• DOI:10.1080/11263504.2010.491974
• Corpus ID: 86527704

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

@article{DiPasquale2010ReworkingTI,
  title={Reworking the idea of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) cultivation in Roman times: New data from ancient Campania},
  author={Gaetano Di Pasquale and Emilia Allevato and Elda Russo Ermolli and Sylvie Coubray and Carmine Lubritto and Fabio Marzaioli and Minoru Yoneda and Kazuhiko Takeuchi and Y. Kano and Satoru Matsuyama and Girolamo F. De Simone},
  journal={Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology},
  year={2010},
  volume={144},
  pages={865 - 873}
}

• G. Di Pasquale, E. Allevato, +8 authors G. D. De Simone
• Published 1 December 2010
• History, Geography
• Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology

Abstract 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 14C 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.