Roman wells of north-eastern Iberian Peninsula: Landscape and use of wooden resources

Preservation of wood and other archaeobotanical remains is quite common in Roman wells from urban contexts. Wood recovered inside these wells can offer extraordinary information about forest exploitation and management, woodworking and building technology. The aim of this paper is to discuss and present the results and methodological approach of the analysis of wood recovered from three Roman wells in the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Paleoecological information, different uses of raw material, and technological as well as dendrochronological data obtained are presented and contextualized in relation to the period and the region. The main taxa used for manufacturing the goods and the structural elements of the wells were obtained in a wide catchment area. Besides local wood, non-local wood such as fir, birch and scots-black pine was transported to the sites. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.