Medieval forest land use along the Tyrrhenian coast (Tuscany, central Italy): The archaeo-anthracological signal (AD 750–1250)

Abstract

Charcoal analysis, applied in archaeological excavation of Vetricella site in the distal reach of the Pecora river (Tyrrhenian southern Tuscany, Italy), detected the exploitation, management, and ecology of forest land cover between mid-8th century AD and mid-13th century AD. Taking place in a central Mediterranean district adequately studied through palaeoenvironmental and archaeological research, the investigation determined times and modalities of Medieval human impact on forest ecosystem. The fuelwood supply areas were characterised by Quercus cerris forest, in the past much larger and extended than Mediterranean evergreen forest. The collection of fuelwood was based on the traditional method of coppice woodland management, including the release of decade-year-old standard trees for the production of larger timber assortment, useful for building activities (testified by the numerous post-holes). The silvicultural system, known as compound coppice, produced a forest landscape characterised by multi-storied stands ensuring production of fruit and spreading of acorns for feeding pigs. Changes in the forest ecosystem were particularly detectable from mid-10th century AD, when accessory pioneer woody species, resilient to cut clearance, spread. It was the Ottonian period of activities in sequence aimed at radically changing the site of Vetricella along with land use in the Pecora river valley. The resulting forest land cover management, depending on the political strategies adopted by Medieval authorities, marked the progression of a cultural landscape still characterizing central Tyrrhenian Italy.