João Pedro Tereso

Crops and fodder: evidence for storage and processing activities in a functional area at the Roman settlement of Monte Mozinho (northern Portugal)

Archaeobotanical material was recovered in two contiguous compartments of a compound in Monte Mozinho (Penafiel, northern Portugal). These areas comprise storage facilities from three different typologies—dolium, pits and above-ground quadrangular structures in the corner of the compartments. Few carpological materials were found inside the storage structures and all these are cereals which were most likely stored as clean grain. Recovered grains are probably remnants of the last stored crops prior to abandonment of the area. A radiocarbon date obtained on grains of rye positions this event at a time within the 3rd century and the beginning of the 4th century a.d. Outside the structures from compartment 2, abundant crop processing by-products, mostly weeds and chaff, were recovered. Since traditional agricultural communities tend not to waste such organic material, it is likely that it was kept in the area to be used as fodder. Data is ambiguous regarding the possible existence of fodder crops mixed with these by-products. Overall, there is a predominance of millets (Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica) and rye (Secale cereale), but naked wheat (Triticum aestivum) is also a relevant crop. The presence of oat (Avena) is significant but it is difficult to interpret due to its exclusive presence alongside weeds and chaff. Grape pips (Vitis vinifera) were also found, but these are rare. The Late Roman carpological material from Monte Mozinho is of great relevance on a regional level. It documents and dates the presence of rye and testifies to a multifunctional system in which plant husbandry and animal breeding were intertwined.

A Long Term Perspective of Landscape Evolution in a Coastal Interface: Case Studies from the Portuguese West Coast, Near the Aveiro Lagoon

Based on data from different disciplines, such as Archaeology, Palaeobotany and History, the key moments of landscape evolution in the coastal stretch surrounding the Aveiro Lagoon are identified and interpreted in a broad diachronic perspective. In the southern part of the region, just north of the Lower Mondego River Valley, we find a broad flattened area, where the predominant sandy soils overlap deposits from ancient Pleistocene beaches. The wide and complex chronology of these deposits and the characteristics of its components suggest that during their development, environmental constraints, such as climate and vegetation, imposed severe limitations on human settling, as testified by the absence of archaeological remains in the lower deposits, extending westwards, which survey was facilitated by various sand quarries. This evidence contrasts with the presence of Acheulean assemblages in Mealhada, nearby the Certima valley, in deposits which some authors considered to be equivalent to some of the Pleistocene beaches indicated.