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The encounters between the immigrant populations of the Levant and the local communities of the south and east of the Iberian peninsula occurring from the beginning of the first millennium led to the transformation of diet and agricultural production. The arrival of new products such as chickpeas and different fruit trees, including in particular the vine, increased the variety and quality of the food consumed. It was at this specific moment that the so-called ‘Mediterranean agricultural model’ was defined, upon which the identity of the different communities living in this territory was built.

The Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project discovered three Venetian houses, dating from the 14th to the 16th century, at the site of the Roman forum of Butrint, located on the coast of SW Albania. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, the city is among Albania’s most important archaeological sites, having evolved from a Greek emporium to a substantial Roman colony to a bishopric in the Middle Ages. The Republic of Venice acquired Butrint, together with Corfu, in 1386 and held them until the fall of the Republic in 1797. The Venetian houses are the first dwellings of the Late Medieval period to be excavated in this region and are among the few excavated in the Balkans, serving as exemplars of Late Medieval domestic architecture in Epeiros (NW Greece and S Albania). The larger, two-story house (Venetian House III) had been destroyed by fire in the first half of the 16th century, apparently connected with the sack of the city of 1537. Thereafter the Venetians abandoned the old city but maintained a small outpost on the edge of the headland to defend the lucrative fisheries and the enclave from small-scale Ottoman attacks. The collapsed roof of the house sealed and preserved the contents of a vast quantity of plant macro remains. The seeds and fruit discovered include cereals, pulses and other plants, of which the most abundant was naked wheat. The density distribution of the deposition suggests that foodstuffs were stored on the upper floor of the house, probably to keep them away from ground humidity. The presence of a wide range of vetches (Vicia sp.) and vetchlings (Lathyrus sp.) may be associated with cultural use. Indeed, baked products made with cereal-pulse mixtures were common during the Middle Ages, and traditional uses of some of these crops like Spanish vetchling (L. clymenum), common vetch (V. sativa), pea (Pisum sativum), grass pea (L. sativus), red pea (L. cicera), lentil (Lens culinaris) and one-flowered vetch (V. articulata) remain locally

The 1st millennium ce in the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a continuous exchange of people, goods, food, technology, etc. which led to the transformation of agriculture and the introduction of new crops there. This paper presents the archaeobotanical evidence of the plants that were introduced there during the Roman and medieval periods. Cereals such as Secale cereale (rye), Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet) and Oryza sativa (rice) appeared for the first time in the archaeological record together with new fruit taxa, Prunus persica (peach), Morus nigra (black mulberry), Prunus armeniaca (apricot), Cydonia oblonga (quince), Mespilus germanica (medlar) and Citrus species, enriching the diet of the Iberian people. There were also fibre plants such as Cannabis sativa (hemp) that are now first recorded. The paper provides the first records of these taxa while awaiting further research that can offer more detailed information on whether some of them may also have been present in earlier periods

Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perishable nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-preserved hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14 14C dates for the perishable artifacts (N = 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cultural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.

To better understand the location and help in the conservation of buried structures in the ancient site of Tusculum, in Central Italy, archaeological and multi-methodological geophysical studies were developed in the recent last years. These studies included geophysical surveys, which were combined with topographical survey and direct archaeological excavations. Tusculum is one of the largest Roman archaeological sites in the Alban Hills, located in the Latium region (Italy), about 25 km South-East of Rome. This settlement was inhabited since pre-Roman times, up to the middle ages. The objective of the Tusculum Project is to verify the town-planning of Tusculum and to obtain information about the location, shape, depth and size of the hypothesised buried buildings. With these aims, multi-methodological geophysical surveys have been carried out in the time range 2016–2019 to locate the archaeological remains in different portions of the studied area and to verify the orientation of the underground aqueduct system. GPR and gradiometric surveys were carried out to investigate the archaeological remains, while ERT surveys, were employed to find evidence of undiscovered parts of the underground aqueduct system. These results, along with geological studies and historic evidence, are being examined by archaeologist to understand the limits of the town and how water was supplied to such a large, populated settlement. The obtained results show very good correspondence between the buried architecture, the geophysical anomalies and the archaeological excavations. A number of unexpected buried buildings were discovered, which were excavated in 2017 and 2018, which showed remains of buried public thermal bath and a large church with surrounding funerary area built in the Middle Ages.

Archaeology has long incorporated the methods of the natural sciences and the theoretical principles of the overarching scientific framework. Most archaeologists acknowledge the importance of a systemic perspective in the study of the evolution of human behavior, with emphasis on the contexts in which individuals and populations lived and interacted. This article develops an ecological approach to the subsistence patterns and dynamics of the Neolithic populations in the westernmost regions of the Mediterranean. Methodologically, it implements a systematic quantitative exploration of the structure and evolution of the botanical and zoological taxa documented in a human settlement. Empirically, it begins with one of the most complete and relevant Neolithic archaeological sequences in the region, Dehesilla Cave, which has provided a dataset from high-resolution stratigraphy. The new results are then compared with the available archaeobotanical and archaeozoological records throughout the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

This paper offers a general survey of the transformation of the plant diet in prehistoric Iberia from an archaeobotanical perspective. The journey starts in 5500 cal BC when the first farmers arrived into the Iberian Peninsula bringing with them a set of cereals, legumes and oil plants, and it ends at the end of the 1st mill BC after Mediterranean traders introduced tree cultivation in Iberia. Focusing on the archaeobotanical record, this work highlights the profound changes that occurred in the diet and the agricultural transformation and developments that took place. To a lesser extent, general information is also provided on food preparation and cooking equipment highlighting the need for undertaking new fresh research into food remains which has the potential for breakthroughs in our understanding of food preparation and consumption.

Plant resources represent one of the least studied topics in Iberian prehistory despite their potential not only to reconstruct patterns of plant exploitation, but also to understand subsistence practices, and to improve our knowledge of plant use among human communities in the past. In this paper we present the archaeobotanical data (seeds and fruits) available for the south of the Iberian Peninsula during the 2nd mill. BC. We use data already published by different colleagues including one of the authors. The focus is put on the diversity of species cultivated during this period, as well as on the exploitation of wild plants for food and other uses, trying to provide an accurate picture of Bronze Age plant subsistence in the area. Different crops such as barley and wheat (mainly free-threshing species) and several legumes have been identifi ed while a wide diversity of wild resources is also observed. Flax and poppy were likewise cultivated in the area. Although the number of sites studied is still limited, results suggest that plants were an important resource for the Bronze Age communities.

[EN] The only Argaric halberd of the Meseta was recovered in the motilla of El Retamar in 2019. This find represents the first specialized weapon of the Motilla Culture. The find was retrieved from a non-funerary context (sondage A) in association with ceramic containers, an oven and seeds from cultivated species (free-threshing wheats, hulled barley, emmer wheat and flax). The 118 g and 15.7 cm weapon has two rivets and an asymmetric blade; no evidence of impact is observed on its edge. It can be classified within the San Antón type (Lull type 2), with similar formal parallels with the halberd from tomb 999 from El Argar and with another one from the Gómez-Moreno collection. The piece does not contain tin being made of arsenic copper (3.4% As) with significant percentages of lead and silver (2-3% Pb; 0.47% Ag). Lead isotopic analyses reveal its probable origin in the Linares mining area (Jaén). A radiocarbon date of wood remains from the shaft (Beta-591414, 3590 ± 30, 2010-1895 cal BC) places the halberd at the beginning of the second millennium cal BC. This finding confirms that the Argaric and Bronze Age populations of La Mancha established intense exchange networks, through which objects of high social value circulated, such as ivory, the Argaric cup of La Encantada or the halberd of the motilla of El Retamar, [ES] En 2019 se recuperó en la motilla de El Retamar la única alabarda argárica de la Meseta; es el primer arma especializada en la Cultura de las Motillas. El hallazgo se produjo en un contexto no funerario -el Corte A-, asociado a recipientes cerámicos, un horno y semillas (trigo harinero y duro, cebada vestida, escanda melliza y lino. El arma, de 118 g y 15,7 cm, cuenta con dos remaches y es de hoja asimétrica. Puede clasificarse dentro del tipo San Antón (tipo 2 de Lull), con paralelos formales similares en la alabarda de la tumba 999 de El Argar o en otra de la colección Gómez-Moreno. La pieza no contiene estaño; es de cobre arsenicado (3,4% As), con porcentajes significativos de plomo y plata (2-3% Pb; 0,47% Ag). El análisis de sus isótopos de plomo revela la probable procedencia del área minera de Linares (Jaén). La datación de la madera del enmangue (Beta-591414, 3590±30, 2010-1895 cal BC) fecha la alabarda en el primer siglo del segundo milenio cal BC. Este hallazgo confirma que las poblaciones argáricas y del Bronce de La Mancha establecieron intensas redes de intercambio, por las que circularon objetos de alto valor social, como el marfil, la copa argárica de La Encantada o la alabarda de la motilla de El Retamar.

[Abstract] The techniques of agriculture and animal husbandry at Tell Humeida, a Middle Uruk Period (Late Chalcolithic) site on the middle Syrian Euphrates, were studied using stable isotopes of bone collagen of domestic and wild mammals and from cereal and ruderal plant seeds. Two archaeological campaigns in 2009 and 2011 yielded a small collection of bones, most of which were taxonomically indeterminable. The work had to be interrupted due to the political conflict. The faunal study comprised collagen peptide fingerprinting for taxonomic identification, followed by isotopic analysis. Multiple 14C dating were performed to date the infill to around 3600 cal BC. An isotopic analysis of the sparse plant remains suggested that irrigation and manuring were common practices. Sheep and equids predominated in the faunal assemblage. Sheep grazed on manured soils, and their diet could include millet or another C4 plant, of which, however, no carpological remains were found. The diet of equids differed from that of sheep but also that of other wild ungulates (cervids/gazelles). Their isotopic signatures indicated that they grazed in humid areas, near the watercourse. These finds indicated a settlement that was closely linked to the availability of water, which made it possible to grow crops in an almost desert-like area, and the rearing of sheep.

Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perish- able nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-pre- served hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14 14C dates for the perishable artifacts (N = 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cul- tural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.

El ADN conservado en especímenes vegetales antiguos permite investigar los procesos evolutivos acontecidos en los genomas de las plantas a lo largo del tiempo. Sin embargo, recuperar la información genómica contenida en dichos especímenes es un gran desafío, ya que el ADN suele encontrarse degradado, fragmentado, contaminado con otros ADNs y con presencia de sustancias secundarias que limitan su recuperación y uso. La extracción de ADN se ha de realizar siguiendo protocolos optimizados y en laboratorios específicos para evitar la contaminación con ADN actual. A continuación, se obtienen perfiles de ADN nuclear y cloroplástico y se comparan con los disponibles en bases de datos internacionales (ICVV, VIVC). Esta comparación permite identificar las relaciones entre variedades antiguas y variedades en cultivo. Por ejemplo, el análisis del genoma cloroplástico de semillas de vid encontradas en yacimientos ibéricos sugiere un origen oriental para las variedades cultivadas por los fenicios, mientras que los romanos utilizarían variedades locales. Por otro lado, el análisis de un herbario de vid serbio de 200 años ha servido para identificar algunos de los especímenes como variedades cultivadas actualmente en los Balcanes. Estos trabajos proporcionan información sobre el cultivo y usos de la vid a lo largo de la historia.