlement recently unearthed (excavations directed by P. Pensabene) in the southern area of the renowned Villa del Casale of Piazza Armerina (Enna-Sicily). The aim of the work is to reconstruct the history of the natural and cultural vegetal landscape of the settlement and its sorroundings and to compile, based on pollen flora, a list of plants useful to restore the green setting of the site. Materials and methods – 42 samples from the Medieval settlement and from a related vertical profile were studied, covering a time span from the Byzantine age to modern age, plus a recent control sample (moss sample). Chronology is based on archaeological and somewhere palynological evidence. Results – The samples showed a satisfactory pollen concentration, a sufficient state of preservation and a remarkable floristic diversity (about 236 pollen taxa were identified). On the whole pollen shows an open hilly Mediterranean cultural landscape, largely devoted to meadows and pastures, testified by Cichorioideae, Gramineae and many other herbs (e.g. Aster type, Anthemis type, Leguminosae, Mentha type, Umbelliferae). Human influence is testified by a very strong forest clearance, already occurred in the Byzantine fase. Pollen flora anyway testifies wood remnants from different vegetation belts (e.g. Abies, Betula, Carpinus, Castanea, Fagus, Fraxinus ornus, Myrtus, deciduous Quercus, Q. cf. cerris, Q. cf. virgiliana, Quercus cf. ilex, Pinus cf. halepensis, P. indiff., Phyllirea, Pistacia, Ulmus, Tilia) and fresh water plant communities (Alnus, Butomus umbellatus, Carex, Myriophyllum, Nymphaea, Populus, Sagittaria, Salix, Typha angustifolia,etc.). Besides woody plants suitable for timber, pollen testified a number of useful plants, cultivated or exploited in the wild, for food, decoration or other uses (e.g. Avena-Triticum group, Beta, Corylus, Cynara cf., Hordeum group, Mentha, Nerium oleander, Olea, Platanus, Pinus cf. pinea, Prunus, Secale cereale, Thymus, Vitis ). Some records in the Middle age samples are worth noting: Pistacia vera (pistachios) and Syzygium aromaticum (cloves). Microcharcoals were consistent due to the continuous human activity in the settlement. Conclusion – The pollen history of the site shows a continuity of tradition during the time. Changes occurred, but the different cultures that followed one another during the time seem to have progressively intermingled in the practices and uses concerning plants and plant landscape. The most strong change occurs in the recent moss sample, affected by cultivation of different olive trees (compared with the past ones) and exotic plants ( Eucalyptus)

Tanella cave (Monte Baldo-Verona, Italy): a record of environmental data on the last glacial period

Since 2003, an extensive hydrogeological investigation has been carried out on Monte Baldo, in order to make a census of springs occurring along the west side of the mountain and to evaluate the quality of their water. The investigation included morphological and hydrogeological observations concerning the Tanella cave and interdisciplinary investigations performed on the deposits found in the cave. This paper shows the first data concerning the hydrogeology of the cave, as well as data on stratigraphy, pollen and micro-charcoals obtained from the analyses of a well preserved sequence located at ca. 80 m from the entrance (sequence A). The aim of the study was to reconstruct the environment of the area around the cave along the time span testified by the sequence. The sequence is 60 cm thick and was built up by fluvioglacial sediments followed by lacustrine sediments. Five samples taken along the sequence plus three recent control samples (mosses), collected in places assumed as origins of the pollen input, were studied for pollen and micro-charcoals. Pollen preservation was good and concentration varied from 101 to 103 p/g. Pollen spectra from the cave showed the evolution from a landscape of alpine grassland above the timberline, likely of glacial age, to a more forested Holocene landscape similar in flora to the current one testified by the control samples. Pollen probably arrived in the cave by air, water and animals and from plants growing near the cave. It appears to have been continuously underwater after its deposition due to its very good state of preservation. Micro-charcoals suggested that fires were sometimes lit near the cave

The SUCCESSO-TERRA Project: a Lesson of Sustainability from the Terramare Culture, Middle Bronze Age of the Po Plain (Northern Italy)

This backstory article deals with the SUCCESSO-TERRA Project (2017–2020), an interdisciplinary research program aiming at reconstructing the land-use transformations that occurred during the development of the Terramare culture in the southern-central Po Plain of Northern Italy. Topics include climate-environment changes, human impact and exploitation of natural resources that are interconnected topics in human ecology and environmental sciences. These topics can only be understood in a long-term perspective integrating archaeology, geology, botany and other sciences. The text includes the theoretical basis, the research strategy and the main methodological approaches given by geoarchaeology and palynology, the two research sides constituting the partnership of the project

When palynology meets classical archaeology: the Roman and medieval landscapes at the Villa del Casale di Piazza Armerina, UNESCO site in Sicily

Palynological researches have been carried out in the framework of cooperative projects with local and national institutions at the Villa Romana del Casale of Piazza Armerina, a small town in central Sicily. The site was studied within a multidisciplinary geo-bio-archaeological set of studies aiming at understanding the economy and environment at a local scale. Analyses allowed us to reconstruct the natural vs cultural landscape dynamics from Roman to medieval periods. On the basis of 85 samples, pollen diagrams show that the site has been built in a low forest cover area, with signs of both natural/semi-natural cover and complex anthropogenic activities. These activities include cereal fields and pastures. There is evidence of ornamental (e.g. Platanus, Buxus) and fruit trees (above all Olea, and also, e.g. Corylus, Prunus and Juglans). The research also includes a detailed study about the finding of Vitis pollen grains in the Roman site. In the subsequent phases, pollen shows again an open, fairly treeless, landscape with Mediterranean and hilly vegetation. Anthropogenic signs are evident in the form of groves and orchards. Our data bring evidence and details about the intense land exploitation that had contributed to transform the environment of central Sicily during the Middle and Late Holocene. Data demonstrate that archaeopalynology may be fruitfully regarded as a tool to understand the current landscape structure

Analisi palinologiche per lo studio delle trasformazioni del paesaggio vegetale nel sito di Villa del Casale di Piazza Armerina - Enna

Il lavoro presenta i dati ottenuti da analisi palinologiche effettuate nell’area archeologica dellaVilla Romana del Casale di Piazza Armerina (Enna). Scopo della ricerca è stato quello diricostruire la storia del paesaggio vegetale e culturale dell’insediamento e dell’ambientecircostante a partire dall’epoca romana. Nel complesso il paesaggio vegetale emerso dalle analisiè fortemente deforestato, di fascia collinare e di zona mediterranea e ampiamente occupato daprati e pascoli. La storia pollinica del sito mostra una continuità di tradizioni durante l’arco ditempo testimoniato dai campioni. Il più drastico cambiamento avviene con il passaggio all’oggi,testimoniato dal campione di muschio: ampi spazi destinati alla coltivazione di olivi e a impiantiornamentali che includono alberi esotici

BRAIN id: NER67 – pollen dataset

Casinalbo (Modena, N Italy). Dataset including pollen counts from sediment samples collected from one vertical profile taken from the central area of the necropolis of Casinalbo, belonging to the Terramare culture (Modena; 44°35'00" N, 10°52'00’’ E; 60 m a.s.l.; chronology: from c. 1650 BC and up to Late Roman). The dataset was created as part of the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC, Palermo, Italy). The site is included in the BRAIN database (https://brainplants.successoterra.net/; site id: NER67)

Modena. Primi risultati dalle analisi palinologiche della sezione \u201cCampi-S2\u201d

Nell\u2019ambito dello studio multidisciplinare che interessa l\u2019area di \u201cVia Campi-nuovi Dipartimenti\u201d sono state previste analisi palinologiche al fine di ottenere informazioni utili alla ricostruzione paleo ambientale del sito . Un totale di 41 campioni pollinici, a intervalli di ca. ogni 10 cm, sono stati prelevati da una sezione verticale continua, spessa ca. 5 m. In questa prima fase di studio sono stati scelti 20 campioni provenienti per lo pi\uf9 dallo strato alluvionale compreso tra due suoli (tra 4,30-4,20 m e tra 3,90-3,80 m) e in parte da campioni posti al di sopra del suolo pi\uf9 superficiale. Una datazione radiocarbonica \ue8 stata eseguita su legno sub-fossile, proveniente da un livello posto a 4,22 m di profondit\ue0 e ha fornito la seguente data: 2005 \ub1 125 cal. BP

BRAIN id: NER64 – pollen dataset

Baggiovara (Modena, N Italy). Dataset including pollen counts from sediment samples collected from five short vertical profiles (NER64a, NER64b, NER64c, NER64d, NER64e) of the Terramara di Baggiovara (Modena; 44°36′26″ N, 10°52′18″ E; 59 m a.s.l.; chronology: from c. 1650 to c. 1500 BC). The dataset was created as part of the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC, Palermo, Italy). The site is included in the BRAIN database (https://brainplants.successoterra.net/; site id: NER64)

BRAIN id: SSI7– pollen dataset

Philosophiana (Sofiana; Sicily). Dataset including pollen counts from sediment samples collected from late antique contexts of the site of Philosophiana (Enna; 37°19'03.10" N 14°16'26.68" E, 628 m asl; chronology: from 2nd century BC to 11th century AD). The dataset was created as part of the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC, Palermo, Italy). The site is included in the BRAIN database (https://brainplants.successoterra.net/; site id: SSI7)

Inferenze archeoambientali dalle sequenze polliniche della Terramara di Baggiovara - Modena (XVII - XVI sec. a.C.)

Il lavoro presenta i primi dati ottenuti da analisi palinologicheeffettuate nel sito della Terramara di Baggiovara, Modena. L’analisipalinologica è stata finalizzata alla ricostruzione del paesaggio vegetaleprecedente, coevo e successivo alle fasi di vita dell’abitato e ha permesso diottenere prime indicazioni sull’attività produttiva al suo interno. Inparticolare, emerge un paesaggio decisamente aperto con copertura forestaleconfinata lontano dall’abitato. Gli spettri pollinici sono caratterizzati dauna forte presenza di indicatori di pascolo, cereali e altre speciesinantropiche. Ne emerge, dunque, un paesaggio culturale con caratteri diantropizzazione che erano già evidenti in Pianura Padana durante il bronzomedio. Abstract The study reports dataobtained by the palynological analyses of samples taken from the Terramara ofBaggiovara, located in Modena, Emilia Romagna - northern Italy. Pollen allows to reconstructthe plant landscape that existed ‘before, during and after’ the terramara. Datasuggest that the economy of the site was mainly based on animal breeding ratherthan on crop cultivation. In particular, the landscape was open and the forest coverwas low.Pollen spectra show astrong presence of pastoral indicators, cerealia and other sinantropic indicators.They are important characters ofanthropization of these lands that testified how a cultural landscape hasalready developed in the Middle Bronze age in the Po Plain