Pompeii and its Hinterland Connection
The Fuel Consumption of the House of the Vestals ( c . Third Century BC to AD 79)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7202185 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robyn Veal (University of Cambridge, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 27-44 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1461-9571 • E-ISSN: 1741-2722 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1179/1461957113y.0000000043 |
| OpenAlex | W1989394260 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 20 |
Bio-archaeological studies can contribute significantly to understanding the economic interactions between cities and their hinterland. In Pompeii, where research has often been intramurally focussed, analysis of biological remains is often confined to bones and macro-botanicals consumed as foodstuffs. Charcoal, if collected, often remains unexamined, and yet this material is key to understanding the fuel economy of a city. This study has two goals: first, to describe an efficient method for charcoal sampling and analysis in a dense urban environment using only dry-sieved charcoals above 5 mm; and, second, in doing so, to demonstrate the dependent relationship between Pompeii and its hinterland for the provision of fuel in a case study from the House of the Vestals. A pilot study of 25 contexts from six ‘rooms’ and 750 charcoal fragments was followed by an extended study of 62 contexts over 14 rooms (a total of 1579 charcoal fragments). The extended results identified only two further (minor) taxa (represented by only three fragments). The most important wood identified was beech ( Fagus sylvatica ), which constituted 50–75 per cent of the fuel supply, depending on the time period. Beech grows preferentially above about 900 m in central and southern Italy. Pompeii lies at 30 m altitude with the nearest mountain areas at least 15 km away. The study suggests that a methodology that relies on collection of charcoal from routine dry sieving (5 mm grid), in soils where this is possible, can provide robust results in a cost effective manner in an urban setting
Altitude (triangle · Archaeology · Beech · Charcoal · Fagus sylvatica · Geography · Hearth · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Mathematics · Tree-ring climate responses · Forestry
Into the woods of ancient Corinth
Modelling the Supply of Wood Fuel in Ancient Rome
The environmental history of Classical and Hellenistic Greece
Multi-site archaeobotanical analysis reveals wood-fuel supply, woodland impact and land use around Roman urban centres
Archaeological and palynological evidence of iron smelting and its ecological consequences in the Ijebu Forest, Nigeria
Humans, forests, and timber production in southern Italy 2000 years ago
Wood use and forest resource management at Pompeii. Anthracological analyses in the area of Regio VII, Insula 14
Timber economy in the Roman Age
Kitchenwares and Kitchen Work
Holocene Coastal Environments near Pompeii before the A.D. 79 Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Italy
Holocene climatic changes in the Western Mediterranean, from south-east France to south-east Spain
Years of European Climate Variability and Human Susceptibility
Climate, History And The Modern World
Coupled atmospheric and marine palaeoclimatic reconstruction for the last 35ka in the Sele Plain–Gulf of Salerno area (southern Italy)
Reconstructing Woodland Vegetation and its Exploitation by Past Societies, based on the Analysis and Interpretation of Archaeological Wood Charcoal Macro-Remains
Vegetation dynamics of south-western Italy in the last 28 kyr inferred from pollen analysis of a Tyrrhenian Sea core
A Franco-Italian investigation of funerary rituals in the Roman world, “les rites et la mort à Pompéi”, the plant part
Roman food refuse
Pollen-wood analysis at the Neapolis harbour site (1st–3rd century AD, southern Italy) and its archaeobotanical implications
Persistence of the cultural landscape in Campania (Southern Italy) before the AD 472 Vesuvius eruption
Towards a history of pre-Roman Pompeii
The Identification of the North European Woods
The making of an élite house
Water, Wealth, and Social Status at Pompeii
The wood of "C" and "F" Roman ships found in the ancient harbour of Pisa (Tuscany, Italy)
Climate Change during and after the Roman Empire
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,9 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |